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Title details for This Side of Brightness by Colum McCann - Available

This Side of Brightness

A Novel

by Colum McCann
Dion Graham
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
From the author of Songdogs, a magnificent work of imagination and history set in the tunnels of New York City.
In the early years of the century, Nathan Walker leaves his native Georgia for New York City and the most dangerous job in America. A sandhog, he burrows beneath the East River, digging the tunnel that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Above ground, the sandhogs—black, white, Irish, Italian—keep their distance from each other until a spectacular accident welds a bond between Walker and his fellow diggers—a bond that will bless and curse the next three generations.
Years later, Treefrog, a homeless man driven below by a shameful secret, endures a punishing winter in his subway nest. In tones ranging from bleak to disturbingly funny, Treefrog recounts his strategies of survival—killing rats, scavenging for discarded soda cans, washing in the snow. Between Nathan Walker and Treefrog stretch seventy years of ill-fated loves and unintended crimes.
In a triumph of plotting, the two stories fuse to form a tale of family, race, and redemption that is as bold and fabulous as New York City itself. In This Side of Brightness, Colum McCann confirms his place in the front ranks of modern writers.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 25, 2021

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593417461
      • File size: 250545 KB
      • Duration: 08:41:58

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      You've never read a novel like this one. McCann's work ties past with present, the ordinary with the bizarre, calm with chaos. Centered around New York City, the story spans 50 years. The listener learns about the men who dug the train tunnels in 1916 and later about one descendant who lives in those same tunnels, deluded and addicted. What happens in between is carefully revealed in small, fascinating scenes that come through flashbacks. Peter Jay Fernandez lends a perfect voice to the novel, capturing the harshness of tunnel work, the desperation of loss, and the heartbreak of prejudice. With an amazing vocal and acting range, Fernandez brings this work to life. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Dion Graham's captivating voice is a perfect fit for the epic sweep of McCann's sprawling audiobook. The story captures the complexity of living and working in early-twentieth-century New York City, where Black, Irish, and Italian immigrants labor in perilous conditions, digging tunnels from Brooklyn to Manhattan. Deep under the river, a horrifying accident occurs, impacting the lives of the workers and their families for decades. Throughout the novel, the tunnels under New York are a refuge, a home, and a way of life. Graham handles the details of the story's multiple characters and timelines with ease, rising to meet the emotional impact of its moments of grief, joy, and heartbreak. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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