McCann's sentence level writing is so incredibly good. I am in awe of the writing in this book. It also had a mystery that worked. I wouldn't necessarily call it page turning, but rather a deep character study. This sent me into a deep dive about the ocean floor and I'm grateful for it.

Gorgeous writing, powerful story, mysterious and alluring, with an ending that blew me away. For whatever reason I didn’t expect this to be a book I loved so much. Highly recommend.

An introspective thriller that explores not only the depths of sea cables carrying all our data between continents but also the depths of our unresolved life emotions.

Anthony Fennell, a discontented Irish writer who has hit both a writer’s block and a sense of life stagnation, nabs a magazine assignment to go to South Africa and cover a crew that specializes in repairing deep sea data cable breaks. He meets fellow Irishman John Conway, an engineer and diver who serves as Chief of Mission for a boat that coverages the Atlantic Ocean. John mostly wraps himself in an air of remove, but while waiting around weeks for the next cable emergency, Anthony does get a chance to meet Zanele, John’s partner who’s a striking, aspiring Black South African actress, and their twin sons.

Fascinated by John, John tries to uncover all he can about John’s seemingly incongruous background with only a modicum of success. Part of his quest also parallels Anthony’s own deeper dive into how he ended up in such a state a low self-regard and quiet despair.
When finally a cable ruptures due to a river landslide into a deep ocean abyss, Anthony sets sail with John and the crew. The cable repair proves one of their toughest ones yet- having to make guesswork of snaring the cable with a large, lowered hook. John also opens up a bit more to Anthony after a brutal attack on Zanele who’s left to England to stage a controversial staging of a Shakespearian play.

McCann leaves many deep questions lingering about the state of the world that’s so dependent on information zipping along the ocean’s depths in a very thin glass cable. With powerful and lyrical prose, and no ready answers, McCann also challenges us to reexamine the often-fragile emotional undercurrents of our own lives, that can get unexpectedly severed and in need of rescue.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Twist was my first book by the author and I've never read anything like it. Overall I found it to be gripping, informational and thought provoking. It did include more interpersonal commentary and family dynamics which I enjoyed and thought was done well. The ending has a massive twist I didn't expect which seems fitting. My only, very mild, complaint, is I wish it had been more about the underwater lines or been more explicit in the synopsis about what it was about. That's a very mild complaint, I overall loved this story, it will stick with me for a long time. Because the ending is so explosive, I think this would make a great bookclub read.

I really enjoyed this tense, atmospheric book - I never thought this would be the sort of read I enjoy but I was hooked. I loved the remote setting of the boat off the shore of western Africa and the narrative style, with plenty of hints of the doom to come. Plenty of intrigue throughout and I really enjoyed how it all wrapped up.

4 Stars for the topic and research but not for my personal taste. This is the type of novel that shouldn't be penalized for my personal lack of interest in the writing style or content for the author is very talented and weaves an almost poetic story, but I had to trudge through this. Perhaps I'm not intelligent enough or maybe it was just a lack of interest in the approach to a topic that I thought would interest me. I had zero connection to any of the characters and it took me weeks to finish this novel.

The award-winning Irish author Colum McCann has yet again stitched together an intriguing story based on known truths in his latest novel, Twist, which came out this month. As in his novel, Apeirogon, McCann continues to impress us as a great storyteller, with excellent character development and his ability to bring to light the sum of our existence as humans. An Irish journalist and playwright, Anthony Fennel, is assigned to cover the underwater cables that carry the world’s information. I certainly had no idea that our massive highway of information was not being transmitted via satellites and, instead, was happening deep beneath the sea! Fennel connects with Conway, a skilled engineer and freediver, on a cable repair ship, and the thematic journey of love, mystery, belonging, absence, and the upsides and downsides of severed connections begins. I am a huge fan of McCann’s investigative writing style and highly recommend this book!

I aim to be a completist in Colum McCann's works, though now I have only read 3: Apierogon (a favorite book), Let the Great World Spin, and now Twist. I can trust McCann's prose to make me pause and admire his turn of phrase, and his themes are always multilayered. Twist is about the fiber cables under the sea that power the internet and the crews who have to go and repair those cables if they break - but this is just the way he tells us a story about brokenness, loneliness, belonging, and the global impact of the choices we make. This was a haunting story focused on two men - the chief of mission on one of these ships and the journalist who tags along for a writing project. I did not know a lot about this subject and learned so much, but I also can't stop thinking about these characters and the larger ideas of technology and connection. This reading experience was like a kaleidoscope, where once I thought I had a handle on the picture, the author would turn it ever so slightly. So, so clever. I am glad I have already preordered a copy for my bookshelves. 4.5 stars.

