Colum McCann was violently assaulted and knocked unconscious last year, ending up with a fractured cheekbone and broken teeth, in addition to high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia. That traumatic experience is central to the four stories that make up his latest collection.
Certainly, the magnificent and beautiful novella of the title – in which a cowardly punch wreaks havoc – is concerned with violence and its ramifications. A similar theme surfaces in Treaty, where an Irish nun recognises her torturer and rapist of 37 years before on a news report.
Perhaps the most powerful tale here, however, is the quiet devastation of Sh’khol, which perfectly captures “the raw wedge of thrill” that is a mother’s love. McCann’s lyrical prose sings from the page, like musical notes, whether describing an “accordion of elbows” as a reader struggles with a newspaper on a packed commuter train, or the microscopic tragedy of an octogenarian crossing a busy Manhattan intersection.