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Bridge of Sighs: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Russo
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Rating:  132 reviews
Sales Rank: 2434
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 656
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 1400030900
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781400030903
ASIN: 1400030900
Publication Date: August 12, 2008
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Significant Seven, November 2007: Richard Russo's first book since the Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs is a typically stunning portrait of three small town families struggling--like the town itself--to strike a balance between obsessively embracing their own history or shunning it entirely, with devastating consequences along both paths. Bridge of Sighs is pure Russo: funny, heartbreaking, and ringing completely true. --Jon Foro
Product Description
Louis Charles Lynch (also known as Lucy) is sixty years old and has lived in Thomaston, New York, his entire life. He and Sarah, his wife of forty years, are about to embark on a vacation to Italy. Lucy's oldest friend, once a rival for his wife's affection, leads a life in Venice far removed from Thomaston. Perhaps for this reason Lucy is writing the story of his town, his family, and his own life that makes up this rich and mesmerizing novel, interspersed with that of the native son who left so long ago and has never looked back.
Bridge of Sighs, from the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls, is a moving novel about small-town America that expands Russo's widely heralded achievement in ways both familiar and astonishing.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 127 more reviews...
 In Defense of Richard Russo and a Superb, if Flawed, Novel October 24, 2007
Gregory Baird (Morristown, NJ)
167 out of 181 found this review helpful
I don't think that anyone could dispute that there are countless advantages to achieving literary success, but the flip side of that coin is that that there are disadvantages as well, some of which are born of those aforementioned perks. Winning a prestigious award like, say, the Pulitzer Prize, which Richard Russo did in 2002 for his previous novel, Empire Falls, gives an author freedom to explore the range of their talents without the interference of an editor. This is a blessing, no doubt, but can also be a hindrance for a writer like Russo, who has a tendency to get so caught up in his lush storytelling that it may come across as endless rambling to the casual reader. That he actually has a firm grasp on the plot no longer matters, because that impatient reader will already be lost to the story. And that's quite a shame when it comes to "Bridge of Sighs" since it's actually quite a good novel despite the fact that a good editor could have pruned some passages here and tightened a few plot-points there. The first hundred pages in particular are a little slow, but stick with it. Russo is one of the best storytellers in current fiction, and trusting him a little will be well worth the early effort.
After winning the Pulitzer Prize Russo took a gamble on a different format with a short story collection entitled The Whore's Child: Stories, which was an unfortunate misfire for him, an author who truly shines when he sticks to what he knows best, and in that regard "Sighs" is a glorious return to form. What Russo really understands are middle-aged characters (especially men) with seemingly simple ambitions and quiet lifestyles - in short, the average American citizen. Like Marilynn Robinson (another Pulitzer winner, she for her novel Gilead: A Novel), his talents lie in making ordinary lives extraordinary. He did it for Miles Roby, the college dropout and proprietor of the Empire Grill in "Empire Falls," and he does it again for Lou `Lucy' Lynch, the college dropout and owner of Ikey Lubins Corner Market at the epicenter of "Sighs" (you probably noticed how similar those character descriptions sound, but don't be fooled - Russo is an expert at playing off the tried-and-true without making it feel redundant for a second).
What "Sighs" is ostensibly about is the relationship between Lynch and Robert Noonan, his childhood friend who is now a successful artist living in Venice while Lynch remains (stagnates?) in their old hometown of Thomaston, NY. The two men are polar opposites: Lynch timid and needy, prone to `spells' when he feels stressed and can't handle it, Noonan aggressive and independent, prone to lashing out with his fists when someone tries to cross him; Lynch comfortable living in the past and fearing tomorrow while Noonan actively tries to escape his past and runs headlong into the future. Their dueling narratives flesh out the complexities of their on-and-off friendship, culminating with their recollections of their fateful senior year of high school, a year that proved to be the catalyst for the rest of their lives. At the end of that year, as we know from the very beginning of the novel, Lynch will have won the hand of Sarah, the girl they both fell in love with and who was torn between them for an agonizing year and, perhaps, beyond, and Noonan will have run away to find his destiny in the wider world. As in "Empire Falls," Russo manages to seamlessly blend predictability with some genuine surprises for a heartfelt and multi-layered climax. Seeing how they all ended up where they are is all part of the superb ending, so anyone who doesn't make it through to the end will be missing out. Big time.
But the deeper theme of the novel has to do with our families and how they shape who we are - whether we want them to or not. For Lynch, a nervous and needy person, looking at his parents there was never any question which one he would rather be like: his (foolishly?) optimistic father easily won out over his sensible, grounded mother because what Lynch desires more than anything else is for his father's simple, good-hearted vision of how the world works to be true. The possibility that life can be senseless and cruel is terrifying to him, therefore he rejects it outright. And yet, he is his mother's son, so his optimism represents a choice rather than an inclination, and somehow he must strike a balance between his reality and his desire. Noonan hates both of his parents equally - his father for being a domineering and abusive presence and his mother for being a weak-willed depressive too damaged to get out of her own way. And though he rejects both of them, it terrifies him to know that he is more like them than he would care to admit. Sarah, meanwhile, is literally torn between her parent's disparate world's thanks to their separation and subsequent divorce: summers with her free-spirited, alcoholic mother and school years with her eccentric, rigorously intellectual father. Through them, Russo explores the holds our parents have on us and how, whether we want them to or not, our families mold our lives, and neither Lynch, Noonan or Sarah will ever truly be at peace until they come to terms with the parts of their parents that reside in their own selves. "Do you think we'll end up like them?" Sarah asks at one point. "What if it isn't up to us? What if we're going to end up like them and there's nothing we can do about it?" It's brilliant stuff, deftly handled by Russo, whose acuity for his leads and how they behave and why is nothing short of revelatory. He also scores big with his bit players - his affection for the mischievous Uncle Dec and embittered Gabriel Mock Jr. is palpable.
