Between the Bridge and the River

Best for: Others seem to like this, and I don’t want to insult them or their taste, so I’ll just say — I’m not sure who it’s best for, but it sure as shit isn’t me.

In a nutshell: The lives of loathsome men and superfluous women intertwine in a weak, ridiculous, and boring novel.

Worth quoting:
Nothing. Nothing is worth quoting, unless it’s in an effort to point out how sexist and / or racist Mr. Ferguson’s writing comes across to me.

Why I chose it:
You all. You did this to me. I was not going to participate in the November book club, but I’m attempting to do a blackout BINGO, so I had to read it. I’m not pleased. I’ve not disliked fiction this much since those free Cinderella revisited books we got to review a few show more years ago.

Review:
No wonder I had trouble finding this book in Mr. Ferguson’s home country. They’re realy doing him a favor by pretending this book doesn’t exist. I ended up buying it via Audible, and listened to it on long runs so I could experience it in chunks. I took some notes on my phone as I ran, hoping that perhaps I’d be able to write that it started slow but ultimately won me over.

Nopety nope nope.

The plot itself is, I suppose, interesting. Maybe? I don’t know. I rarely read fiction, and I think the last fiction I chose with a male main character was The Martian three years ago, which I enjoyed. Generally speaking, though, I got enough exploration of the male experience in high school English. And this book certainly didn’t make me any more interested in seeking out male protagonists or anti-heroes.

There are few women in this book, and they all exist to serve the men. Even the most fully-formed woman, Claudette, is basically just there to help George figure some shit out. It’s frustrating and sexist. Mr. Ferguson is not good at writing women, and that is pissing me off again as I write this review, so I’ll just leave it there.

I also struggle with authors who make their characters so repugnant that they use slurs and are all universally bigots. Can it really be considered a thoughtful character choice when all of your characters are shitty bigots? I started to wonder if Mr. Ferguson just wanted an excuse to use racial slurs / crappy accents / racist descriptions of people. That seems unfair to Mr. Ferguson, but also, perhaps it’s something he should think about?

Finally, the thing that I think bothered me the most is that the simple act of “being fat” is apparently the most awful, disgusting, and evil thing Mr. Ferguson can think of. Saul is fat, other people are fat, and Saul is described as disgusting. This ventures over to ableist near the end, when Saul seeks healing (he’s now also in a wheelchair), and is told he can’t be healed because “that’s who he is.” Now, perhaps Mr. Ferguson meant something else, but I heard it as suggesting that if you’re fat and in a wheelchair, you’re a bad person. And I’m super not okay with that. I’m not okay with any of this lazy writing, but this got me so pissed I almost gave up on the book, but I only had a little bit left.

I’m flummoxed that this is the book that the CBR folks thought we all should read and discuss this fall. There are a bunch of different little side stories that theoretically could be considered interesting, but overall I was super bored, and when I wasn’t bored, I was pissed. Clearly I’m not the target audience, but I am having such a hard time figuring out what is appealing about it. show less

My Rating: A+

My Review:
This book is about spirituality, not necessarily religion. It's about good and evil, but not as a big monster and a great hero, but about the good and evil in humanity. It's about growing up and changing and dealing with what life hands you and sucking it up and getting over it, after wallowing in self pity for a while.

Between the Bridge and the River caught me completely off guard. Coming from Craig Fergusson, I expected rowdy hilarity, some sex jokes and a lot of great fun. These were all components of this book but I was not expecting the complete depth that is offered in this text. It's a bit dark and quite literary, with some of the best writing I've read. It reminded me of Douglas Coupland's work and also of show more Christopher Moore, in the sense that you think you're being carried along happily on a funny train and then all of a sudden, you're really thinking.

Only one thing bothered me in this novel, and that was a beautiful phrase that at first was like a huge dramatic sigh and it fit perfectly, but it was used over and over again and I'm not sure if it was suppose to be like that, or if he just didn't realize how often it was used, but it was a bit like beating a dead horse by the end.

