''TransAtlantic'' is a novel by

Colum McCann Colum McCann is an Irish writer of literary fiction. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in New York. He is a Thomas Hunter Writer in Residence at Hunter College, New York. McCann's work has been published in over 40 languages, and h ...

, published in June 2013. Based upon the book, Colum wrote the lyrics for

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

's song "TransAtlantic", released with the album ''

Nádúr ''Nádúr'' (Irish for "nature") is a studio album by Irish folk group Clannad, and was released digitally worldwide on 20 September 2013 and physically within the following week or two, depending on the country. It was the first new studio albu ...

'' in September 2013. He also wrote the liner notes for the album.

Plot

It tells the intertwined stories of

Alcock and Brown British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, County Galway, Ireland. The Secretar ...

(the first non-stop transatlantic fliers in 1919), the visit of

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

to Ireland in 1845/46, and the story of the Irish peace process as negotiated by

Senator George Mitchell George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 198 ...

in 1998. The book fuses these stories with fictional narratives of women spanning the course of two centuries.

Reviews

Reviews for the book have been generally positive. Theo Tait in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' commended McCann's skill as a writer though expressed concern at the plot becoming unwieldy in light of the many themes and story strands present in the novel. ''

The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'' also commented favourably on the novel, in particular the novel's "lyrical and emotional power". It was included on the longlist for the

2013 Man Booker Prize The 2013 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded on 15 October 2013 to Eleanor Catton for her novel ''The Luminaries''. A longlist of thirteen titles was announced on 23 July, and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of six titles, announced on 10 ...

. McCann discussed the novel on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme '' Bookclub'' in December 2015."Colum McCann - TransAtlantic"
''Bookclub'', BBC, 6 December 2015.

References

2013 American novels Historical novels Fiction set in 1845 Fiction set in 1919 Fiction set in 1998 Books about Frederick Douglass Random House books {{2010s-hist-novel-stub

Plot

Reviews

See also

References