Reader Score
79%
79% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 10 reviews on
"As it was, it was like being set down in the best of poems, carried into a cold landscape, blindfolded, turned around, unblindfolded, forced, then, to invent new ways of seeing."
In the exuberant title novella, a retired judge reflects on his life's work, unaware as he goes about his daily routines that this particular morning will be his last. In "Sh'khol," a mother spending Christmas alone with her son confronts the unthinkable when he disappears while swimming off the coast near their home in Ireland. In "Treaty," an elderly nun catches a snippet of a news report in which it is revealed that the man who once kidnapped and brutalized her is alive, masquerading as an agent of peace. And in "What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?" a writer constructs a story about a Marine in Afghanistan calling home on New Year's Eve.
Deeply personal, subtly subversive, at times harrowing, and indeed funny, yet also full of comfort, Thirteen Ways of Looking is a striking achievement. With unsurpassed empathy for his characters and their inner lives, Colum McCann forges from their stories a profound tribute to our search for meaning and grace. The collection is a rumination on the power of storytelling in a world where language and memory can sometimes falter, but in the end do not fail us, and a contemplation of the healing power of literature.
Praise for Thirteen Ways of Looking
"Extraordinary . . . incandescent."--Chicago Tribune
"The irreducible mystery of human experience ties this small collection together, and in each of these stories McCann explores that theme in some strikingly effective ways. . . . [The first story] is as fascinating as it is poignant. . . . [The second] captures the mundane and mysterious aspects of shaping characters from the gray clay of words, placing them in realistic settings and breathing life into their lungs. . . . That he makes the story so emotionally compelling is a sign of his genius. . . . The most remarkable [piece] is Sh'khol. . . . Caught in the rushing currents of this drama, you know you're reading a little masterpiece."--The Washington Post
"McCann is a writer of power and subtlety and beauty. . . . The powerful title story loiters in the mind long after you've read it."--Sarah Lyall, The New York Times
"[McCann] unspools complex and unforgettable stories in this, his first collection in more than a decade."--The Boston Globe
"McCann is a passionate writer whose impulse is always toward a generous understanding of his diverse characters."--The Wall Street Journal
"Powerful, profound, and deeply empathetic, McCann's beautifully wrought writing in Thirteen Ways of Looking glides off the page."--BuzzFeed
"McCann weaves the magic that made Let the Great World Spin so acclaimed."--The Huffington Post
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"Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book." — Jane Smiley, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Novel 📸: @greenapplebooks https://t.co/d1f3A6z7vc
VCU MFA / writer of F and CNF / #amquerying / ed. @Parhelionlit / #blogger / higher ed. writer / choral singer, balletoma'am, twin mom, shameless #CLE booster
@MichaelKeefePDX I always recommend Lawrence Coates' novella Camp Olvido, a stand-alone. I also enjoyed the one from Colum McCann's Thirteen Ways of Looking.
Welcome friends. I’ve been married 42 years to my British husband. Homes in USA & UK. We enjoy retirement, travel and afternoon tea. I share positivity.📚☕️🫖🖼
“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.” —Jane Smiley, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Novel. ❤️📚 https://t.co/KCnBs4pDBh
"The irreducible mystery of human experience ties this small collection together, and in each of these stories [Colum] McCann explores that theme in some strikingly effective ways. . . . McCann has perfected a method of finely blending his own narration with his characters' thoughts and dialogue. . . . [The first story] is as fascinating as it is poignant. . . . [The second] captures the mundane and mysterious aspects of shaping characters from the gray clay of words, placing them in realistic settings and breathing life into their lungs. . . . That he makes the story so emotionally compelling is a sign of his genius. . . . The most remarkable [piece] is Sh'khol. . . . Caught in the rushing currents of this drama, you know you're reading a little masterpiece. . . . [It's] only one of the treasures in this collection."--The Washington Post
"McCann is a writer of power and subtlety and beauty. . . . The powerful title story loiters in the mind long after you've read it."--Sarah Lyall, The New York Times
"[McCann] unspools complex and unforgettable stories in this, his first collection in more than a decade."--The Boston Globe
"McCann is a passionate writer whose impulse is always toward a generous understanding of his diverse characters."--The Wall Street Journal
"McCann's characters in this new work--whether nuns or judges or writers--are mostly ordinary people encountering extraordinary situations often touched by loss. Powerful, profound, and deeply empathetic, McCann's beautifully wrought writing in Thirteen Ways of Looking glides off the page."--BuzzFeed
"In just three short stories and one novella, McCann weaves the magic that made Let the Great World Spin so acclaimed--especially in one brilliant short piece of metafiction in which the process of writing a story becomes interwoven with the story created."--The Huffington Post