My first foray into this Irish author. I know it is well written but it just didn't quite connect for me.

His writing.
As with any short story collection, there were some that didn't grab me, but stunning language carried me through, nonetheless. The audio version is read by him which lent an extra power to this collection of stories that is deeply connected to his experience being attacked by an unknown assailant on the street.

I liked a lot of the writing but felt like the stories fell a little flat. Also, I was disturbed by the rape references and I felt like having a man write a woman's experience of rape and its aftermath is not always believable.

Enjoyed the first (longest) story; started reading each of the others and stopped after a couple of pages. Not surprising, as I typically do not read or enjoy short stories.

The writing in these pieces is beautiful, insightful, stunning. Reminds me of Mrs. Dalloway in all the best ways. The ending of the novella fell short for me, but the language got in my head and won me over.

McCann's prose is tight, beautiful, but often leaves you distant from the characters. But when he stays close, the emotional connection to the character is dead on.

The titular story of this collection is actually a novella of 140 pages written with the precision of a short story. While there are thirteen chapters, they do not actually present thirteen different perspectives on the incident, rather we mainly have the viewpoints of the protagonist/victim, Mendelssohn, and of the police, but there is definitely much review of videocamera footage and even reference to the complex range of vision of a household fly. We learn a lot about the elderly Mendelssohn, his success as a judge, his yearning for his deceased wife, Eileen, his regular habit of going to lunch at Chialli’s. The environment of a very snowy day in uptown New York is meticulously depicted, from the chill in the bedroom before the heating kicks in to jayshuffling: “watching the red man flash and the New Jersey lady fume and listening to her horn beep, and the whole of New York city build up behind her,” and the restaurant itself. Even at the end of the story, we are left in doubt as to whether the murder was actually manslaughter or premeditated, what is evident is where the real responsibility lies and how that person will never face justice.

The three accompanying short stories also involve devastating events, both with a satisfying twist at the end. In all four McCann invites the reader to draw their own conclusions, while gently nudging them in a certain direction. This is short story writing at its peak.

"Transatlantic: The Sequel."

I guess if it worked for you twice before, just do it again. The book is as enjoyable as [book:TransAtlantic|16085517] and [book:Let the Great World Spin|5941033], if not varying much from the pacing and voice of the previous two. I would actually give this book a higher rating on its own, but dropped down a star, subjectively and selfishly, because it is so similar to the previous two books.

Looks that I'me getting positively ...'biased' towards CMcC, like was the case with Carey, Brink, Coetzee. I admire such imagination, this kind of story-telling, narrative flow. Admire all the language games - with all their roots in Ireland, Eastern Europe, or Middle East. Admire that magnetic - if not solar - power of English. Deeply respect and share (as much as I can) that human sensibility.
Outstanding book.

Beautiful collection of short stories and a novella. I love McCann’s novella, but he also does the short form so well.