I was interested, for awhile, in this book - not passionate, but interested enough to continue reading. Buy by page 400 or so I lost patience. I didn't like any of the characters, and I didn't care what happened to them. There was a ridiculous amount of inconsequential text here that should have been edited. "Bridge of Sighs" is like a soap opera - a story that goes on and on, and you may watch if you have absolutely nothing else to do, but in the end you feel unfilled by what you've experienced. ( )

Boring! I clearly didn't get it. Hundreds of pages, decades of time and nothing happened! ( )

I did not care for the main character, Lou (Lucy). He is whiney and soft and pathetic. But as I read and other voices were introduced I realized that that at least in part is the character that Russo is painting. I suppose he reminds me of people who do not like change, do not like to leave their homes or their towns and experience something different.

The relationship between Sarah, Bobby, and Lucy made me think of a threesome and in some ways it was (though not sexually). The exploration of relationships and the choices we make that change our future relationships was interesting. ( )

"There are two kinds of people in this world....." So begins an oft used phrase that over simplifies our understanding of people into simple dichotomies. It also seems to be the view of the world that Richard Russo leads us into at the beginning of this novel.

Lou Lynch, an eternal optimist who views everyone he encounters in the best possible light is paired with his wife, Tessa, who views the actions of people for their ulterior motives. Their young son, Lou C. Lynch whose trusting temperment matches his father is paired with young Bobbie Marconi who trusts no one, especially not his father.

The story quickly progresses to a more realistic exploration and development of characters with all the complexities that motive, desire, class, and race bring to the spectrum of human behavior.

The setting is a small, dying, one business industrial town in upstate New York in the post-war era. Familiar territory shared with Russo's previous book, Empire Falls. The town tannery is polluting the ground water with industrial chemicals while failing to keep pace with changes in the industry. Thus the town is dying both economically and physically.

The story is told in retrospect from the vantage point of Lucy (Lou C.), Bobby Marconi (Noonan), and Sarah Berg Lynch as they turn 60. Much of the narrative is by Lucy as he copes with his wife Sarah's treatment for breast cancer. He tries to write down the past as a way to make it tangible. Bobby (Noonan) and Sarah's voices tend to be third person narrative.

Russo's writing is strong, engaging and he is compassionate with even his most despicable characters. These characters are well developed and there are several key incidents in the story that are told from the perspectives of different characters, and sometimes the same character at different times in their life.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. but felt that the last 100 pages could have been significantly reduced. It made no sense to me that a new, strong character (Kayla) is introduced in the last 50 pages of the book. If she is the the redeemer who pulls Sarah and Lucy back from the Bridge of Sighs, then this aspect seems to be bit contrived in relation to the rest of the story. Hence the last half-star instead of a full 4 stars. ( )

The Short of It:

A story about love and acceptance and the need for normalcy. This one moves at a much slower pace but has its moments. Those that enjoy books about small town life will enjoy this one.

The Rest of It:

This was my book club's pick for this month. As a whole, most of the group enjoyed it but felt that it was much too long. At the time of the meeting, I had not finished it and thought that it was "okay" but not great. However, now that I have finished it, I find myself appreciating the story a bit more.

In a nutshell, Lou C. Lynch (Lucy) is a young boy growing up in a small town. He is surrounded by a loving, supportive family but one that has its own challenges for sure. For one, his dad (also named Lou) is a simple guy with simple values. Lucy's mother, Tessa, is often frustrated with her husband's "pie in the sky" view of life and is determined that her son not follow in his footsteps.

Although I get Tessa's frustration, I also get Lou's eternal optimism. The ability to see good in all situations, and mean it...that's not a trait that a lot of people share. So when Lucy befriends Bobby Marconi, a rebel of sorts with his own problems, we see his parents react to that friendship in different ways. One wants to protect, yet the other sees nothing but good. Sort of a hard situation when a kid is in the middle of that.

As Lucy gets older, and falls in love with Sarah, it begins to dawn on him that Sarah may not want to spend her life in that town—that she may go away to college and not come back. Add to that the dynamic of Lucy's friend Bobby, and what you have are three very good friends trying to figure out who they are.

Have you ever chosen comfort over risk? The characters in this novel are constantly questioning whether it's better to love, or be loved. Is the comfort of family worth more than heading out into the unknown to find out who you really are? I'm not sure I know. I do get the "what if" factor. When you are presented with two choices, and you make your choice, sometimes down the line you ask yourself, "What if...?" To me, this is the main theme of the book. Things change, yet other things remain the same so you ask yourself, "What if?"

Although I agree with my book club that the book should have been trimmed down a bit before publication, I did find myself swept up with the internal conflict within each character. As for the slower pace, I felt that the pace matched that of a small town. It seemed appropriate to me. That said, I was a surprised by the ending. It felt a bit choppy but overall I enjoyed the book.

