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weejman33's review against another edition
3.0
Goal speed run is coming along nicely. Anthologies seem to always have preferable stories, but the three presented here were all equally captivating.
maviemerveilleuse's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.75
yodamom's review against another edition
DNF, I just didn't want to pick it up bad enough to finish,
I got to page 41 and was forever distracted
I got to page 41 and was forever distracted
jazose's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mbenzz's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Stars...
The premise of this book sounded amazing, but for me, the execution was lacking. The writing felt overly cluttered and hard to follow. Even though it's only 130 or so pages, it took me the better part of a week to get through this, as picking it up felt like a chore. Definitely not one of my favorites this year.
The premise of this book sounded amazing, but for me, the execution was lacking. The writing felt overly cluttered and hard to follow. Even though it's only 130 or so pages, it took me the better part of a week to get through this, as picking it up felt like a chore. Definitely not one of my favorites this year.
jazjaz's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
claaudeaa's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
fbroom's review against another edition
I should’ve known. I couldn’t connect to the characters because they were so many of them maybe? It’s a collection of few short stories that overlap. The bridge falls, 5 people die, The priest tries to understand God’s will. Why would these five people die? why them? so he explores each and every story but I couldn’t connect to any of the stories.
kcrouth's review against another edition
3.0
A priest, a chance eyewitness to a deadly accident, explores the lives of the five victims, seemingly linked only by the accident in which they died, discovering the mark and memories they left behind.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
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.”