My Favorite Narrator

My favorite narrator throughout the many books that I've read would be the first-person narration in Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann.  The first-person perspective is really an interesting viewpoint because it looks at the overlapping lives of the different characters in the novel.  This type of narration is central to this story because it allows the reader to see the overall concept and progression of the story, while the characters must struggle to learn them on their own.  This fits the story so well, and is the main reason why it's such a good novel to read.  It does not fit the normal first-person boundaries in the sense that it only follows one character, but instead there are many different characters who narrate at different points in the story.  This enables the reader to understand what each character thinks of another, and also predict the impact the different characters will have on each other.

The novel focuses on the summer of 1974 in New York City, and in particular the type rope walk that took the bustling city by storm.  Within this period, the lives of many different characters are followed and the audience is able to gain the perspective of different races, classes, and groups during a changing time not only in New York but in the entire world.  The story follows characters like Corrigan, a Jesuit brother working with prostitutes in the inner city, Claire, a grieving mother who lost her son in Vietnam, and Lara, a recovering drug addict who plays a role in Corrigan's death and carries out a relationship with his brother.  All of the characters lives overlap in some way, and the narration is what illustrates how the characters react to the situation each has been put into.  I find it most interesting to get another character's point of view on a certain person after they have already narrated.  I found that it changed my perspective on almost every character, as it gave an unbiased look at each persons life.

This is my favorite narration because of all the new things I learned about the city and the characters because of the changing perspective.  The overlap is just so interesting, and in many cases unlikely, but McCann does a great job tying it all together to create this marvelous story.  I would recommend it based purely on the fact that it keeps the reader extremely interested as they don't full into the lull that a one person narration often creates.  The changing worldview really keeps the audience on it's toes and makes the novel and narrator one of the best I've read.