The Great Wheel follows young Conn (short for Cornelius) from Ireland to the United States in search of his future, and the resolution of his aunt Honora's prophecy for him, read from leaves in the bottom of a tea cup: "Your fortune lies to the west. Keep your face to the sunset and follow the evening star, and one day you'll ride the greatest wheel in all the world." He initially works for his uncle in New York, who owns a contracting company. But he decides digging ditches and laying piping, and accounting work in the office, aren't for him. At 17, when he has the opportunity, he decides to join his other uncle, Patrick, in Chicago. He's working on an amazing piece of machinery that will become the showpiece of the world's fair: the first ever Ferris wheel. And at two-hundred-fifty feet in height, other engineers are claiming that it simply can't be done. But Patrick has faith in Ferris, the designer, and Conn has faith in uncle Patrick.
And so we follow Conn and his companions in the months leading up to the Ferris wheel's opening, as they build the tremendous wheel from the ground up. But always in the background is the question of what will become of Conn once his work is finished: does he even want to continue working in construction? And if not, what will his future be?
This was a straightforward and pleasant read that I was able to knock out in an afternoon.
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