This Side of Brightness A Novel

At the turn of the century, Nathan Walker comes to New York City to take the most dangerous job in the country. A sandhog, he burrows beneath the East River, digging the tunnel that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In the bowels of the riverbed, the sandhogsblack, white, Irish, Italiandig together, the darkness erasing all differences. Above ground, though, the men keep their distance until a spectacular accident welds a bond between Walker and his fellow sandhogs that will both bless and curse three generations. Colum McCannis the author of the highly acclaimedSongdogsandFishing the Sloe-Black River,which received the Hennessey Award for Best First Fiction, Ireland's top literary honor. His most recent novel isDancer. He lives in New York City. ANew York TimesNotable Book ALos Angeles TimesBest Book of the Year ABoston GlobeBest Book of the Year McCann's second novel is a magnificent work of imagination and history set in the tunnels of New York City. In the early years of the century, Nathan Walker leaves the Okefenokee swamps of his native Georgia for New York and the most dangerous job in America. A sandhog, he burrows beneath the East River, digging the tunnel that will carry trains from Brooklyn to Manhattan. In the bowels of the riverbed the sandhogsblack, white, Irish, Italiandig together; above ground, though, the men keep their distance until a spectacular accident welds a bond between Walker and his fellow sandhogs that will bless and curse the next three generations. Years later, Treefrog, a homeless man driven below by a shameful secret, endures a punishing winter in his subway nest. In tones ranging from bleak to disturbingly funny, Treefrog recounts his strategies of survivalkilling rats, scavenging for discarded soda cans, washing in the snow, sleeping through the coldin New York's netherworld. Between Nathan Walker and Treefrog stretch seventy years of ill-fated loves, unintended crimes, and social taboos. The two stories fuse to form a tale of family, race, and redemption that is as beautifully constructed as it is masterfully told. "Disturbingly beautiful . . . A dazzling blend of menace and heartbreak."David Willis McCullough,The New York Times Book Review "Inside the gritty and perilous lives of the men who dug the tunnels under New York's East River, Irish novelist Colum McCann finds poetry . . . McCann's prose shines like the waters of the East River on a bright winter day."The Philadelphia Inquirer "As luminescent as its name, resplendent with dignity, this is one of the few novels in recent memory that I mourned even as I read."Gail Caldwell,The Boston Globe "A rarity in this cool erathe urban saga with a social conscience, employing the large canvas once used by Steinbeck and Algren."Ambrose Clancy,The Washington Post "Moving, beautifully written . . . Told with gripping realism and subtle detail, the factshistory researchedglow like jewels."Richard Eder,Los Angeles Times "This is a novel about New York City and love, interracial marriage, sandhogs who dig tunnels, and men who build skyscrapers, dancing on beams hundreds of feet above the city. Even more, it is, perhaps, the first authentic novel about homelessness, about living beyond this rich city. And you know Colum McCann has been there: in language that makes you claw yourself with pleasure, he powerfully evokes the stink of the present, the poignancy of the past."Frank McCourt, author ofAngela's Ashes "Whether he's describing the brutal grace of sandhogs on the job

Colum McCann is the author of the highly acclaimed Songdogs and Fishing the Sloe-Black River, which received the Hennessey Award for Best First Fiction, Ireland's top literary honor. He lives in New York City.

“Luminescent. Colum McCann has taken the monumental force of the past and created from it a novel of wrenching emotional dimension, a novel resplendent with dignity.” —The Boston Globe

“Inside the gritty and perilous lives of the men who dug the tunnels under New York’s East River, Irish novelist Colum McCann finds poetry....McCann’s prose shines like the waters of the East River on a bright winter day.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Disturbingly beautiful...A dazzling blend of menace and heartbreak.” —The New York Times Book Review