Evan S. Connell (1924–2013)

How does somebody write a novel this perfect? The author takes us inside the head of a Kansas City attorney during the Depression era, as he confronts the challenges of raising a family and making correct decisions for himself and them, invariably congratulating himself on the wisdom of the path he has chosen for everybody, and dismissing their occasional suggestions that he might be cold or bigoted only after giving their hypotheses careful consideration. The book begins as a lightly show more humorous treatment of his thought processes and his perceptions of the foibles of the people and society which surround him, and gradually becomes a bit darker as his children force him to confront such perils of modernity as bohemianism and golf. The book is funny and wise, every character beautifully drawn, and also serves as an incisive portrait of the Kansas City of bygone days. show less

A joyless life rendered so plaintively and pathetically.

Mr Bridge could've just been another typical angry, miserable story of the mid-century, upper-middle class, white American man genre, as written by some of Connell's well-known contemporaries.

But somehow Connell imbues Mr Bridge with a hyper-realism - for example, instead of a blustery self-righteousness of a cartoon family man of the period, the contradictory self-righteousness that explains and summarises his entire personality, show more humanises him without excusing him - that makes this a frustratingly brilliant read.

Just as Mrs Bridge's pristine suitcase covers encapsulates her whole personality for me, Mr Bridge's showily understated Christmas "present" of stocks to the whole family+Harriet which he then takes back in the name of safekeeping just punched me through the page.

It has been ages since I've read Mrs Bridge, but I find Mr Bridge to be just as good a standalone novel. And seeing as I've forgotten most of the incidents that Mrs covered, I look forward to one day reading them both together as I'm sure there're some two-sided gems to uncover. show less

This is a modern classic and Evan S. Connell's debut novel, a sometimes sympathetic, sometimes uncharitable look at a woman's life. Mrs. Bridge of Kansas City is a woman who has lived within the confines of what is expected of her and she places those same restrictions and expectations on her family. Yet while she is the one who keeps the rules and knows what to do, this doesn't mean she doesn't also chafe sometimes or realize that there is something missing from her life, an entirely show more pleasant, financially comfortable existence that doesn't entirely cover for her lack of connection to her children or her husband's emotional and often physical absence.

Connell does not go lightly on Mrs. Bridge, spotlighting moments where her need to preserve appearances was silly or harmed her relationship with her children. But he's also often kind to her, revealing how little respect or support she receives from her husband. This book is also full of quietly powerful moments or humorous ones and Connell's descriptions of daily life allows plenty of room for the small disappointments and harms to be given their due. This quiet novel is a wonderful glimpse of a world that no longer exists, and of a woman who honestly did her best. show less

We met to discuss [Mrs. Bridge] yesterday, and it was a very satisfying conversation. Most of us (numbering about 15) liked the book very much, and we immediately began talking about our mothers or grandmothers, and how the need to conform so pervaded some of these women's lives. This is a portrait of a culture that is not really gone, even now, although the generalization may be fragmented. We all have our cohorts, whether religious, social, geographic, racial, or class, and each cohort has show more a certain amount of unspoken norms dangerous to transgress. Mrs. Bridge, of course, cannot step out of her cohort. Each time she initiates an individual action, however mild, she pulls back. Poor lady. She has exactly what she wanted, and that's the problem.

The language and style is wonderfully spare, and the reader (or listener, in my case) can look into the episodes of her life through a one-way mirror of crystalline description. Nothing happens except a life, and it's mesmerizing. show less