Customer Reviews

The Bridge

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is not an easy book to read if you come from a family who (1) keeps secrets (2) has interesting members or (3) lived through some turbulent times. Time and time again I found myself listening the Marlette's characters say the EXACT SAME things my grandmother/mother/cousins said to me and to each other. Situations in the book strangely resemble situations in my family....and reading about them in a published novel made me a bit uneasy.

I loved the way Marlette intertwined the present with the past. In the present, Marlette tells the story of Pick Cantrell, who moves home from New York City and struggles to put his life back together. Waiting to collide with Pick's story is that of his prickly grandmother "Mama Lucy." Seems she has quite a story of her own to tell. Until the ghosts of Pick's present and Mama Lucy's past are put to rest, nothing will be settled in either of their lives. Watching the two storylines converge was a pleasure.

This book is a strong testimony for anyone who has struggled with their family tree, burned/destroyed bridges and would like to re-build them.

This may be Marlette's first turn at fiction, but, to me, THE BRIDGE is in the same league with the likes of THE PRINCE OF TIDES.

Enjoy!

This is a first book and it is phenomenal. Reminded me of the power of the writing of John Irving.....I haven't cried while reading a book since his "Cider House Rules". It's powerful writing that can make you do that. Marlette's characters are all unique and strong and realistic and the stories of everyone are all woven together wonderfully. Plus you learn the history of our country's Southern mills and the union which had to break the terrible working conditions in the 30's. Excellent read....I'm the type that reads so much non-fiction, that it is a rare novel that can hold my interest. This one is unique.

One of the main things I look for in a novel is the "voice" that propels and pervades the storytelling. Marlette's The Bridge matches character and voice perfectly. Main character and narrator Pick Cantrell looks at the world through the eye of a cartoonist, but this rich novel is far from being a cartoon. In the contemporary settings, Pick "picks" his images of the people around him. We see them focused through his "lens." Through this narrative device, we become involved with well-developed characters who happen to have a cartoonist's microscope run over their quirks, making them all the more fascinating. This extra-dimension to the writing is true to Pick's own character voice and a tribute to Marlette's skill as a creative artist. Not only is the whole scope of the story adroitly presented, but his sentences are just loaded with little "cartoonist concepts" that make me laugh out loud. Pick's reference to his family reunion as a "coagulation" is a brilliant image of bloodlines clotting around the picnic table. Everyone who has ever been to a family reunion knows exactly what he means.
But, this novel is not simply Pick Cantrell's story and voice. There lies within it a greater gift of truth: giving "voice" to the "voiceless." The mill workers of this country whose struggle was all but lost to history's emphasis on the New Deal and the rise of fascist Germany also have a story to tell. That voice is embodied in Mama Lucy, and Marlette has created a bridge back to a forgotten past that touches us all. It is The Bridge which I hope many, many readers will cross.

It doesn't always take a terrorist attack to change a life. Mine was changed before our national tragedy in a way I never expected by a book called "The Bridge." I don't know how or when it happened, but somewhere in Doug Marlette's valentine to family and the South, I was changed. Somehow his childhood was my childhood and his family became mine and the emotions and feelings and sensations of life and love and transitions became too much. I put down the book and began rebuilding the broken bridge with my own distant, disengaged family. "The Bridge" tells tales of family secrets--hidden in attics and covered with cobwebs. It explores the differences of poor and the privileged, the talented and the not, the North and the South, the seemingly lucky ones who escaped their beginnings and their cousins who did not. It's a study of coming home and of jealousy, prejudice, courage and the trials of humanity. It helped me understand myself and people I've misunderstood for years. The book also tells the true but mostly unreported story of a horrible and hearbreaking textile war in our country and the heroics of the worker struggles Norma Rae would covet. Beyond all that, it's intriguing to read "The Bridge" to watch a talented cartoonist twist his already twisted mind to become a novelist. How does a guy who has drawn wonderful squiggley cartoons and comic strips and exploited the power of the picture and the punchline for his whole life create something that's only words? Well, he paints word pictures, and he does it in a way that is beautiful and moving. "The Bridge" touched those painful parts of my heart and soul that were aching without my knowing. The book made me feel more human. Now, almost over the coma I've been in since September 11, I'm going to read the book again. I'll start right after I phone home.