Other than that, this book was pure perfection and I absolutely can't wait for Craig to write another one. show less

A hilarious religious novel. At first I thought it was a collection of short stories because the first three chapters didn't seem to have anything to do with each other, but it turned out that the threads connected along the way. Fraser and George grew up together. Fraser becomes a Televangelist in Scotland. George becomes a Good Guy who gets cancer and realizes that's really pretty much all he is. The other main thread follows Saul and Leon, brothers who grew up in an orphanage, run away and end up founding a religious group that asks Fraser to a big conference in Atlanta. How he gets there and how Saul and Leon come to start their group is explored in the following chapters with brief check-ins with George.
I really admire the writing show more style, particularly the asides in which the author tells us things about the characters, their ancestors, and odd connections between them and then says, "of course he didn't know that." There are myriad literary and pop culture references, but he veils them in an amusing way: a starlet called Meg Roberts, a playwright called Anthony Boyd-Webster, etc.
I really want there to be a sequel to this, as I feel like it wasn't quite resolved, however I don't know that there's enough material for a whole 'nother book, maybe one that features or cameos some of these characters. I don't know. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it. show less

This is, in a lot of respects, the novel I wish I had the talent to have written. Ferguson explores several fascinating themes while refraining from passing judgment on his characters. Here's what I had to say in my literary blog about "Between the Bridge and the River":

Fraser, a Scottish TV evangelist, leaves for America ahead of a career-destroying scandal. George, an estranged friend of his from childhood, is dying. Leon and Saul are transient brothers, trading on the former's charisma and talent and the latter's conniving to break into Hollywood. Uniting them are a series of events, the full meaning of which is only revealed to the reader.

First-time author Ferguson weaves a fascinating tale of what he calls, "unexpected redemption." show more The pace of the novel is brisk, helped along by the brevity of the chapters (some are a mere two pages). In fact, at times it feels more like a collection of vignettes than a traditional novel; one can easily see Ferguson dashing off a chapter here or there, as his schedule and inspiration permitted. Given the philosophical and emotional density of some of the passages, it's actually nice to be able to turn the page and find a conveniently placed stopping point.

There are some distractions throughout; Ferguson replaces real-life names of entertainment people and businesses with fictitious knock-offs (for obvious reasons). It might be impractical to cast either Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts in the novel, but the fictitious name Meg Roberts (an "America's sweetheart" type actress) is a bit of a speed bump in the middle of this story. In fact, I found myself frequently wishing to get through the passages devoted to Leon and Saul and return to those relating to George and Fraser. George's self-examination in light of impending death (and his unexpected affair with the alluring and captivating French Claudette) touches on one of the most important themes of them all: potential. Fraser, meanwhile, has his own epic story (including a recurring dream in which Carl Jung appears to him to analyze what's going on with him). In many ways, Fraser's story recalls Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, and that's never a bad thing. show less

Very good first novel. Nice bit of dark humor and does a crafty balancing act of being dirty, but not vulgar, and surprisingly moralistic without being preachy, even though several characters are in fact preachers. I liken it to a black sheep uncle that drinks a bit much, can't hold a job, farts in church and tells dirty jokes at supper, yet somehow is able to give good advice, even if he never heeds it himself.

I loved this book and couldn't believe A. that it came from TV's Craig Ferguson and B. that he hasn't written more books because he really needs to. I was completely blown away by this book, it had so many layers to it and so many ideas about spirituality, identity, existentialism, relationships. It could have easily went overboard and been bogged down by the various narratives, but somehow the interwoven storylines all came together to form a book that I can easily call one of my favorite reads ever. I would and have highly recommended it to others and just writing this makes me want to read it again.

Another book by a comedian best known for his acting. Back in June I read The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie, best known for his television work in the UK classics Blackadder and A Bit of Laurie and Fry, and his starring role in the US TV show House. This time around it's Craig Ferguson, the host of the American late-night talk show The Late Late Show. I thoroughly enjoyed Ferguson's memoir, American on Purpose, and was looking forward to seeing what his cat-quick humorous mind could do with a purely fictional setting.

If I spent a thousand days writing, I don't think I could possibly do justice to a plot summary in this review, considering the book deals with a sexually perverted Scottish televangelist, illegitimate half brothers from the show more American South who run rampant through Hollywood, a rather meek Scottish man who throws caution to the wind when he believes he has terminal cancer, and a whole panoply of supporting characters with their own quirks and foibles.

At times I found this book a little over the top and ridiculous, but I can't deny that it made me laugh heartily more than once. In the end, Ferguson uses the farce to put forth a simple message: Love one another. show less