Apeirogon by Colum McCann - 2021- 480 Pages - a novel

 Apeirogon - by Colum McCann - A Novel - 2020 - 480 Pages 

“apeirogon: A polygon having an infinite number of sides and vertices”

I have been following the work of Colum McCann for nine years.

Here are my suggestions as to reading order for his prior six novels.

1.  Let the Great World Keep on Spinning.  His most awarded book to date.

2.  Transatlantic is actually my favorite but it is not yet as famous as the above work.  It was nominated for The Booker Prize.

Proceed on in McCann if you  like these novels, I certainly did.

3.  Zoli - revolves about a Roma woman (gypsy) who became a well known poet.  I am very interested in this culture so that helped me like the book.

4.  Dancer - about Rudolph Nureyev, fascinating in parts.  

 

5.   Everything in this Country Must. -   An internationally roaming but rooted in Ireland search by a man for his father.  Parts are brilliant

6.  This Side of Brightness 6th place McCann still worth reading.- 

What are your favorite McCann novels and stories?

I think I would put Apeirogon now at least in third place.

Apeirogon deals very profoundly with conflict between Israelis and Palestians over living territory.   To Palestinians Israelis have stolen their land, treated them with great inequity.  Israelis, The country was founded by Holocaust survivors, feel they are occupy ing  a God ordained homeland they will defend at all costs.  

The novel is structured on the actual experiences of two fathers whose daughters  were innocent victims, collateral damage, in the conflict.  Rami Elhanan is an Isreali grahic designer whose Young daughter was killed by a suicide bomber and Bassam Aramin, is a Palestinian scholar of the Holocaust.  As a Young man he spent Seven years as a political prisoner.  His daughter was killed by Isreali Defense forces, perhaps by accident.  Told in 1001 episodes, the  novel ranges widely in Middle Eastern history, goes into detail about the birds of the area, the economics and the Apartheid like policy imposed on those of Arabic heritage who live in Israeli.  The two men in time begin to engage in speaking engagements urging the end of the conflict.

I agree with The Guardian’s assesment of Apeirogon

“It is a strange time for a novel as full-hearted as Apeirogon. It feels as if the situation in the Middle East is always a reflection of its age... But perhaps that’s the point – the desperation of the situation has brought forth a work of art whose beauty, intelligence and compassion may go some way to changing things. Is it absurd to suggest that a novel might succeed where generations of politicians have failed? Perhaps, but then Apeirogon is the kind of book that comes along only once in a generation.”

Apeirogon is a challenging novel, both in content and method.

Whatever effort it reauires Will be more than repaid.

From http://colummccann.com

Colum McCann is the author of seven novels and three collections of stories. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he has been the recipient of many international honours, including the U.S National Book Award, the International Dublin Literary Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, several European awards, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts.  His work has been published in over 40 languages.  He is the President and co-founder of the non-profit global story exchange organisation, Narrative 4. He is the Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence in Hunter College, in New York, where he lives with his wife Allison and their family.  His most recent novel, Apeirogon, became an immediate New York Times best-seller and won several major international awards.