For most people, one great talent would be enough
For Doug Marlette, it's just a starting point.
Doug Marlette is a Pulitzer-Prize winning editorial cartoonist. And he may be even better known as the author of Kudzu, the comic strip that appears daily in dozens of newspapers.
But if his first novel, The Bridge, is any indication, Marlette's greatest talent may be as a novelist.
This is a book you can't put down, a book that leaves you torn between savoring every page and hurrying through to get to the outcome.
The Bridge is a semi-autobigraphical tale that features a gripping story of conflict and violence in North Carolina's not-too-distant textile past. But just as importantly, it is a story of self-discovery and reconciliation. It is a story about people for whom you come to care deeply.
I wept for the last 50 pages.
Some books are great reads. A few books are not only great reads but they also make you think about how you live your life. The Bridge is such a book.
The novelist Pat Conroy says on the jacket cover that The Bridge is the best first novel to come out of North Carolina since Look Homeward Angel.
Pat Controy was right.

I have not enjoyed a book so much in a very long time. I heard Doug Marlette being interviewed on PBS and immediately knew I had to read this book. I laughed, I cried, and I couldn't put it down. I'm now to recommend it to my book group. Can't wait till his next effort. Thanks, Doug Marlette for a wonderful read.

The Bridge takes a winning literary motif, the dysfunctional southern family, and raises it to a height previously populated (in contemporary literature)only by Marlette's good friend, South Carolinian Pat Conroy. The early chapters, indeed, seem almost adapted from Conroy's works, with scenes reminiscent of Prince of Tides and Beach Music. But, when Marlette's story leaves New York for his North Carolina roots, Marlette establishes his own genius with deft humor and transparent family pride.

Doug Marlette is a political cartoonist without peer, having won a Pulitzer Prize for his work at The Charlotte (NC) Observer. Though Marlette has authored a number of compilations of his cartoon work, this is his first novel. It is a jewel!

One of the main things I look for in a novel is the "voice" that propels and pervades the storytelling. Marlette's The Bridge matches character and voice perfectly. Main character and narrator Pick Cantrell looks at the world through the eye of a cartoonist, but this rich novel is far from being a cartoon. In the contemporary settings, Pick "picks" his images of the people around him. We see them focused through his "lens." Through this narrative device, we become involved with well-developed characters who happen to have a cartoonist's microscope run over their quirks, making them all the more fascinating. This extra-dimension to the writing is true to Pick's own character voice and a tribute to Marlette's skill as a creative artist. Not only is the whole scope of the story adroitly presented, but his sentences are just loaded with little "cartoonist concepts" that make me laugh out loud. Pick's reference to his family reunion as a "coagulation" is a brilliant image of bloodlines clotting around the picnic table. Everyone who has ever been to a family reunion knows exactly he means.
But, this novel is not simply Pick Cantrell's story and voice. There lies within it a greater gift of truth: giving "voice" to the "voiceless." The mill workers of this country whose struggle was all but lost to history's emphasis on the New Deal and the rise of fascist Germany also have a story to tell. That voice is embodied in Mama Lucy, and Marlette has created a bridge back to a forgotten past that touches us all. It is The Bridge which I hope many, many readers will cross.

If your regular reading consists of Harlequin romances and V.C. Andrews novels, don't even go here. I loved this book. It has substance. True, it does have a lot of characters, a lot of entertwined plots, and a long, unfolding storyline, but those are exactly the things I loved about it. I like a book that entertains, but I also want to learn something new or be immersed in a culture that I would not otherwise have a chance to explore. This book did both of those things for me. I had zero knowledge of the textile mills and the strikes of the 1930's. The author brought his characters to life in a unique way that made not only their personalities spring to life, but also the flavor of the era and the political climate at the time. By the time he gets to the end of the work, he has also drawn a great parallel between the generations and their respective plot lines reminding us that our lives (and our humanity), are not so far removed from our ancestors. It was a page turner for me, but I can see where it would stymie some who are used to lighter reading. This is a thinker's book. If you like this, check out "Ahab's Wife," "Corelli's Mandolin," (the book, not the movie) and "Galileo's Daughter." Also great reads for thinkers and people who like historical novels.

I happened upon THE BRIDGE at my local library and was intrigued by the cover illustration. Upon reading the jacket information, I signed it out, thinking it sounded interesting. What I discovered was not only an interesting book, but one that kept me so intrigued by its compelling characters and events that I couldn't wait to see what would happen next! The characters are human beings, with quirks and unique personalities--I could relate to them, as well as to the intricate family dynamics. Doug Marlette is a talented writer--expressive, as well as keenly observant and insightful toward people and life itself. I was impressed with how well he wrote a story-within-a story, and I was both entertained and educated.
I highly recommend this novel and look forward to another book by Doug Marlette!!