Customer Reviews

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Could you imagine crossing a raging river by means of a bridge made from braided grass. Not a thought I am comfortable with. It could collapse beneath my feet.

Thornton Wilder was inspired by a such a collapse that occured in the 1890's in Peru over the Apurimac River. In his 1927 book he ponders the lives of the people who were lost in his fictional bridge collapse.

Brother Juniper, a Franciscan monk, witnesses this collapse and while most people thank God that they weren't on that bridge, he wonders why God choose that moment, when those specific people were on the bridge, to tumble the bridge into the river. He spends the next six years investigating the details of the lives of those five victims to try and find a scientific rational. Did these people know each other, were they tied together, were they good people or were they bad, was this a punishment or a reward that they died at that moment.

Very quickly our narrator, Brother Juniper, delved into the life of the first victim Dona Maria the Marquesa de Montemayor. I was a bit confused as to why we were being told all these intimate details of her life, but figured if I kept listening all would be made clear. Perhaps I missed a detail as I was driving while listening and my attention was foremost on the road not the story. Turned out that I needed to know the true person to Dona Maria to understand her frame of mind and her relationship with her daughter so that I could later understand her death.

The life of each victim of the diaster was equally presented; Pepita, the companion of Dona Maria; Esteban, the surviving orphan twin; Uncle Pio, man of all trades; and finally little Jaime, sickly young boy, nephew of sorts to Uncle Pio.

Mr. Thornton had me convinced that this story was absolutely true. That he had travelled to Peru and searched out the documents of the Friar and presented a synopsis of that massive tome.

So what did I get out of this? That we are put on this earth for a reason, to learn a lesson that perhaps we didn't learn in a previous life. Each of these five people had reached that point in their lives where they had to answer or face that final question and because they showed they had learned that lesson, they were granted the grace of dying. Next they could be reborn to a new life and a further lesson to be learned. I don't know what you will find when you read this book, but that's one of the great things about reading, we can all read the same words and we each can get something totally different from them.

1928 Pulitzer Prize winner

one of the greatest books i will ever read. so deep and so beautifully written, everyone must read it!

If you want to read a novel written in masterful, melodic prose with exquisite character development, an intriguing and beguiling plot structure, and a work of profound substance and meaning, read this book. It is a true work of art. Read it, then read any contemporary American novel, read any winner of the National Book Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, etc., and see the dearth of talent that exists among even our most "distinguished" prose stylists. Read it aloud and hear how a master of the English language can construct a narrative that is as perfect to the ear as a piece of classical music.

'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' is a deceptively simple set of inter-related stories about a handful of people who perish when a primitive bridge collapses in eighteenth century Peru. Sounds dull? Well,.. wrong. Thornton Wilder does a fine job in describing personal angst and hardship of these people; their plight can easily be told in a modern setting. I was especially moved by the one story of a older woman trying to come to terms with the decaying relationship between herself and her daughter. Yet, unsurprisingly, not all the stories affected me personally. Sort of hit-and-miss. But in the end I felt moved by it all; this short book does leave you with the feeling you've read something significant.

Bottom line: an uneven but ultimately very satisfying read.

I read this book in a 2 day period. I was kind of lost after the 3rd part. I will try to reread it and hopefully I can get more out of it. I just know noticed they made a movie of it. Maybe I need to see the movie!! Still its okay!

The story takes place in South America in the 1700s, as five people die when a rope bridge fails and they fall to their deaths. A priest is convinced that God has punished these five for a reason, and he sets out to discover the evil in their pasts that led God to destroy them. What you will uncover is a story and an ending that will come back to touch you again and again. Beautifully told and one of the books I will always treasure.

This is a great book, and I have enjoyed reading the reviews also. A lot of people really liked the book and thought about it. I think the review by "richard_t" from South America is beautiful, and it made me understand the book better. Thanks.

The language of this book is melting, like warm sunlight on a wooden surface. At times the story is heartbreaking. Esteban being torn from his twin and the hopeless love a mother holds for her daughter. However, always there is the beauty of the language that Wilder uses to convey his story and meaning to his readers. The lives of the characters within are all intertwined in one way or another and it is fascinating to discover how.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey takes place during the early 1700's. A famous bridge called the Bridge of San Luis Rey collpases and takes the lives of 5 people. A monk named Brother Juniper witnesses this tragedy and tries to figure out "Why those five?". Each chapter delves into the lives of the victims before their death.

"The Bridge of San Luis Rey" is a fairly short book with difficult, but vivid vocabulary words. I had to reread a couple of passages to interpret the message but if you understand what is happening, this book becomes very interesting. As the lives of the victims are being unraveled, the mystery is being uncovered: "Is it an act of God that took their lives, or is it fate?"

This is a great piece of American 20th century fiction. Wilder is best known for Our Town, but won the Pulitzer for this work. One reviewer -- "Whitaker"-- seems to believe Wilder's book was originally written in Spanish and is a piece of Latin American "folklore". Of course readers who read the back cover will know that Wilder was born in Wisconsin and as American as apple pie. The book was not translated into English, it was written in Wilder's brilliant american prose. A must-read.