The Broken Bridge [Hardcover]

Philip Pullman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

Since her mother died, Ginny and her father have lived alone. Then Ginny finds out she has a brother and a father she suddenly cannot trust. She sets out to find the truth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This contemporary novel may well surprise fans of Pullman's ( The Tiger in the Well ; Shadow in the North ) atmospheric 19th-century thrillers. Yet to American readers more familiar with Dickens and Conan Doyle than Dylan Thomas, for instance, its setting--a small Welsh seaside village--may be even more exotic than Victorian London. Pullman deftly interweaves strong themes of racism, coming-of-age, the need for artistic expression and the search for family ties in this moving tale of a mixed-blood teenager growing up in rural north Wales. Ginny, 16, has always been close to her father, who told her that her Haitian mother, a painter, died when she was an infant. Suddenly Ginny's world is turned upside-down when her half-brother Robert, whom she hadn't known existed, comes to live with them. As Ginny makes discoveries about her father and recalls disturbing memories of long ago, she becomes obsessed with learning the truth about the past--the "broken bridge." Ginny's quest is almost mythic in its intensity; the emotional truths that Pullman reveals are so heartfelt and raw that they hardly read like fiction. A spellbinding yarn from an accomplished author. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-12-- Ginny, 16, has always felt somewhat an outsider in her Welsh village. Her Haitian mother is dead, but Ginny has always derived security in her relationship with her English father, and in the creative talent inherited from her artist mother. Then she discovers she has a white half-brother who is about to join the family; suddenly half-remembered scenes from her childhood begin to take on meaning. Step by step Ginny begins to peel back the mystery of her life, drawing on hitherto untapped resources of courage and resilience to raise the questions that need to be asked, and then to search out the answers, however painful that process may be. Her past and present are filled with ``broken bridges'' needing repair or rebuilding before she can cross them and move on with her life. As Ginny herself comments, nothing is what it seems, whether memory, event, or character. Haitian cultural details, and the influences of art in Ginny's life are clearly but unobstructively incorporated. Pullman moves as comfortably in this contemporary small town setting as he did in Victorian London in his previous novels, without sacrificing richness of plot or character. Unfortunately, the usual absurdity of translating British into American English is also maintained, while phrases in French and Welsh have been retained. The unusual setting; plot twists; and touches of pathos, humor, contemporary social concerns, and even voodoo, combine to make this an original treatment of concerns familiar to teenage readers--Who am I? How do I fit in? --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0780747070
• ISBN-13: 978-0780747074
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,187,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pullman delivers again, March 10, 2006

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mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Broken Bridge (Mass Market Paperback)

Philip Pullman will probably always be best known for the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. This may be appropriate, as this trilogy - The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - are superior fantasy. But there is more to Pullman than these three books. The Broken Bridge is a standalone novel that shows Pullman's skills go beyond just a single genre.

The Broken Bridge is the story of Ginny, a black (actually mixed-race) sixteen year old girl living in Wales with her white father. Despite the disadvantages of having a long-deceased mother (who came from Haiti) and being one of the very few non-whites in her coastal community, Ginny is reasonably well-adjusted. This stable life comes to a close, however, when a social worker appears at her house. Shortly thereafter, her father reveals something that will completely upset her life: her father had a son by another woman; the woman is dying and soon her half-brother will be living with them.

This revelation is only the first of many that will completely turn Ginny's life upside-down and make her question everything and everyone she has known. The most damaged relationship, however, is with her father who still has a number of other secrets that are beginning to leak out. But there are other truths that will be learned too, regarding her friends, her grandparents and her mother.

This is classified as a "young adult" novel, as most of Pullman's books are, but like his other works, these can actually appeal to any adult readers. I would guess it gets this classification because it is tame from a sex, violence or language standpoint, but the topics - including racism, adultery and even murder - are not exactly "childish."

Pullman is as a good a writer as always. The only disappointment readers are likely to experience is if they expect something like His Dark Materials. Outside of possibly one scene, this story is completely non-fantasy. But if you realize that Pullman can do more than just that one genre, you will find this is another is another good book by him.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling, powerful story about a girl's search.Excellent, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Broken Bridge (Mass Market Paperback)

I have already given away my copy and will buy several more, because this is an enormously insightful, moving story of a 16 year old girl of mixted parentage, who lives with her white father and looks for her black mother. She uncovers a complex world of betray, loss and also beauty, finding herself in the end. This is a beautifully written, poignent story, full of thought, feeling and action. It is written for teenagers, but can be enjoyed by adults. It could make a very powerful film. Strongly recommended. Titus Alexander

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An artist's way..., June 28, 2004

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A Reader (La Jolla, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Broken Bridge (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a wonderful book. I think it will resonate with many readers, who might relate to it even though the circumstances are unique.

Philip Pullman has a powerful gift. It convinces us to not only enter into the minds of his protagonists with sympathy, but to emerge actually caring about them. I really miss Ginny now, having finished the book. I try, in my imagination, to watch her grow up. I think she'll be brilliant, just like many of the readers who can relate to her and her step-brother.

As you begin reading the book, you're not told a whole lot; and I liked that. It made me more alert to cues in her thinking, watching her moods and the things that happen around her that she doesn't quite pay enough attention to.

On the other hand, the things she *does* notice are with the eyes of an artist, and one with a creative imagination. Readers who also like to draw and paint will find lots to like about the way Ginny thinks. It's a view of an artist's way, from an artist himself... and just like the best art, it moves something in us in a very subtle but profound way.

The book deals with feelings of isolation, which many of us encounter through race issues but everyone *could* understand, given a writer like Pullman. And then there's the matter of growing up. What happens when Ginny's secure world seems too small, but getting out of it is too scary? What happens when what she thinks she knows is not half of what's really there beneath her nose? Pullman makes her story a lot like our own story. We're hooked.

Her growing awareness of others' lives, her ability to move from a genuine and thoughtful sympathy to actual empathy - putting herself in their shoes, rather than looking at their shoes from her perspective, so to speak - is handled so well, I can't help but think we readers all benefit too.