Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

In 1974 Philippe Petit strung a tightrope between the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center and performed on it for the astonished pleasure of New Yorkers on their way to work. The incident forms an historical centerpiece of this novel about city denizens whose lives become subtly interwoven as the story progresses. Starting with an Irish monk who works among prostitutes in the Bronx, the story takes you to a Park Avenue penthouse where mothers who have lost their sons in the Vietnam War gather for mutual support. Let the Great World Spin is a good read, but it is sometimes to difficult to keep track of the characters because they are featured in separate chapters and only gradually come together.