London Bridges [Import] [Hardcover]

JANE STEVENSON (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: London: Jonathan Cape, 2000.; 1st ed/1st printing edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224059408
• ISBN-13: 978-0224059404
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,613,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun -- Perfect For a Rainy Weekend, March 8, 2005

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: London Bridges: A Novel (Paperback)

This extremely well-written and entertaining book is a quasi-thriller constructed around an exploration of how people meet and forge their own communities. Set in London, the story is populated by a disparate upper-middle class cast of professionals who are entwined in a plot revolving around some valuable South Bank real estate owned by a Greek monastery. Events are set in motion when two different groups discover the existence of the property, as well as the possibility of the existence of priceless antiques in a safe-deposit box. The story opens with a prologue out of chronological order that foreshadows events to come. Then the reader is taken back a few weeks to meet the villain of the piece, a snobby but poor lawyer who is given the task of wrapping up the affairs of an estate that puts him in contact with the South Bank property and forgotten relics. It also puts him in touch with a cunning Greek businesswoman, and the two convince each other that they might be able to get their hands on these precious items by conning an elderly Anglo-Greek banking agent into assigning the lawyer power of attorney.

Meanwhile (a phrase much used in the book), an enthusiastic preservationist has discovered an old fountain and thinks the South Bank property (currently an ad hoc community garden) is just the place for it. He's comes up with the grand scheme to get the monastary to donate the land for the project, and ropes in his friend Hattie, who works for a foundation (trust in the UK) dedicated to the nebulous task of improving London. She brings on board her friend who is a campy gay classics professor who just happens to know the abbot of the monastary. It all gets rather complicated to explain, but soon these characters all start to cross paths, along with an Australian graduate student in the classics program who moonlights as a pharmacist, an Indian lawyer born and bred in London who works at the villain's firm, and various other minor characters. These are all well-drawn figures that occasionally border on cliché at times, but whenever we see them at work or at home, they are always doing things that give them depth and life, and Stevenson shows a nice ear for dialogue. Of course, everything is pretty much constrained to the well-meaning striving set of law, academia, trusts, art, and so on, but it's still well done.

The story walks that fine line of being literate without becoming pretentious. The "thriller" aspect almost borders on a Scooby-Doo story where the gang starts to put the puzzle together, but a murder keeps things dark enough to avoid tounge-in-cheekitis. There is comedy and wit, and the climax is perhaps a bit over-the-top in the wackiness, but Stevenson makes it work nonetheless. The plot does require one to go along with a heavy dose of coincidence in terms of these people all knowing each other, but if one can get past that, it's vastly entertaining stuff. The book also mainly succeeds as a slice of London life that is a homage to the bonds of friendship. There is perhaps a little too much detail of what people wear and their home decor, but its all within context. Of course, it helps if one is predisposed to books about London and Londoners, but it should appeal to metropolitan dwellers anywhere. A thoroughly fun book that will have me seeking out more of Stevenson's works.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, literate and a lovely read, October 22, 2005

By 

PamR "readyreading" (Oak Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Bridges: A Novel (Paperback)

I thought this book was going to be a mystery, and it borders on being one, however as someone else pointed out it crosses genres and was much more. The story is very engaging, and the plot moves quickly, much as a thriller does. But this is no thriller. It is witty and funny in places -- I laughed out loud several times while reading it. It is intelligent, which is a refreshing change from so many authors today. Plus the characters are well-developed so you start caring about them. And it has a sense of place. I can think of very few "mysteries" I would say all that about. It most reminds me of my favorite mystery writer, Donna Leon, and that says quite a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed the story (which others have outlined and I will not repeat) and hated when it ended. I recommend it highly!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars untidy but fun, February 24, 2003

By 

Min "minlet" (The West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: London Bridges: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a thriller of the sort where you, the reader, know the whole plot from the beginning, but are waiting on tenterhooks for the characters to figure it out. I found this a bit frustrating, particularly when their failure to figure it out quickly enough leads to tragedy. (I'm not giving anything away here that isn't on the bookcover.) But the real joy of this book is in the characters--some of them may be a bit stereotypical, but except for the baddies (who are fun in their own right) they are all vivacious and lovely, the type of people you'd love to meet at a dinner party and wind up becoming friends with. That's exactly how most of the people in this book meet each other--a combination of random chance and friend-of-a-friend introductions--and this "bridge building" is clearly the author's most beloved theme. The academic politics and land-ownership controversies were a little dry, but those plots are really just an excuse to bring these people together and let us get to know them. It's worth it.