DNF. Some sort of odd Hemingway lite. Men drinking too much. Regret. Free diving. Men not drinking at all while at sea. Regret. Disaffection from those they love. All women either embittered or objectified or both. Regret. What a self-indulgent yawn fest. No one cares about your regrets, guys. Trying being better people and you wouldn't have so many. Try that, maybe.

Colum McCann is a storyteller. In this work he spins the story of two Irishmen,: Anthony Fennell, a journalist, dissatisfied with life, and John Conway, a diver who heads a cable repair mission off the African coast. Fennell seeks the truth; Conway handily dismisses it. Both characters reflect one another. During the voyage questions arise about the motives of both and, when one goes missing, the reader joins in the quest for answers. It is not so important what the characters learn about one another as what the reader learns about the world of communication. McCann provides much in the descriptions of the cables, their history and the beautiful, mysterious deep sea world that surrounds them. These passages are vivid and unforgettable.

Twist (2025 Releases Today)
By Colum McCann
Random House, 256 pages
★★★★

“Everything gets fixed. And we remain broken.”

Colum McCann is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. If I were to ask you if you had any interest in reading about underwater fiber optic cables, I suspect that you would think I was joking. Nope! McCann’s latest novel Twist is indeed about cables and it takes some mighty good writing to stoke interest in such things. But, like the communication cables hugging the ocean floor, Twist is also about hidden things lurking within the human psyche.

Twist centers on two men who, in very different ways, are broken. Our narrator is Irish journalist Anthony Fennell. He has been a respected writer, but has grown bored and stale. Few know what a mess his personal life is. His ex-wife and son live in South America and he hides his pain in insularity and perhaps too much booze. As much out of escapism as burning interest, Fennell takes an assignment to write about crews that repair cables by dragging the ocean floor with a grappling hook to find broken cables, repair them, and lower them back to the ocean floor.

Where better for a broken man to go than the ends of the earth? Fennell’s journey begins in South Africa where he boards a ship captained by another Irishman, John Conway. But if you think Fennell and Conway will bond, you’re wrong. Conway is suspicious, taciturn, avoids the limelight, and projects a get-it-done attitude toward a job he seems neither to like nor hate. About all Fennell learns for quite some time is that Conway is dating Zanelle, a South African actress who is fast becoming a famous celebrity. Fennell has connection issues of his own, but he can’t help but wonder why Conway has chosen to leave “Zee” and sail away for an indeterminate time along Africa’s west coast. Why indeterminate? The ship can’t leave one spot until it actually finds all of the broken cables. It is a task akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Currents are strong in many parts of the ocean floor, cables get snagged on bottom formations, and all the crew knows are the approximate coordinates of where the cable was originally laid. Undershoot and you miss it; overshoot and you miss it. Either way, you must turn about and try again until you snag something not much larger in diameter than a heavy-duty garden hose.

Readers of McCann’s Let the Great World Spin (2009) will recall that tightrope daredevil Philipe Petit is used as a metaphor. If you think of fiber optics as a bundle of thread-like wires, you can infer that McCann has a thing about life on the thin edge. Petit hovered over 1360 feet into the air surrounded by empty space; Conway searched for a cable in the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes he even free dives to fix a cable, a skill requiring extraordinary breath control. Precarious odds doesn’t even begin to get it. Conway has an exacting job to do and Fennell has a lot of time to think. He is like the elusive cable in that much of the time WiFi is unavailable, unreliable, or access is tightly controlled. But Fennell does get enough online time to make inquiries about Captain Conway and learn that he's not who he says he is.

The ship makes its way slowly up the coast fixing cables that could literally leave much of Africa, the world’s least-wired continent, cut off from the world. The mission continues, though Fennell leaves the boat to pursue a bigger mystery that consumes him as he dives deeper and drifts further away from discovery.

The title Twist takes on various meanings, cable kinks, disconnections, unexpected revelations, twisted minds…. The novel has been compared to various other dark mysteries but to my mind, McCann has given us a new take on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Fiber optics as high-falutin’ literary fiction? Bet on it. Cables can be fixed once you find them, but can lost men be repaired?

Rob Weir

#Twist #NetGalley

Fascinating subject, great author. I know quite a bit about the world of undersea cables and I was impressed and captivated by Twist. Colum McCann gets it right--again. This book is an absolute pleasure from start to finish.

First, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I have not read any other books by Colum McCann, but I am adding them to my MUST- read TBRs.

It's hard for me to describe this book, so I won't try to categorize it. You can find summaries elsewhere. I was absolutely enchanted by McCann's prose. I highlighted so many sections to go back and re-read, I might as well start at the beginning of the book. Which I very well may do. His writing is just gorgeous, his characterizations full of life and energy. Those people live through his words and imagination. It's hard for me to believe they are fictional characters! Finishing this book was like saying goodbye to family and friends and I will mourn their loss.

