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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
What a treat. I picked up this book from my mother's bookshelf after first reading "Our Town" about a year ago. She'd studied it in a Journalism intensive -- the point was to think about journalism as a compact literary art in its own right, and that fiction had something to teach all writers. I think I'll return to it later to study it myself. You can definitely detect Wilder's playwright background; the story is propelled by action, but in between are some incredible insights into human character and the nature of things that can be said, not just intimated. Given the framing device of the priest trying to decide if these victims of the act of God deserved to die, the omnipotent narrator ... popped off.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
From the very first sentence, this book had me engrossed in its story. The narrator in Wilder's novella makes these characters seem both real and yet somehow distant from the audience, almost like strangers we read about in the news. And maybe that is how Wilder intended it, that these random acts of disaster can happen to anyone walking along the street.
Wilder is not the first author to write about existentialism and a higher purpose, but I find it difficult to believe anyone could wrote it any better. This book's main theme is about the philosophy of existentialism. As one character puts it, "Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan." While Wilder never really gives us a definitive answer, he does wrap up this short read quite nicely with his final chapter. "There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning." We will come onto this Earth and die on this Earth. Some will miss us but eventually we'll all be forgotten remnants of the past. While some may say this is a depressing thought, Wilder says that the love that we share on this planet makes it all worth it, regardless of whether it's all random or not.
None of this clicked for me until those final few pages. All these characters are connected by the different types of love we can feel for our fellow humans: maternal, fraternal, romantic, etc. It's these relationships that make it all worth it. Ironically, it's the bridge of love for the dead that keep these characters in the survivors' thoughts and hearts. A very poetic thought.
Wilder is not the first author to write about existentialism and a higher purpose, but I find it difficult to believe anyone could wrote it any better. This book's main theme is about the philosophy of existentialism. As one character puts it, "Either we live by accident and die by accident, or we live by plan and die by plan." While Wilder never really gives us a definitive answer, he does wrap up this short read quite nicely with his final chapter. "There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning." We will come onto this Earth and die on this Earth. Some will miss us but eventually we'll all be forgotten remnants of the past. While some may say this is a depressing thought, Wilder says that the love that we share on this planet makes it all worth it, regardless of whether it's all random or not.
None of this clicked for me until those final few pages. All these characters are connected by the different types of love we can feel for our fellow humans: maternal, fraternal, romantic, etc. It's these relationships that make it all worth it. Ironically, it's the bridge of love for the dead that keep these characters in the survivors' thoughts and hearts. A very poetic thought.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Every word a gift.
luvpyrs.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/review-the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey-by-thornton-wilder/
This slim classic novel starts with tragedy involving five characters, but delivered in such unemotional and spare prose that it strikes the reader harder than if more harrowing details were given. Instead of the scene of tragedy, what Wilder and witness Brother Juniper are interested in are the truncated lives of each of these victims, and for Brother Juniper, proof of some divine providence at work, and a sovereign and benevolent God behind the tragedy.
What follows is a chapter devoted to each of these victims, or if closely related, two characters share a chapter, and what we find out is the grandeur of life, of the way humans as social beings make an impact on others no matter how small their circle may be, the love, pain and grief of living; in other words the unmeasurable meaning of private lives. Was there a discernible design to their fates? Did the pattern of their lives in any way signal this ghastly end? Did any of them deserve to be on that bridge when it collapsed?
The book addresses these questions and more, but whether or not it answers them is something each reader has to decide for himself. This is one of those books that bears reflection and speaks to the individual reader on his own terms, which I find is what makes it a significant work.
What follows is a chapter devoted to each of these victims, or if closely related, two characters share a chapter, and what we find out is the grandeur of life, of the way humans as social beings make an impact on others no matter how small their circle may be, the love, pain and grief of living; in other words the unmeasurable meaning of private lives. Was there a discernible design to their fates? Did the pattern of their lives in any way signal this ghastly end? Did any of them deserve to be on that bridge when it collapsed?
The book addresses these questions and more, but whether or not it answers them is something each reader has to decide for himself. This is one of those books that bears reflection and speaks to the individual reader on his own terms, which I find is what makes it a significant work.
I enjoyed the story, but I've already spent a significant amount of time thinking about the main themes of this book, so I didn't find it particularly remarkable. I'm glad I finally read it though.
More a book of connected short stories than a novel. I liked the descriptions of the characters, but the book too obviously addressed the themes of why certain people lose their lives in unusual circumstances and the importance of love (not in romantic sense). Gave it four stars because of the quality of the writing and complexity of the characters.
This was a beautiful exploration of grief and story and I truly adored it. I think it is truly underrated and should be more read and discussed.
Also the writing and style of Thornton Wilder is one that I find compelling and addictive from the beginning. I also appreciate that it takes unconnected characters, their lives and aftermath of their death.
Also the writing and style of Thornton Wilder is one that I find compelling and addictive from the beginning. I also appreciate that it takes unconnected characters, their lives and aftermath of their death.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder was the 1928 Pulitzer Prize winner. Set in Peru this historical fiction explores the ways in which the actions of individuals might play together in some great cosmic whole. The novel traces the lives of three of five victims of an Incan rope bridge and the friar who decides to use the tragedy to finally prove God's existence.
The first and final chapters focus on the bridge and friar while the middle three trace the lives of three of the dead: the Marquesa de Monte mayer, Esteban, and Uncle Pio. Although brother Juniper sets out to document every detail of their lives he never learns "the central passion of Doña María's life; nor of Uncle Pio's, not even Esteban's." (p. 7). The randomness of life and the secret driving forces of people is a central theme of The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
Although the novel is only 116 pages, being really more of a novella than a novel, it is one that needs to be read slowly and pondered. I reread a number of passages feeling comfortable taking the time to rethink what I'd just read since I wasn't committed to a lengthier work. For its turn of phrase and its location, I was reminded a bit of Isabel Allende's novels.
The first and final chapters focus on the bridge and friar while the middle three trace the lives of three of the dead: the Marquesa de Monte mayer, Esteban, and Uncle Pio. Although brother Juniper sets out to document every detail of their lives he never learns "the central passion of Doña María's life; nor of Uncle Pio's, not even Esteban's." (p. 7). The randomness of life and the secret driving forces of people is a central theme of The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
Although the novel is only 116 pages, being really more of a novella than a novel, it is one that needs to be read slowly and pondered. I reread a number of passages feeling comfortable taking the time to rethink what I'd just read since I wasn't committed to a lengthier work. For its turn of phrase and its location, I was reminded a bit of Isabel Allende's novels.
I was a bit disappointed by this one. The blurb made it sound almost like a mystery but it was more of a description of the lives of some people.
I did like learning a bit about the lives of people in 18th Century Peru (An aristocrat, an orphan and an early form of manager/publicist) but their stories were a bit repetitive and didn't hold my attention. The lives of these people all intermingled very strongly and I would have preferred the story if their connections had been more tenuous.
In the end, I didn't really understand what the point was.
I did like learning a bit about the lives of people in 18th Century Peru (An aristocrat, an orphan and an early form of manager/publicist) but their stories were a bit repetitive and didn't hold my attention. The lives of these people all intermingled very strongly and I would have preferred the story if their connections had been more tenuous.
In the end, I didn't really understand what the point was.