Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Tim ReidyMarch 05, 2010

Every few months, I sit down with a colleague or friend of the magazine to discuss a book that may hold a special interest for America readers. Usually a novel, the books are chosen based their artistry and the ways in which--implicitly or explicitly--they address Catholic themes.  

The most recent edition of the America Book Club considers the 2009 National Book Award Winner, Let the Great World Spin. Inspired by Philip Petit's famous tight-rope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Colum McCann's is told from multiple perpectives and explores themes of beauty, coincidence and grace. My conversation about the book with Kevin Spinale, S.J., a Jesuit scholastic and rabid fiction fan, has just been posted to our site.

Listen to our discussion of Let the Great World Spin.

Last summer, the book club took up Brooklyn, Colm Toibin's story of a young Irish woman's journey to adulthood in an unfamiliar country.

Listen to my conversation about Brooklyn with James Keane, S.J.

And the first edition of the book club centered on up Andrew O'Hagan's Be Near Me, a novel about an Oxford-educated Catholic priest who settles down in a working class Scottish town.

Listen to our discussion of Be Near Me.

Have an idea for our next book? Drop a note in the comments boxes below or email me directly.

Tim Reidy

 

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Jim McCrea
14 years ago
"Brooklyn" was a very good book (but I'm biased:  I'm a long-time fan of Toibin's writing).
 
"Be Near Me" was an EXCELLENT book.
 
Maybe I'll have to get "Let the Great World Spin" and read it now.
Beth Cioffoletti
14 years ago
I was in need of something new to download to my Kindle (to read while on the treadmill), so I got "Let the Great World Spin".  It sounds fascinating - like something quirky that somehow sheds light on things.  Thanks for the suggestion! (I don't want to listen to the discussion til after I read it). 
14 years ago
Tim, I'd like to recommend a novel, "Dayspring" by Harry sylvester, forward by Philip Jenkins.  First published in 1945 and reissued in 2009 by Ignatius Press.  It is in paperback and available at Amazon.  Story involves a young anthropologist in New Mexico to study the Penitentes.  Fakes a conversion to Catholicism to gain entry to the group of Penitentes and takes part in their Holy Week practices.  Contrasts the authentic Hispanic spirituality with the hedonism of an artist colony in Taos (based on Mabel Dodge Luhan's groupies).  The influence of Freudianism on their sexual mores.  A novel of grace and conversion. Very relevant to our times.  Hope you give it a try.  I'll be reading "let the Great World Spin".. Thanks!
Beth Cioffoletti
14 years ago
I finished reading "Let The Great World Spin" this afternoon.  The book entertained, enchanted and changed me.  I am more in love and more alive for having read it.  Thank you for the recommendation.

The latest from america

A Homily for Easter Sunday, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinMarch 27, 2024
As Catholics around the world observe Holy Week, the hosts of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell, take a look at Pope Francis’ Holy Week plans.
Inside the VaticanMarch 27, 2024
A Reflection for Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, by Sam Sawyer, S.J.
Sam Sawyer, S.J.March 27, 2024
Catholics: Think twice before you bury poor St. Joseph upside down in your front lawn when trying to sell your house.
Simcha FisherMarch 27, 2024