“And then a sort of deep understanding. She sees it in their faces. Quieter than rain. Quieter than leaves.”
— Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

“The simple things come back to us. They rest for a moment by our ribcages then suddenly reach in and twist our hearts a notch backward.”

“They’re all throbbing with fear. We all are…. Bits of it floating in the air. It’s like dust. You walk about and don’t see it, don’t notice it, but it’s there and it’s all coming down, covering everything. You’re breathing it in. You touch it. You drink it. You eat it. But it’s so fine you don’t notice it. But you’re covered in it. It’s everywhere. What I mean is, we’re afraid. Just stand still for an instant and there it is, this fear, covering our faces and tongues.”
— Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

“All I wanted to do was to walk out into a clean elsewhere.”
— Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin



“You will be walking someday in the dark and the truth will come shining through, and behind you will be a life that you never want to see again.”
— Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin


“We hurt, and have one another for the healing.”
— Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin

“There are rocks deep enough in the earth that no matter what the rupture, they will never see the surface.
There is a fear of love.”