Russo's new book, That Old Cape Magic just came out and I may pick it up. From what I've read it also focuses on family dynamics and takes place on the Cape, how bad can that be?

Have you read a Russo book? If so, what did you think of it? ( )

Bridge of Sighs is a very long and sometimes engaging novel of three families in small town America (New York State instead of Maine as in Empire Falls). Tracing a history of some 50 years of optimistic or violent men and mostly dour women interspersed with some racial tension and hints of homosexuality. Not my favorite Russo novel. ( )

Pretty good, but not as good as Empire Falls ( )

(#42 in the 2008 Book Challenge)

What a joy this was to read. I am a big Russo fan and this exceeded expectations. The story flips between two men, in their 60s, who grew up in the same small upstate NY town; one stayed and one left never to return ... with one narrative going forward in time and the other going backward (for the most part, it's not that rigid). The plot is very much "stuff happens in a small town" and I was hanging on every word. The events that unfold are fairly standard: kids get picked on by bullies, black people get shafted in 1950s America but kindly old black people are still nice to little kids, parents keep secrets from their children, there is a wacky teacher at the high school, etc etc etc. It's not so much what happens though, but more the way the author successfully rations the information out to you -- not only do you get the plot elements in an order that makes sense despite all the back and forth, but your emotional response is delicately built up as a result of having received the details in a shuffled order. The biggest fault in this novel, and it's not overly intrusive, is that the female lead is practically perfect in every way, and it's a little much at times.

Grade: A+
Recommended: To people who like the "Turbulence Beneath the Surface in a Small Town" genre. ( )

A thorough and sympathetic story of three generations of three familes in a small town in upstate New York. Russo takes the time to fully develop the characters and the place. This luxury makes for a longish but satisfying and memorable book. ( )

I didn't like this book as much as Empire Falls, mostly because the characters weren't really likable. I almost stopped reading the book, and I agree with another reviewer, the book started to make me feel depressed about my life. But the last 50 pages or so saved the book for me, I couldn't wait to find out what happened to each of them, and the ending was satisfying. ( )

Long, lingering story of 3 generations in small town family. Covers their struggles, relationships with one another, excellent character studies.
A bit slow at one point but draws the reader back again. Worth it despite being slightly too long. ( )

I didn't want to come up for air, and then I didn't want to finish. ( )

Rating: A

I loved this book. Let me say that again. I loved this book. This was the February book club selection, and 8 out of 9 of us liked or really loved the book... one lady said it "didn't have enough plot." She's not a big lover of character-driven novels. I am. If you are, you'll love this book too.

Russo was kind of a genius, his two leading male characters (he uses multiple narrators/POVs, and they both get a chance in the spotlight), both take strong arcs through the story, and I went right along for the ride. I liked both of them in the beginning--I thought Lucy was funny and Bobby was awesomely irreverant--not so much in the middle--Lucy was too needy and Bobby was too selfish and immature--and they were both undeniably redeeming in the end. It's exactly what you'd hope for in characters. Both of the strong female leads (Lucy's mother and then his wife) are strong throughout, very few times do you not really like them (and when you do it's because their actions are being interpreted by somebody else incorrectly), but they're shining in their entirety.

In regard to the writing, Russo's prose is dense, you'll feel like you've been reading for hours, but you've only gotten through 10 pages. He paints an incredibly vivid portrait of this town, you're there with them experiencing it all. He also uses symbolism incredibly well--I picked up an interplay between water (which doesn't always run clean) as an ironic twist on truth woven throughout the story. Additionally, painting and impressions and images are a strong motif about perspective.

I do have to admit that I went through a period of about a week while reading the section directly leading up to and during the climax and it was a really dark time--it affected the way I was looking at things, which is what authors hope their books do, the problem being that this was a dark and heavy section. It's bleak. Life took on a different hue for me during this time. I actually uttered the phrase, "What's the point of it all?" Can you believe that? Crazy, huh?

Anyway, I loved the book, rated it an A (the only drawback was that Russo switched to Sarah's POV for the principal climax, which seemed off-kilter, she hadn't been used too much as a narrator and really important stuff seemingly goes on with Lucy that we only hear about tangentially after the fact that should have been more directly addressed).

I'll repeat my earlier sentiment, if you like character-driven novels, pick this up. Russo's a genius. ( )

Currently reading this (2/3 of the way through) and I am so drawn into the lives of the characters that it's hard to put the book down. This may be the best of his books. ( )

Meticulously written with deep character development, Russo has created a place I feel I could visit and know the town inside and out. ( )

Wonderful story! Some memorable characters, and a plot that is beautifully woven. An intimate glimpse of family, love, disappointments and survival. ( )

Another exceptional book by Richard Russo, and another insightful look at small town America.

