Bridge of Sighs: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)

by Richard Russo (Author)
Key Phrases: West End, East End, Uncle Dec (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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

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--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
SignatureReviewed by Jeffrey FrankRichard Russo's portraits of smalltown life may be read not only as fine novels but as invaluable guides to the economic decline of the American Northeast. Russo was reared in Gloversville, N.Y. (which got its name from the gloves no longer manufactured there), and a lot of mid–20th-century Gloversville can be found in his earlier fiction (Mohawk; The Risk Pool). It reappears in Bridge of Sighs, Russo's splendid chronicle of life in the hollowed-out town of Thomaston, N.Y., where a tannery's runoff is slowly spreading carcinogenic ruin.At the novel's center is Lou C. Lynch (his middle initial wins him the unfortunate, lasting nickname Lucy), but the narrative, which covers more than a half-century, also unfolds through the eyes of Lou's somewhat distant and tormented friend, Bobby Marconi, as well as Sarah Berg, a gifted artist who Lou marries and who loves Bobby, too. The lives of the Lynches, the Bergs and the Marconis intersect in various ways, few of them happy; each family has its share of woe. Lou's father, a genial milkman, is bound for obsolescence and leads his wife into a life of shopkeeping; Bobby's family is being damaged by an abusive father. Sarah moves between two parents: a schoolteacher father with grandiose literary dreams and a scandal in his past and a mother who lives in Long Island and leads a life that is far from exemplary. Russo weaves all of this together with great sureness, expertly planting clues—and explosives, too—knowing just when and how they will be discovered or detonate at the proper time. Incidents from youth—a savage beating, a misunderstood homosexual advance, a loveless seduction—have repercussions that last far into adulthood. Thomaston itself becomes a sort of extended family, whose unhappy members include the owners of the tannery who eventually face ruin.Bridge of Sighs is a melancholy book; the title refers to a painting that Bobby is making (he becomes a celebrated artist) and the Venetian landmark, but also to the sadness that pervades even the most contented lives. Lou, writing about himself and his dying, blue-collar town, thinks that the loss of a place isn't really so different from the loss of a person. Both disappear without permission, leaving the self diminished, in need of testimony and evidence. If there are false notes, they come with Russo's portrayal of African-Americans, who too often speak like stock characters: (Doan be given me that hairy eyeball like you doan believe, 'cause I know better, says one). But Russo has a deep and real understanding of stifled ambitions and the secrets people keep, sometimes forever. Bridge of Sighs, on every page, is largehearted, vividly populated and filled with life from America's recent, still vanishing past.Jeffrey Frank's books include The Columnist and Bad Publicity. His novel, Trudy Hopedale, was published in July by Simon & Schuster.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 656 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (August 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400030900
• ISBN-13: 978-1400030903
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,455 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

198 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In Defense of Richard Russo and a Superb, if Flawed, Novel, October 24, 2007

By	Gregory Baird (Morristown, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bridge of Sighs (Hardcover)

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-

68 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A guy named Lucy, September 26, 2007

By	Mighty Quinn (Boston, MA. U.S.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bridge of Sighs (Hardcover)

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).

108 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great great great, September 24, 2007

By	D. Mahoney (Troy, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bridge of Sighs (Hardcover)

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.