Ascension by Steven Galloway

In Ascension Steven Galloway has told a great story with some wonderfully diverse elements.  He has woven together the story of the circus, the feats of wire-walking, circus life, the persecution of Roma people, and family drama in one novel.  It's immensely readable with original characters.

What stands out more than anything, however, is the opening chapter.  Galloway has written one of the most tense, stressful chapters I have ever read.  In it, Salvo Ursari, his main character, attempts a walk between the (now destroyed) World Trade Center towers that left me sweating and breathing hard.  I didn't dare skip a single word, but was, at the same time, desperate to finish.  It's just twelve pages, but twelve pages that I will never forget.