Until I read Twist, I didn’t know that the Cloud is deep in the ocean, not high in the sky. If it accomplishes nothing else, Colum McCann’s novel makes us realize how fragile the internet is and how easily it can collapse.

Anthony Fennell, a burned-out novelist and alcoholic, is assigned to write an article about a fiberoptic cable outage somewhere in the South African region. The repair mission commander, John Conway, is an enigmatic character obsessed with both his job and an actress involved in a British production of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot. While the repair crew searches for the damaged cable, something happens to the actress that changes Conway’s life.

These events occur against the backdrop of African poverty. As he prepares to write his article, Fennell compares his experience to a critical scene in the filming of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. If you know anything about the movie or Beckett’s play, you can imagine the rest for yourself.

Colum McCann does a masterful job of combining these elements to make a statement about despair. His narration is compelling and easy to follow. But as much as I admire his talent, I found this foul-mouthed novel depressing. The plights of the main characters suggest that our lives are pointless because we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control. If that were true, the human race would have erased itself long ago. The best rating I can offer for Twist is a rather generous three stars.

Chevron Ross's novels include Weapons of Remorse, The Seven-Day Resurrection, and The Samaritan's Patient. Click here for more information.