Mr. Bridge Audiobook (Unabridged)

" This is a very well written book and is a fabulous slice of life in the 30s and early 40s. Mr. Bridge is an upstanding man, but he is very stuck in his ways. A bit frustrating at times because he thinks only one way: the right way. Still a very interesting book. "

" Fascinating character obviously puzzled by his family and changing times. If set in today's time, Mr. Bridge's inflexible views would be very costly..... "

" 10 years later, we get the other side of the story. I liked it a tad less than Mrs, but together, the whole is a work of art, sublime American realist fiction in a delicate, refined, ironic mode. "

" A deeply realistic and loosely plotted view into the "average American" mind. Imagine a more readable Ulysses, if Bloom was a stodgy midwesterner. Connell manages to avoid what must have been a sore temptation to add outsized drama and focuses on the small triumphs and minor heartaches that frame most of our lives. The book is incredibly well summed-up in the eponymous Mr. Bridge's closing thoughts on happiness: "But not joy. No, that belonged to simpler minds". "

" I read this in one day and loved it. I'm interested in Connell's use of short vignettes instead of traditional chapters (thinking about playing with that in my writing), and his portrait of the supremely controlled and unfeeling - oblivious, even - patriarch of the Bridge family is spot on. There's humor despite the bleak story, and the ending totally satisfies. Recommended. "

" This had a little less impact on me than Mrs. Bridge, perhaps because this time I had a better sense what to expect. Still terrific, though, with a wonderfully rueful ending. "

" A certain man in a certain time, unreflective, limited, but occasionally capable of admitting a larger view than his habit. A life sketched in short strokes by an extraordinary talent. "

" I think, taken together, the Bridge novels of Evan S. Connell represent one of the masterpieces of post-WWII American fiction. "

" Reveals the cost of choosing responsibility over adventure, contentment over real happiness. In the end, the enigmatic Mr. Bridge is closed to no one more than himself. It's a heartbreaking story. "

" Slightly better than Mr. Bridge's version of the same story. "

" Very good book. I also liked the movie, with Paul Newman and Joann Woodward. "

" Companion in unexamined life. "

" I adored this book and "Mrs. Bridge" too -- real slice of life of a bygone era and a bygone type of family. Understated writing style, but reading between the lines tells you all you need to know about the characters. "

" i maybe would give it 3 if i hadn't gone thru mrs. bridge right before. Lot of same, with characters you don't sympathize with, even tho i get it. "

" Although Mr. Bridge is smug and humorless to the point of ridiculousness, I was still fascinated by him. He is so consistent, and Connell gives us little whispered hints of self-doubt, quickly dismissed. Next up, Mrs. Bridge! "

" Devastatingly sad character study, of both Mr. Bridge and our country. Not as emotionally powerful as _Mrs. Bridge_ (and oddly repetitive in a few spots), but I still highly recommend. Read Mrs. first, then Mr. "

" It doesn't quite measure up to Mrs. Bridge, but it's very well worth reading. "

" Not as good as Mrs. Bridge, but the writing in some sections is excellent. "

" This book, along with the companion novel Mrs. Bridge, form a quietly devastating portrait of upper middle class family life in Kansas City between the wars. More character studies than conventional narratives, these characters will stay with me. "