Barack Obama

And ya know what? That's the first I've heard of Colum McCann! This is apparently the book with Frederick Douglass touring Ireland and George Mitchell in it, which I have got to get:

Taking place in three countries and a half-dozen different time periods, the novel traces two histories: that of a particular family as well as Irish-American relations in general. Starting with the world’s first transatlantic flight, before jumping backward and forward in time, McCann shows how woven together modern American and Irish identities are, from the influx of immigrants in the 1800s to the Good Friday Agreement.

The first section of the novel focuses on three specific trips to Ireland: the first flight across the Atlantic, Frederick Douglass’ journey to preach abolition and buy his freedom, and U.S. Senator George Mitchell’s peace brokering between North and South in the 1990s.

The Duggan family finds itself in the background of these stories, witnesses to these men and their accomplishments, while the second section of the book tells the history of the Duggans themselves, tracing how brief encounters with the men like Douglass and Mitchell impacted their lives. McCann manages to place the worldly and domestic side by side, showing how each affects the other.