Twist, by Colum McCann

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"Everything gets fixed, but we all stay broken." 

This novel is thought-provoking, memorable, and beautifully written. 

Twist is written in the style of a memoir, from the point of view of a writer who is going through some rough times in his personal life. In this narrative, Anthony Fennell is working as a free lance journalist, joining a crew at sea, repairing underwater cables that ensure Internet usage for large portions of the world. There is a strong metaphor running through this story about how this long trip helps Fennell to repair himself, as he watches the crew repair deeply buried cables.

Before and during this voyage, Fennell develops an interesting relationship with the man in charge of the exhibition, John Conway. This man is at the heart of this story, an enigma who keeps Fennell focused outside of himself and searching for answers to the mystery of Conway's identity and motives. 

One aspect I found fascinating about this story was free diving, and the depths that some people can go by training their bodies, using no scuba gear. 

Twist is indeed a deep novel, no pun intended, and I am very glad that I had the chance to read this. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for providing me with this experience in exchange for an honest review. 


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