Analyzing the Network of Traumas in Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin

Abstract

Since classic Caruthian trauma theory cannot account for novels juxtaposing several historical traumas, this paper explores network theory as a new analytical approach to trauma narratives. A reading of Colum McCann’s novel Let the Great World Spin demonstrates how traumas become linked in a network and explores the effects of this trauma network on characters, readers, and main themes of the novel.