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anacatnascimento's review against another edition
4.0
Philip Pullman está na minha infindável lista 'to-read' desde sempre. A trilogia His Dark Materials ia ser a minha escolha para começar a ler este senhor, mas a verdade é que o destino pôs The Broken Bridge no meu caminho a 1€, e não pude resistir.
Apesar de ser classificado como young adult, e de apresentar uma escrita simples e leve, este livro mostra uma profundidade que nos deixa ligeiramente espantados. A história agarrou-me desde o primeiro minuto, por me parecer tão verdadeira: achei que este pequeno episódio da vida de Ginny Howard, a personagem principal, era o tipo de coisa que eu podia descobrir ao ler as notícias de primeira página de um jornal. Mesmo incluindo elementos mágicos como a arte e o voodoo, Philip Pullman fez-me acreditar que tudo aquilo era real.
Assuntos como a homossexualidade, o abuso parental e a descoberta de si mesmo são abordados sem tabus, mas com graça, elegância e suavidade, à qual é impossível resistir e nos faz virar página atrás de página.
Apesar de ser classificado como young adult, e de apresentar uma escrita simples e leve, este livro mostra uma profundidade que nos deixa ligeiramente espantados. A história agarrou-me desde o primeiro minuto, por me parecer tão verdadeira: achei que este pequeno episódio da vida de Ginny Howard, a personagem principal, era o tipo de coisa que eu podia descobrir ao ler as notícias de primeira página de um jornal. Mesmo incluindo elementos mágicos como a arte e o voodoo, Philip Pullman fez-me acreditar que tudo aquilo era real.
Assuntos como a homossexualidade, o abuso parental e a descoberta de si mesmo são abordados sem tabus, mas com graça, elegância e suavidade, à qual é impossível resistir e nos faz virar página atrás de página.
bear_reading's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
strangethedreamer's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately I don't think that I'm the right audience for this book; I generally stick to genre fiction and tend to veer away from YA coming of age stories. From a technical standpoint, I enjoyed the writing; Pullman's prose in this book reminds me a little of Toni Morrison's work. I was impressed how well Pullman was able to portray a biracial protagonist and the Welsh setting was a welcome change from traditional books of this stripe which are frequently set in the American south. I also was grateful that there was no graphic racial or sexual violence in this book--as I've grown older I find most fictional characterizations of these kinds of violence to be clumsy and I don't have much patience for it. Overall, I found the pacing to be a little slow and never felt fully invested in Ginny's story. I cared enough to get through the book, but not enough for the story to stay with me afterwards. Overall, I think this would make a nice book as an assigned reading in high school, but it is not something I would read for leisure.
Final Verdict: would recommend for high-school students or as a classroom text, but not really for "fun" reading.
*Thank you to Open Road Integrated Media and Netgalley for the ARC of this book's re-release in exchange for my honest review.
Final Verdict: would recommend for high-school students or as a classroom text, but not really for "fun" reading.
*Thank you to Open Road Integrated Media and Netgalley for the ARC of this book's re-release in exchange for my honest review.
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
4.0
This is not a fantasy. This is not science fiction. This is a story of a fish out of water.
Ginny is one of the two black people in her Welsh village. She lives with her white dad and loves art. Art is life. Her mother was an artist and she feels she is carrying on the tradition.
This book is a slow build to something that is off. A mystery to be solved. The dialogue is natural. There is the usual of adults not wanting to say what really is going on and the kids having to figure things out on their own.
There is a bit of social commentary of art being different depending on your background, as in do people of color draw differently.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Ginny is one of the two black people in her Welsh village. She lives with her white dad and loves art. Art is life. Her mother was an artist and she feels she is carrying on the tradition.
This book is a slow build to something that is off. A mystery to be solved. The dialogue is natural. There is the usual of adults not wanting to say what really is going on and the kids having to figure things out on their own.
There is a bit of social commentary of art being different depending on your background, as in do people of color draw differently.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
jasonfurman's review against another edition
3.0
An early young adult novel by Philip Pullman, it is similar in character to his The White Mercedes. Although no where nearly as good as that one, it is still worth reading.
The novel is about a sixteen year old girl Ginny who grows up with a single father father in a coastal village in Wales. Her mother, she is told, is a Haitian artist. Over the course of the novel she learns that a number of her most deeply held truths are anything but. A half brother she never knew about moves in with her and she eventually uncovers more and more about her past and the past of her father.
Throughout the "broken bridge" functions as both a central piece of the story (a literal broken bridge that was damaged in an accident around when she was born) and also a metaphor for her various relationships all in various states of repair.
The book does not have one central revelation or plot twist that puts everything in perspective, instead it is an unfolding of Ginny's awareness of herself and the friends and relatives that surround her.
The novel is about a sixteen year old girl Ginny who grows up with a single father father in a coastal village in Wales. Her mother, she is told, is a Haitian artist. Over the course of the novel she learns that a number of her most deeply held truths are anything but. A half brother she never knew about moves in with her and she eventually uncovers more and more about her past and the past of her father.