Also interesting from a craft standpoint. It’s the story of a trio of friends - two boys and a girl. Their interaction comes to a climax in their senior year of High School, but the novel begins when they are 60. The portion of the story that occurs when they are 60 serves as a narrative wrapper around the rest of the story, which follows the two boys from childhood through High School, and the girl from about age thirteen on.

The parents play an important part as well, and the behavior of the children is foreshadowed by that of their parents. The 60 year old characters again have their behavior echoed by their own children.

Third person is used for all the characters except one. that one is used as the central character of the book, and his story is told in first person. He is also a slightly unreliable narrator, in that a lot of the story that he relates is contradicted by other characters. This adds an extra dimension to the storytelling.

There are plenty of echos in the novel, from the bridges that are in the title to the repeated character traits of the parents and children. Richard Russo’s insight into human character is what makes the novel an outstanding read. ( )

Rather dark, intriguing complexities of relationships. Non-linear nostalgia leaves some mystery hanging. Some very disturbing relationships and some very rewarding loyalties. ( )

Great characters. Realistic depiction of life in upstate New York. Ending with foster daughter did not fit with rest of book. ( )

This book is so good that I can't really bring myself to write a review of it for fear that dissecting and analyzing will somehow take away my good book glow. Russo weaves together the story of three friends and their complicated relationships with each other and their families in this masterfully crafted meditation on love, marriage, friendship, commitment, and what could have been. ( )

At first, this 528 page book, with its smaller-than-average type looked daunting, and it did take me a long time to finish. And now relating the experience is daunting, so I'll make some decisions, choose a path, and try not to regret it:

Bridge of Sighs is a slower-moving story than Russo's others, in part because this time, he has backed up with his camera and his memory, and gone for more of a group photo of the way things were in (fictional) Thomaston, New York. Once again, this is a story that takes place in a small town and centers on the struggling working class. However, unlike Empire Falls, which spent a lot of time in one diner and with one family, this story takes on three families, three childhoods, and the choices those three people make about how to spend the rest of their lives.

Most of the story is told by Lou C. Lynch, cruelly nicknamed "Lucy" as a child, a kind, sensitive soul who is almost pathologically afraid of change. Maybe more than "almost." The other two characters are Sarah Berg and Bobby Marconi. Long before we meet Sarah--from the first paragraph of the novel, actually--we know that Sarah will marry Lou, since he's the one who is always looking back in time and is now writing his memoir. Bobby Marconi was a high school friend, someone Lou always looked up to and admired. Both Bobby and Sarah will have terrible family issues that affect them deeply, emotionally, and each will make a different decision about how to recover and go on.

This novel explores the many different world views people can have, and whether or not anyone can truly change. Bobby and Lou are opposites in every way, and so their decisions are not at all as surprising or interesting as their family histories. Sarah is the one who had the hardest decisions to make, who had the most potential for regret. For her, Bobby will always represent the path not taken. Her choices are the ones readers will mull over.

There are many stories within this story, and many ideas to discuss. This time, Russo takes us back to the 1950s, and introduces a variety of interesting families, all with different challenges and parenting styles. Lou's parents seem to be an unlikely pair, but they prove to be stable anyway, despite their financial frustrations and different temperaments. They both obviously love their child. Sarah's parents are both too self-centered to be good parents, and have split, anyway. Bobby's father is abusive, and there are other situations, as well, that make Lou's life look very rosy, even though he's a poor kid putting in long hours at the family business.

This book does meander a bit. More than a bit. It meanders as much as the polluted river that snakes through Thomaston, but it is also fascinating and multifaceted. I've read over a bunch of reviews and see that some people think that the pace of Russo's latest novel is too slow, and also wonder why he included some of the characters and subplots, and my response is, he wanted to echo the pace of life back then in this little town, and also wanted to share a panoramic view of different lives for comparative purposes, because nothing is meaningful without that.

And, honestly, Richard Russo simply writes so well that he can take me anywhere. And that, folks, is my somewhat biased review. But then, aren't they all? ( )

Loved the characters. ( )

I listened to the audiobook, which no doubt added hugely to my enjoyment of this satisfying novel about growing up in a small, dying town in the east. Louis Charles Lynch (nicknamed Lucy by classmates) has inherited his dad's sweetness and naivety, leavened by his cynical mother's introspection and tendency to question things. All he wants to do is stay in Thomaston, work in his dad's small convenience store, marry his jr. high sweetheart, and live happily ever after. And he does mostly. All by itself, this would not make a compelling story, but Lucy is surrounded by more complex and tortured souls, and both his life and this book are enriched by their presence. Toothsome. ( )