Mr. Bridge: A Novel

Mr Bridge made me think of an individual diagnosed with Aspergers, but very low spectrum. Obviously an intelligent man who managed his life and his family by remaining on the peripheral at all times , maintaining control by staying in his head,but allowing just enough emotion out in periods of time where his lack of any expression would be noticed by others and commented on. He seemed oblivious to other's prescence, or problems, unless they negatively affected his sense of command over all aspects of life. This book was a great character studyon a single minded individual who appeared to have stability and safety as his only goals. A bit on the pedantic side,but I felt that it was necessary for the author to utilize this style in order for the book to make the reader understand and contrast Bridge's lack of true interactions with the world around him. It seems Bridge made a conscious effort to remain totally uninvolved with life happening around him. I liked this book because it made me take an inventory on myself. I would not recommend it for readers who want to be on the edge of their seat when reading.r pause to look at my life and motives

This book is a surprisingly satisfying read, because it can't really be said to have a plot. In fact, it is more like a series of vignettes in the life of a family, told from the perspective of the husband and father, Mr. Bridge. Many of the incidents are disconnected and unresolved, and you never learn what follows as a result. From interactions later on in the book, however, you may infer what effect prior interactions had on the development of the characters. What Mr. Bridge is unable to express impacts his relationship with his wife and her evolving personality as the years pass, as much as what he says and does. His values and decisions likewise shape each of his children. The characters are not drawn in great depth, and yet seem real, human, believable, and likable. The reader is drawn into the era and the day to day life of this family.

Mr Bridge is a good book, a character study of a type that (one hopes) hardly exists anymore. But Mr. Bridge, the book, is eclipsed by Mrs Bridge, which is more significant, better written and profound. Nonetheless, you have to read both, so start with Mr. Bridge, definitely. Then, to ice the cake, see the movie Mr and Mrs Bridge with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Why had I never heard of this exceptional writer? (My friends haven't either).We are in 1930s America. A story of an American upper middle-class lawyer who is as stiff as they come, refusing to let himself go about anything except money, keeping to himself, not really interested in others, unaffected by their problems or their deaths; his wife a timid, well-bred, sexually muffled, conventional but compassionate and curious woman. Shot through with gentle irony and brilliant observation, this is an affectionate study of a couple and their three growing-up children which has been beautifully adapted for the screen by James Ivory, with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward (see my review of the DVD). The husband and wife each have a book to themselves, and the narrative divides into short chapters which can almost be read as short stories, told with charming simplicity and innocence. To finish MR BRIDGE and then realise that one can still read MRS BRIDGE is like the pleasure of finding an unknown Jane Austen. Just listen to this:" Her first name was India - she was never able to get used to it. It seemed to her that her parents must have been thinking of someone else when they named her... "

This book is a companion to Mrs. Bridge, which I think is the better of the two novels. Mr. Bridge's inner life just isn't as interesting to me as Mrs. Bridge's. But it's great to have both.

A fascinating, thoughtful and heartbreaking view of the upper-middle class family in Kansan City Missouri just before WWII. The casual assumption about race and religion, and the truly thoughtless implementation of those attributed in every day like was like a soft dagger, but one that goes in very deep.

"Mr. Bridge," which Evan Connell published 10 years after "Mrs. Bridge," is -- if anything -- even better than that terrific book. "Mrs. Bridge" is about a life of quiet desperation of an upper-class matron but seldom gets beyond the confines of Mrs. Bridge's perplexed life; "Mr. Bridge" fleshes out the story, with insights into the marriage, the children, the friends and a certain kind of life in the '30s and '40s. The main character, lawyer Walter Bridge, is shown to be much more than the shadowy figure in the first book. And Connell, 10 years on, is a much more confident writer. Read them both -- you won't regret it.

I would recommend reading Mrs. Bridge first. This book reads like an attempt to capture the style and quiet angst of that novel, but it doesn't work as well.

I was really looking forward to this, seeing as I literally devoured Mrs Bridge. This is not as crisp as Mrs Bridge, I really liked/empathised/pitied her character more in Mrs Bridge- but it's an ok read.

This was a solid follow up to Mrs. Bridge, though the earlier book was better. There was something more haunting in the vignettes in the earlier telling of this tragic couple.

Nice, easy read.