Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Review by Joni

This was my first book by Russo and I enjoyed it. Russo's writing style reminds me of Anne Tyler who is one of my favorite authors. Like Tyler, Russo's characters are likeable and quirky and the landscapes of the novel are small town and homey. It's Everyman in Anytown, USA.

Bridge of Sighs is set in Thomaston, NY where a tannery has poisoned the town's river with carcinogenic dyes. Despite the tragic, long-term health effects on the town's population, the people of Thomaston are nostalgic about their river and it's multitude of colors. I found this thread of narrative interesting. Russo must have grown up in a factory town for him to so intuitively understand the conflicted feelings small town people have about factories. I grew up swimming in a river choked with sulphuric run-off from the strip mining on the mountains above the river. My swimsuits were all dyed permanently orange and I would come home in the evenings with sulphur in my hair and under my fingernails. Our parents told us the sulphur was "good for us". In retrospect, how can anyone wonder why the cancer rate is so high in industrialized areas?

The three main characters of this book - Lou, Sarah, and Bobby - are a classic love triangle and, again like Tyler, Russo doesn't press for any final resolution of feelings. Like real life, unrequited feelings sometimes remain unresolved. If anyone reads Bridge of Sighs, look for the back and forth mirroring of themes between Lou's parents' generation and his own.

I actually finished Bridge of Sighs a couple of weeks ago and I am now halfway through Ken Follett's World Without End. Has anyone else read this? I love Ken Follett. I have read everything he has ever written and his Pillars of the Earth is one of my all time favorite novels. World Without End is the sequel to Pillars and I was so excited about getting it but I am having real trouble connecting with this book. Maybe it's spring fever.

As an aside, I am also reading a non-fiction called "Everything is Miscellaneous" by David Weinberger. This book is about how we receive and organize information. Sounds like a snooze, doesn't it? But it's surprisingly engaging and it will interest anyone who is curious about where this digital revolution we find ourselves in will lead us. Of all our book club friends, I would recommend this book specifically to Suz and to Nan's husband, Chris. I think you both would enjoy it.