The kaleidoscopic perspective in Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin (2009): trauma and transculturality

Resumen

This article argues that Colum McCann’s novel Let the Great World Spin (2009)epitomizes the Irish transcultural novel. It portrays transculturality through a considerable diversityof damaged characters who bond to overcome a common trauma. By engaging with transcultural,transnational, and post-multicultural theories, this article analyses some of the literary features ofMcCann’s formal experimentation that eventually alleviate pain and foster tolerance and empathyamong people with different backgrounds. Then, it explores the universalisation of trauma, wherethe local is made global and the characters deploy similar responses when exposed to traumaticsituations. The novel, an attempt to find grace after the trauma of 9/11, presents many characterswho advocate for plural perspectives and, as a kaleidoscope, it brings to the centre of the narrativethe differences among people and opens possibilities for beautiful and new configurations.