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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
3.5***
The novel begins at noon on July 20, 1714, when the “finest bridge in all Peru” suddenly collapses, sending five people plummeting to their deaths. A Franciscan missionary, Brother Juniper, witnesses the calamity and asks, “Why those five?” He feels this Act of God must have specifically targeted those people, and none of the other thousands of citizens who might have been on the bridge instead. So he investigates the lives of the five victims in an attempt to understand what happened.
This is a moral fable in which Wilder tries to answer the question, “Is there a direction and meaning in lives beyond the individual’s own will?” He explores the characters’ motivations in life, their triumphs and disappointments. Its universal appeal is that Wilder is writing about human nature – conflicted, noble, contradictory, loving, and exasperating. He holds a mirror up to the reader’s own soul, asking the reader to examine his or her own actions and reactions.
Then Prime Minister Tony Blair read the closing sentences of this work at the memorial service for British victims of the Sept 11 attack on the World Trade Center: “Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”
The novel begins at noon on July 20, 1714, when the “finest bridge in all Peru” suddenly collapses, sending five people plummeting to their deaths. A Franciscan missionary, Brother Juniper, witnesses the calamity and asks, “Why those five?” He feels this Act of God must have specifically targeted those people, and none of the other thousands of citizens who might have been on the bridge instead. So he investigates the lives of the five victims in an attempt to understand what happened.
This is a moral fable in which Wilder tries to answer the question, “Is there a direction and meaning in lives beyond the individual’s own will?” He explores the characters’ motivations in life, their triumphs and disappointments. Its universal appeal is that Wilder is writing about human nature – conflicted, noble, contradictory, loving, and exasperating. He holds a mirror up to the reader’s own soul, asking the reader to examine his or her own actions and reactions.
Then Prime Minister Tony Blair read the closing sentences of this work at the memorial service for British victims of the Sept 11 attack on the World Trade Center: “Even memory is not necessary for love. There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.”
Hats of to Wilder for making a story that occurs in South America read with the hallmarks of the fiction written there. Excellent character studies and a poignant portrayal of how we try to make sense of tragedy.
This is a beautifully written book that I had trouble getting into at times. It seems I was more interested in some of the characters than others (every chapter is the story about a different character that plunged to their death when the Bridge at San Luis Rey broke). It was also interesting to read about how the success of this book changed Thorton Wilder's life--as I am sure is true of all authors whose books become wildly popular "overnight."
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is one of those books that have been on my list forever. I knew nothing about the book prior to reading it. I'm not sure what I think about it. It's an interesting premise.
A bridge collapses in 1714 in Peru, and a Franciscan monk who witnesses wants to investigate the lives of those that were on the bridge at the time. Was it an accident, was it intentional, what did it all mean in the end? So he knocks on a lot of doors in Lima Peru, to find the answer.
The beginning and the ending of this book was indeed beautiful, but I found myself feeling glad it was a short.
A bridge collapses in 1714 in Peru, and a Franciscan monk who witnesses wants to investigate the lives of those that were on the bridge at the time. Was it an accident, was it intentional, what did it all mean in the end? So he knocks on a lot of doors in Lima Peru, to find the answer.
The beginning and the ending of this book was indeed beautiful, but I found myself feeling glad it was a short.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I can see why people loved this book when it first appeared in 1929. Wilder presents us with the back stories of five people who died when a suspension bridge gives way in Peru, sending the travelers plummeting to their deaths. Who were these people? Why were they chosen to die at that moment and in that manner? Wilder's fictional biographer, Brother Juniper, determines to learn what he can about the five, so he might better understand what led them to their deaths - which ultimately leads Brother Juniper to his own death.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
sad
slow-paced