I will be recommending this to my book club and everyone I know who appreciates and enjoys a great story, well developed characters, and a fascinating look into a field I didn't even know existed.

This story, certainly, highlights the fragility of the global communications system and how easily it could be disrupted. The dependence on deep water fiber optic cabling, which is largely, unprotected from sabotage is the basis of a gripping tale.
Irish Journalist and Playwright, Anthony Fennell, is assigned to cover the cable and the repair process in the event of a break. He joins Conway, who was born on Ratlin Island, Northern Ireland, on board the Georges. As luck would have it, report of a break was received and the Georges set sail.
McCann presents a cast of characters thrown together in a common profession in tight quarters where a lot is not said.
Conway's past creates curiosity and the relationship with Zanele, a South African actress who goes to London to pursue her artistic career adds to the mystery.
As the title might suggest- there is a TWIST.

"Twist" is intriguing, insightful, and a twisting story of how men's souls lurk beneath the surface of their consciousness, much like a trans-oceanic telecom transmission cables. You have to read the book to find the connections, but you won't be disappointed with your journey. The intricacy of the character development is offset by the complexity of the world's telecommunications systems buried under our oceans.

Be prepared to delve into the minds of two complicated men who are trying to come to terms with their deepest fears and desires, while learning more than you ever wanted to know about the world's massive and tenuous communications network buried deep in the ocean's of our planet.
It's not an easy read but it's a fascinating examination and reminder of how we are all really so very deeply connected.

This is an interesting story about the underwater cables criss crossing the world that carry all our data and information. Nowadays, we rely on satellites as well, but there are still plenty of these cables out there that need maintenance and repair. Anthony Fennell is an Irish journalist with writers block that takes on a job interviewing the crew of a cable repair ship, captained by John Conway. It was fascinating to read the logistics of how they repair these cables, using giant hooks to lower down to the depths of the ocean at just the right spots to drag up the broken cable onto the ship for repair, then carefully lower them back down. John is an experienced diver that can hold his breath for 8 minutes or more, and as Anthony learns more about him, meeting his family, he senses that John is on a mission, and failing is not an option. Anthony becomes obsessed with John, and what eventually happens to him and why. They are out at sea for months and the writing is beautiful, Anthony musing about nature and life, as he bides his time on the ship. You get a feel for the isolation these men have and their desire to just get the job done and get home. There's a good twist at the end and you get some explanation of what happens to John, but his motives are never quite clear. It's a book that will stay with you, and you'll think about it anytime the ocean comes into view.

Two of Colum McCann’s earlier novels - Apeirogon and Transatlantic - are among my all-time favorite reads, so I was eager to receive an ARC copy of his soon-to-be-released novel Twist, to be published in late March 2025.

Like all of Colum McCann’s novels, Twist is intriguing, a little mysterious, informative (but never dull), compelling, and . . . beautifully written. You never quite know where you’re heading, exactly, with a Colum McCann novel – and I think that’s always a good thing! In Twist, we learn about the extensive underwater cabling system that enables the world’s communication and information network – and the human know-how and manual labor required to maintain and repair that system when it ruptures. Symbolism and metaphor play brilliantly in any Colum McCann novel, and Twist is certainly no exception; there is much to chew on and think about here. The characters are all rather tortured, but fascinating. The setting is unusual and well-conjured (especially the underwater diving scenes). The storyline is compelling, and the pacing is perfect.

I very much enjoyed reading Twist, and I think fans of Colum McCann’s earlier work will too. Yes, it’s a challenging read – but worth the effort when you dive below the surface.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 25, 2025.

4.5 stars, rounding up to 5

Lovely written book dealing with communication cables in the bottom of the ocean. When a cable breaks, repair are dispatched to repair the cable. The story narrated by an Irish writer assigned to write a story about the repairing of the cable. During the journey he becomes interested in learning more about Conway, the elusive chief engineer. There is a twist towards the end of the book. A lush story.

I love a literary book with themes of water - sounds so specific but we are getting many lately which is great! I had never heard of this author and will now be reading everything I can get my hands on. What a great novel.

Book about repairing cables underwater until it isn’t! Clearly the main character Conway has serious issues and his unsettled lifestyle is an indicator of this . His bizarre relationship with his supposedly partner has so many red flags . The secondary character Mr. Fennell is up there with Conway in his lifestyle. His obsession with Conway and everything associated with him is unhealthy. The complexity of the cables underwater and their repair was interesting as was the capacity to be able to free dive . The rest of the book just was a deep insight into people who were unfortunately quite unstable.