TransAtlantic / by Colum McCann 304 p.

Linda beat me to this one! I also found the writing poetic, but have to admit that the style took awhile to get used to. This was definitely a high-concept book in its combination of fictional and real-life characters. Although many novels include historical figures, few put them center stage and, I think, fewer still take the risk of telling the story from a living, famous person's point of view. This worked beautifully for the pages on Frederick Douglass in famine-troubled Ireland. (Yes, I know that Douglass is no longer living,) I found this part of the book fascinating, subtle and moving. By contrast, reading from the point of view of George Mitchell as he leads the 1998 peace talks was less effective. It had a constrained, narrow feel, as though McCann didn't feel free to fully inhabit the character. Still, this was a wonderful read and I heartily recommend it.