My third read by the author. Can't quite get to the five-stars with him, though this one comes close.
Twist is a story of a diver and underwater cable repairman who goes rogue and a reporter who tries to figure out what happened.
It's a fairly straight-forward, simple plot because this novel is about the trees rather than the forest. McCann spends the entire time zooming in instead of out, so that you get the most minute details of the characters' lives and activities, which can be interesting and very immersive but also somewhat exhausting.
The narrative is very Gatsby-esque in style, with the main character, a rather unexciting reporter, orbiting a much-more exciting and unknowable Conway, the mystery man. And for all that orbiting and speculation, no matter how detailed, Conway remains largely just that - a mystery. A bit frustratingly so, but also a great reminder that in real life, it's very difficult and sometimes impossible to truly know another person.
Knowing its strengths and shortcomings, the novel smartly keeps it brief at just 256 pages.
The real star here is the beauty of language. McCann's writing is devastatingly beautiful, and it alone makes this a worthy read. Thanks Netgalley.

There were moments of profound beauty in this novel. I can't tell you what it means to me and I won't tell you about the story. Go on. Find out.

Yet another winner from Colum. Complex story and characters, with a bit of mystery thrown in. About the ties that bind us together, and sometimes tear us apart.

There is no doubt McCann can write, it’s lush and vivid and this book had me highlighting line after line. My issue lies in the storytelling. This book started off really strong I was excited to read about the underwater cables and how reliant we are on them for connecting us globally, this was a totally fresh and new concept to me, and I thought we were headed into a story about how humans and technology have evolved. Unfortunately this story took a bit of a hard pivot half way through and became about a man name Conway and a series of incidences and the journalist, Anthony, our narrator who seeks to understand the why. This didn’t interest me and I never felt like we got any really good or interesting answers or a real deep sense of these characters and I finished it with a bit of harumph feeling.

I have always wanted to read this author. His prose is quite lush and I think I might like it, but my brain just can't focus on it at the moment. I may try again before the pub date.

When you open a book by a true literary artist, you remember immediately how beautiful literature reads. Almost like slipping into the most expensive, highest thread count sheets, Colum McCann has mesmerized us with a story that no one had thought to explore. A journalist looking for inspiration and desperate enough to travel on a ship sent to repair fiberoptic cables undersea.

Anthony Fennell, the Irish journalist travels to South Africa to meet the men who are pirate-like in their lifestyle. He is able to catch a ride on a shpw and follows a captain-like man for his article. What he learns, leads us to what we are all waiting for - the twist.

Grab this exquisitely wrought book, and travel with Fennell to a place that can control what we are all addicted too - information.

#randomhouse #twist #colummccann

This was an interesting book overall, but it was still pretty dry. It was pretty technical about the work the people were doing, so that was a bit too focused on the wrong things. I think the beginning started off strong, the middle was so dull, and then the ending was picking up pace again which was good.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

This was a strong story and enjoyed the concept and how the plot was told. The characters felt like this was their story that needed to be told and enjoyed how they worked in this universe. Colum McCann has a great writing style and it worked with the genre.

This was quite the interesting read. It started off pretty captivating but somewhere in the middle it seems to drag on. The last 20% or so picked up again and kept me engaged through the end. The writing style is pretty unique. At one point, there’s a single sentence that stretches over nearly 3 pages on my kindle. I’d be interested to read more works from this author but I know to pace myself to avoid feeling underwhelmed.

An alcoholic, disenfranchised journalist, Anthony Fennell, ventures to South Africa and is tasked to write an article about submarine telecommunications cable repair while shadowing Chief of Mission (director of repair), John Conway, on their search and repair mega ocean vessle. While on assignment he gets to know the mysterious Conway, also a free diver, and becomes acquainted with his partner, attention-seeking actress Zanelle.

The subject of fiber optic repair, the mending of fine glass tubes, no bigger than a human hair and encompassed in a tube about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, was absolutely fascinating and illuminating. The submarine telecommunications cables are responsible for the majority of internet traffic worldwide, made up of approximately 1.5 million kilometers lying as deep as 4 kilometers down on the ocean floor. The laborious intricacies in repairing these severed cables, which disrupt or halt data travel to neighboring countries, is staggering. I ignorantly have never thought about this underwater infrastructure which is critical to our daily life.

Saying all this probably makes it sounds like a dry book, but it absolutely was not. Woven throughout is a theme of broken and taught relationships and Anthony’s struggle for sobriety and a more positive evolution. He also examines the state of our oceans. Masterly written, with gripping tension throughout the story and a smooth flow. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this advanced copy.