The city of New York has seen suffering and heartbreak, but we are a resilient city. After every tragedy New York has suffered, New York has pushed on through. Jonathan Mahler of The New York Times said, Let the Great World Spin...is a heartbreaking book but not a depressing one. Throughout the book, McCann writes about a lot of heartbreak, but we always see hope intertwined, starkly contrasting the dark themes. McCann writes about these themes of heartbreak in hope in many of the characters stories, including Tillies, Corrigans, Claire and Solomons, and the city of New York. Tillie Hendersons personal story is one of grit, grief and despair. Throughout her life she experiences many sorrows, such as the many times she has been beaten by men. Tillie speaks about some of her clients when she says, ...the crazy ones grab you by the locks and pull you in and then they beat you silly, she also mentions one of her many pimps when she reflects, You love him until he beats you with a tire iron..The only thing is, if he loves you more, he beats you more too. Thats just the way it is (200, 203) At the end of it all, Tillie is jailed, and learns her daughter Jazzlyn has been killed in a car crash, leaving her grandchildren motherless. Due to these events, Tillie takes her own life, on page 236, when McCann writes, Id say goodbye, except I dont know who to say it to. I aint whining. Thats just the fuck-off truth. God is due his ass-kicking. Here I come, Jazzlyn, its me. These incredibly sad and horrific events actually end up leading to optimistic futures, for many. For example, Tillies grand daughter ends up living a fairly successful and happy life, away from the walk. McCann writes, ...[Jaslyn] got sent to Yale... (329.) We learn more about Jaslyn later when McCann writes, Well, Im sort of an accountant, [Jaslyn] says...Well, Im at a small foundation. We help with tax preparation. (329) . We also see another example of hope arising from this situation when Gloria decides to adopt Tillies grandchildren, giving her another chance to be a mom after her original boys died at war. McCann writes, I used to think it had all ended sometime long ago, that everything was wrapped up and gone. But nothing ends... Janiceshe was the older of the twolet her fingers uncurl and reached out to me. Nothing felt better than that, not in a long time. (322) As we can see, from Tillies heartbreaking situation rises hope and optimism for many others. Another great tragedy which occurs in this book is one of the most central characters to the story is killed in a car accident. Corrigans loss affects many, namely his lover Adelita. Corrigan is the second lover Adelita has lost and we see her go into a state of complete shock. McCann writes, And so this is how I will leave [Corrigan] as much, and as often, as I can. It wasit isa Thursday morning a week before the crash, and it fits in the