Description

Book Synopsis
At the turn of the twentieth century, Nathan Walker comes to New York City to take the most dangerous job in the country: digging the tunnel far beneath the Hudson that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In the bowels of the riverbed, the workers - black, white, Irish and Italian - dig together, the darkness erasing all differences.

Trade Review
'It is, perhaps, the first authentic novel about homeless, about living below and beyond this rich city. He evokes so powerfully the stink of the present, the poignancy of the past' Frank McCourt 'Vivid, potent, beautifully measured, and sustained by astonishingly deft description' Maggie O'Farrell, Independent on Sunday 'A tour de-force social history of modern New York, exploring the labyrinthine netherworld of disused subway tunnels, from their creation by Irish migrant workers to their occupation by down-and-outs' Dermot Bolger, Irish Independent 'A dazzling blend of menace and heartbreak' New York Times Book Review

This Side of Brightness

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    A Paperback / softback by Colum McCann

    £9.49

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    RRP £9.99 – you save £0.50 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 28 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Bloomsbury
      Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
      Published 19 July 2010
      ISBN-13 9781408805916
      978-1408805916
      ISBN-10 140880591X
      Also in:
      Fiction Contemporary Fiction

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      At the turn of the twentieth century, Nathan Walker comes to New York City to take the most dangerous job in the country: digging the tunnel far beneath the Hudson that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In the bowels of the riverbed, the workers - black, white, Irish and Italian - dig together, the darkness erasing all differences.

      Trade Review
      'It is, perhaps, the first authentic novel about homeless, about living below and beyond this rich city. He evokes so powerfully the stink of the present, the poignancy of the past' Frank McCourt 'Vivid, potent, beautifully measured, and sustained by astonishingly deft description' Maggie O'Farrell, Independent on Sunday 'A tour de-force social history of modern New York, exploring the labyrinthine netherworld of disused subway tunnels, from their creation by Irish migrant workers to their occupation by down-and-outs' Dermot Bolger, Irish Independent 'A dazzling blend of menace and heartbreak' New York Times Book Review

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