Twist

A Novel

By: Colum McCann

Narrated by: Colum McCann

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An “urgent [and] ingenious” (The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice) novel of rupture and repair in the digital age, delving into a hidden world deep under the ocean—from the acclaimed author of Apeirogon and Let the Great World Spin

“The spirit of Joseph Conrad hovers over the text, but here the heart of darkness lies at the bottom of the ocean.”—Salman Rushdie

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage

“Everything gets fixed, and we all stay broken.”

Anthony Fennell, an Irish journalist and playwright, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. The sum of human existence—words, images, transactions, memes, voices, viruses—travels through the tiny fiber-optic tubes. But sometimes the tubes break, at an unfathomable depth.

Fennell’s journey brings him to the west coast of Africa, where he uncovers a story about the raw human labor behind the dazzling veneer of the technological world. He meets a fellow Irishman, John Conway, the chief of mission on a cable repair ship. The mysterious Conway is a skilled engineer and a freediver capable of reaching extraordinary depths. He is also in love with a South African actress, Zanele, who must leave to go on her own literary adventure to London.

When the ship is sent up the coast to repair a series of major underwater breaks, both men learn that the very cables they seek to fix carry the news that may cause their lives to unravel. At sea, they are forced to confront the most elemental questions of life, love, absence, belonging, and the perils of our severed connections. Can we, in our fractured world, reweave ourselves out of the thin, broken threads of our pasts? Can the ruptured things awaken us from our despair?

Resoundingly simple and turbulent at the same time, Twist is a meditation on the nature of narrative and truth from one of the great storytellers of our times.

Such lush language and great characters

There was nothing about this novel I did not. Definitely for the literary minded. There is also a mystery, although it was the rich, layered writing that spoke to me! Highly recommend!

Beautiful Prose

Beautiful prose, exciting story, interesting commentary on modern and historical societies. And a unique cast of characters.

holy fn sht

this reading was incredible! beautifully written and read. I think I may listen to it again.

Rupture and repair

A beautiful internal rumination on modernity, the age of information overload and difficulty of making connections with each other and repairing connections when they are damaged.

Brilliant writing, great story

Poetic writing. Compelling story and pacing. Reminds one of Conrad. Perfect narrator - his soft Irish lilt brings the story to life.