Throughout the "broken bridge" functions as both a central piece of the story (a literal broken bridge that was damaged in an accident around when she was born) and also a metaphor for her various relationships all in various states of repair.
The book does not have one central revelation or plot twist that puts everything in perspective, instead it is an unfolding of Ginny's awareness of herself and the friends and relatives that surround her.
_oblivia's review against another edition
4.0
ho scoperto stamattina che pullman ha scritto anche il rubino di fumo (ok non c'entra con questo libro ma volevo rendere partecipe anche il mondo della mia scoperta).. comunque..questo libro mi è piaciuto proprio tanto! I temi che tratta sono vari e nessuno di questi è facile da affrontare.. morte, amicizia, separazione, ricerca.. segreti. Ginny mi piace, sarà per la sua passione per l'arte, sarà per quella sua aria un po' snob (anche se inconscia) o semplicemente perchè non si fa scoraggiare dagli eventi ma l'ho trovata non solo molto simpatica ma soprattutto umana. Come quando tenta di consolare Helen e nel frattempo nella mente pensa a come poter rappresentare quella scena sulla tela.. e poi si sente in colpa per essersi comportata così.. però va bene anche questo perchè dopotutto lei sta compiendo un cammino che la sta portando a crescere, a capire delle cose importanti delle sua vita, a scoprire che non basta fermarsi alla superficialità delle cose..
-l'arte esige, è crudele, prende brutalmente quel che vuole, senza badare alle conseguenze.-
-l'arte esige, è crudele, prende brutalmente quel che vuole, senza badare alle conseguenze.-
vsbedford's review against another edition
4.0
An astounding piece of fiction for the young-ish reader - Mr. Pullman provides another nuanced, intelligent, and intelligently drawn female protagonist struggling with herself and her place in the world. Excellent.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
robynmaire's review against another edition
4.0
*3,5
“Maybe art itself was a kind of voodoo, possessing you, giving you supernatural power, letting you see in the dark’’.
Ginny is a 16-year-old biracial girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she has a half brother. She is sent on a mission to find out everything that doesn’t add up from her past.
Even though this book was published in 1990 there were multiple mentions of climate change and I love the way race was handled in this book. Ginny knows she is different because she’s one of the only black people in her Welsh town. There are some interesting conversations about heritage like: ‘’All that ancestor stuff … I mean, I’ve got English ancestors too, haven’t I? It’s no good saying like my ancestors were African, so I’ve got to go back to my roots …. It was my English ancestors who sold my African ancestors into slavery. Where does that leave me? Am I innocent or guilty or what? ‘’‘You can’t go back’’ Stuart said. ‘’You can only go forward. You can’t forget either. You have to use everything you know.’’
I love the way Pullman writes conversations and it made the relationships even more enjoyable. I especially loved Ginny’s relationship with her best friend Rhiannon.
Ginny is sometimes kinda irrational, but in a way that is believable and suits her age. The people felt very real while I was reading it – way past my bedtime may I add.
It was maybe a bit too short to really stick with me but it was an enjoyable light read.
“Maybe art itself was a kind of voodoo, possessing you, giving you supernatural power, letting you see in the dark’’.
Ginny is a 16-year-old biracial girl whose life is turned upside down when she discovers she has a half brother. She is sent on a mission to find out everything that doesn’t add up from her past.
Even though this book was published in 1990 there were multiple mentions of climate change and I love the way race was handled in this book. Ginny knows she is different because she’s one of the only black people in her Welsh town. There are some interesting conversations about heritage like: ‘’All that ancestor stuff … I mean, I’ve got English ancestors too, haven’t I? It’s no good saying like my ancestors were African, so I’ve got to go back to my roots …. It was my English ancestors who sold my African ancestors into slavery. Where does that leave me? Am I innocent or guilty or what? ‘’‘You can’t go back’’ Stuart said. ‘’You can only go forward. You can’t forget either. You have to use everything you know.’’
I love the way Pullman writes conversations and it made the relationships even more enjoyable. I especially loved Ginny’s relationship with her best friend Rhiannon.
Ginny is sometimes kinda irrational, but in a way that is believable and suits her age. The people felt very real while I was reading it – way past my bedtime may I add.
It was maybe a bit too short to really stick with me but it was an enjoyable light read.
jericho27's review against another edition
tense
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
3.75
andreanw's review against another edition
4.0
When I read Pullman's Dark Materials, I never thought he could write something so different from it like The Broken Bridge or The Butterfly Tattoo. The reader can still feel his fantasy - in The Broken Bridge, there's the voodoo - but there's a real story before it. Ginny's problems are that of every teenager who's looking for their place in the world: school, friends, school, family... Ginny's story is a story about us teenagers trying to learn who we are.
Great book.
Great book.