International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Winner 2011 Colum McCann
Published on 16th June 2011
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann is the winner of the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The novel was chosen from a shortlist of 10, and a longlist of 162 books by 166 libraries - representing 126 cities in 43 countries.
'New York, August 1974: a man is walking in the sky. Between the newly built Twin Towers, the man twirls through the air. Far below, the lives of complete strangers spin towards each other: Corrigan, a radical Irish monk working in the Bronx; Claire, a delicate Upper East Side housewife reeling from the death of her son; Lara, a drug-addled young artist; Gloria, solid and proud despite decades of hardship; Tillie, a hooker who used to dream of a better life; and Jazzlyn, her beautiful daughter raised on promises that reach beyond the skyline of New York. In the shadow of one reckless and beautiful act, these disparate lives will collide, and be transformed for ever.'
Colum McCann, born in Dublin, Ireland, is the author of five novels and two collections of stories. He has won numerous international literary awards. Zoli, Dancer and This Side of Brightness (published in the UK by Bloomsbury in July 2010) were international bestsellers and his fiction has been published in over thirty languages. He lives in New York
In his acceptance speech Colum McCann commented:
"I am completely floored by this – exhilarated, proud, but most of all humbled –I mean truly humbled – and nervous …. humbled not just by the experience, but by the whole history, local and international, that this encompasses: all the writers and all the libraries, all the readers, all the guests here tonight, and, in fact, all the writers down through the years who have written about, or dreamed about, this very fine city, this country of literature."
Let The Great World Spin is available to borrow from Dublin City Public Libraries.
(Photo Jason Clarke Photography)