The aching search for meaning amid the digital noise
Monique Verduyn speaks to Colum McCann about his new book, ‘Twist’, technology and disconnection
In our wireless world, we may think the instant communication we take for granted depends on the satellites we look up at on nights when the skies are cloudless. In fact, our hyperconnected existence is bound together by thousands on thousands of miles of inconspicuous subsea fibreoptic cables snaking across the ocean floor.
Four of those critical undersea cables — lifelines for Africa’s internet connectivity — snapped off the coast of the Congo in 2023. Docked in Cape Town harbour at the time, the Léon Thévenin, the only vessel authorised to repair that segment of the cable, headed out to the break. An obscure news article about the event caught Colum McCann’s eye and became the inspiration for his closely researched, astounding new masterwork, Twist. ..
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