Thirteen Ways of Looking

by Colum McCann

reviewed by Suzann Kale

It was a mysterious, dreamy, stream-of-consciousness that engaged me from page one.

The title novella, Thirteen Ways of Looking, told the story of a man's death, and yet through the brilliant narrative we learn all about his life. And we are drawn into his life - the family dramas everyone has, the daily miseries and joys we all experience, it's all there - but it builds up to the character's last day on earth. And yes, we see all different ways of looking at his life, and at our own.

One of the many brilliant things author Colum McCann does is to use details to give us an accurate picture of the larger whole. I love that about him. It's the small things- and the way the narrative wanders just like a mind does - that make everything else glow with fascination.

The other novellas in this collection, What Time Is It Now, Where You Are? , Sh'khol , and Treaty , were just as absorbing and intriguing.