But as I said earlier, Russo is best at dealing with what he understands, and while he brings 98% of the cast to vibrant life, he seems uncertain of how to handle characters like Hugh, an effete Manhattan intellectual, or Kayla, an African-American preteen living in poverty on Long Island. Lucky for Russo, those misfires are few and far between.
They say that still waters run deep, and this novel, despite looking like a creek, is a veritable ocean. Despite its flaws, "Bridge of Sighs" is a thrilling and enjoyable read once it's had time to get going. Reading this book was a truly effecting experience for me; I can't stop thinking about it, and that, in my humble opinion, is the true test of what makes a great novel.
Grade: A-
Great great great September 25, 2007
D. Mahoney (Troy, NY)
106 out of 127 found this review helpful
Russo once said: "When a favorite author of mine comes out with a new book, I always hope for two contradictory things: first, I hope it's like all the other books of his or hers that I love, and second, I hope he's not going to repeat himself. Sure, it's a paradox, but I suspect I'm not alone in my desires."
Bridge of Sighs is exactly that--a great book that'll feel both familiar and fresh to Russo readers. I'm a long-time fan of his books and Bridge of Sighs is everything I hoped it would be; it's also a book I'd press on anyone who hasn't read his previous work. Highly recommended.
A guy named Lucy September 27, 2007
Mighty Quinn (Boston, MA. U.S.)
65 out of 71 found this review helpful
Russo seems to be one of the last truly American writers. A Norman Rockwell painting with a distinct and necessary twist. And I was anxious to get my hands on his latest. After EMPIRE FALLS, six years seemed a long wait.
Following along the lines of Russo's signature offerings, we have Smalltown America, the deterioration of a lifestyle, and middle aged people coming to terms. Except these middle-agers were the young people back in the forever-young, don't-trust-anyone-over-30 `60s. And I think this shadow of declining youth and a sagging industry town that once bustled with prosperity gives this novel its melancholy feel. Nonethless, it's enjoyable reading, not to forget the droll touches that are so uniquely Russo. One important aspect, as in Russo's previous work, is the interplay between father and son.
These touches and more all make for a solid read, but I have to say, I don't believe it's Russo's best.(I so much prefer EMPIRE FALLS and NOBODY'S FOOL).
 Sighs April 27, 2008
Linda (CT, United States)
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
Let me begin by stating that I enjoyed this novel. Characters that you care about and can understand, living in a recognizable place and time, rich prose - Bridge of Sighs has everything I look for in a novel -and then some. And some more. Too much coming of age, not enough grappling with the here and now - that's what dragged down the pace of the novel until it stimulated impatience. It would have been great to know more about Lou and Sarah now. After they had lived through all those momentous, while at the same time ordinary, events. Years after. Bobby, on the other hand, receives better treatment - we know where he is, who he is, and why he is the way he is. It's the length and the author's maudlin compulsion to keep going over the same old ground that prevents this novel from becoming more. Nevertheless, what's good about it makes it worthwhile, if not great.
Another fine novel from America's master storyteller October 9, 2007
Kirk McElhearn (A village in the French Alps)
26 out of 29 found this review helpful
Richard Russo is one of a half-dozen authors whose books I buy sight unseen. I have laughed and cried reading his novels, especially my favorite, Nobody's Fool, but also the chilling Empire Falls and the burlesque Straight Man.
So I was delighted to get yet another novel from an author who doesn't write as much as I'd like, and it's a big meaty one. As one of the other reviewers pointed out, you want your favorite authors' books to be like his or her other books, but you want them to be different. And Bridge of Sighs is about as different as possible from Russo's other books, yet at the same time his depth of character, humanism and touching details are ever-present.
The story tells the tale of Lou C. Lynch (nicknamed Lucy), and his relationship with his family, his only friend, and eventually his girlfriend who will later become his wife. It's vintage Russo in his characterization and portrayal of small-town America, a tiny slice of life of a small town in upstate New York. This is what's called a "character-driven novel", where the plot itself is dependent on the characters and their actions, and that explains why some reviewers found the book "slow" or "wordy". Russo weaves a tapestry of the events in his characters' lives, their feelings, and their thoughts.
I won't deny that I was a bit thrown by this book after a while. But I trusted Russo to bring this story to a moving conclusion, and had tears in my eyes during the final chapter. If you don't have patience to read a true stylist and, in my opinion, on of America's finest character authors, you'd best avoid this book. But if you are willing to give yourself up to Russo's world for more than 500 pages, you'll be much the richer. As always, Russo gives a great story, with moving, real people in events that you can imagine occurring to you. A great read indeed.
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