Play Audiobook Sample
The Invisible Bridge Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.00) - 16,166 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Julie Orringer’s astonishing first novel, eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story collection, How to Breathe Underwater (“fiercely beautiful”—The New York Times; “unbelievably good”—Monica Ali), is a grand love story set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war, and the chronicle of one family’s struggle against the forces that threaten to annihilate it. Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he falls into a complicated relationship with the letter’s recipient, he becomes privy to a secret history that will alter the course of his own life. Meanwhile, as his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena and their younger brother leaves school for the stage, Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty. At the end of Andras’s second summer in Paris, all of Europe erupts in a cataclysm of war. From the small Hungarian town of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras’s room on the rue des Écoles to the deep and enduring connection he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a love tested by disaster, of brothers whose bonds cannot be broken, of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war. Expertly crafted, magnificently written, emotionally haunting, and impossible to put down, The Invisible Bridge resoundingly confirms Julie Orringer’s place as one of today’s most vital and commanding young literary talents.
Download and start listening now!
"This was a great read. I love just about anything WWII, but this took me to an part of thewar Ihad never read about-Hungary. There were lots of characters, but I was able to keep themstraight, and I was sincerely interested to see how or if they all made it through the war. "
— Sandra (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“The strength of The Invisible Bridge lies in Orringer’s ability to make us care so deeply about the people of her all-too-real fictional world. For the time it takes to read this fine novel, and for a long time afterward, it becomes our world too.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Orringer’s triumphant novel is as much a lucid reminder of a time not so far away as it is a luminous story about the redemptive power of love.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Orringer’s first novel is a hugely ambitious undertaking, but she has every detail under control, from the architectural currents in Europe in the 1930s to the day-to-day struggle to survive in a work camp. The early sections set in Paris, in particular, are completely absorbing…An astonishing achievement.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“[A] richly detailed debut novel from prizewinning short-story writer Orringer, unfolding from a little-explored area of the Holocaust…The author works large themes of family, loyalty, and faith across a huge sweep of geography and history…Her story develops without sentimentality or mawkishness, though it is full of grand emotions. Though the events of the time, especially in Hungary, are now the stuff of history books and increasingly fewer firsthand memories, Orringer writes without anachronism, and convincingly.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Awards
-
Selected for the May 2010 Indie Next List
-
A New York Times bestseller
-
A 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize Finalist
-
A 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book for Fiction
-
A 2010 Washington Post Best Book for Fiction
-
A 2010 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
-
Longlisted for the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction
The Invisible Bridge Listener Reviews
-
" A long book, but it held your interest "
— Pmdilo1, 2/12/2014 -
" beautiful, beautiful story from the 2nd world war. the details of the labor camps with the tangle of friends & the love story make this story unforgettable. very well done. "
— Kate, 2/12/2014 -
" This was one of the best books I have read in the past year. My big regret is that I bought it on my iPad and can't go back and leaf through the pages or lend the copy to friends. In fact, my husband and I are going to visit Budapest for the first time this summer! "
— Jennifer, 2/7/2014 -
" my all time favorite in the last 10 years "
— Shannon, 1/18/2014 -
" Intense, well written historically informative novel that tugs at the souls of people who love. Looking forward to another book by Orringer. "
— Georgene, 1/11/2014 -
" This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. Beautifully written, it is a story of love, survival, and for me, perspective. Not an easy read, nor a book that I couldn't put down, but one I found myself picking back up as I want to know the rest of the story. "
— Sue, 1/10/2014 -
" Part historical novel, about Jewish family beginning in 1939 Budapest. Move to Paris and back. Threats of Nazis, work camps, starvation, etc. Intertwined was a love story. Enjoyed parts of story but found it too wordy, too many words in other languages not defined, too many extraneous details. "
— Sharron, 1/1/2014 -
" epic love story set in Hungary during Holocaust. Warning you will cry - must read "
— Jodi, 12/28/2013 -
" Wonderful. She really developed her characters and made me fall in love with them. It is such a well written novel. "
— Amanda, 12/10/2013 -
" Hard to put down but painful to endure at times. The reader actively participates in the life of Hungarian Jews during WWII and sees the strength of spirit and ongoing life on an intimate scale despite the whirl of world events. "
— Carol, 12/6/2013 -
" If you look at my list, you see I rarely give a book all the stars. This one deserves them! "
— Bobbie, 7/23/2013 -
" Fascinating and moving story of a Hungarian Jewish architecture student in pre-WWII Paris. "
— Carol, 5/11/2013 -
" Great story, but is very slow-moving. "
— Jessica, 2/15/2013 -
" Best book I read in 2012! On vacation I learned from a friend that this story was basically, "his father's life story." Truly hit home for me that there is so much more to learn about history, families, tragedy, and love. A MUST read for anyone who loves the WWII historical fiction. "
— Julie, 12/7/2012 -
" Haunting and beautifully written. I miss the characters now that it's over. It's hard to believe we can treat each other as they did during Hitler's reign and now in Afghanistan and throughout the world in so many violent countries. "
— Christine, 8/21/2012 -
" Very powerful book! I've read several books about WWII but this is the first one I've read from the perspective of a Hungarian. Very eye opening. "
— Lisa, 3/13/2012 -
" Worthwhile in that it shows The Second World War from a Hungarian perspective. It's a very well researched book that almost goes into too much detail, making it a somewhat tedious read. "
— Fay, 3/3/2012 -
" Absolutely LOVED this book -- beautifully written. "
— Judy, 2/12/2012 -
" An interesting view of Hungary during WWII. "
— Louise, 1/18/2012 -
" An outstanding book which holds the reader's interest throughout. it is extremely well documented and detailed and relates the horrors of a Jewish family's survival during World War II. A long read but well worth the effort. "
— Eliot, 8/26/2011 -
" An amazing story (with lessons in history). "
— Nancy, 8/8/2011 -
" I'm not much of a historical reader but this kept my interest the whole time. "
— Pam, 5/29/2011 -
" Sad and violent, as it's a book about the Holocaust, but beautifully written and emotionally charged. The characters were very real. "
— Ariele, 5/20/2011 -
" I LOVED it until the ending. Wish it could have ended differently. I cried and smiled and got VERY sucked in to this book! "
— Tammy, 5/14/2011 -
" An amazing story about those that suffered on the other side of WWII. She did a great job weaving a tale about the emotional hrdship and loss without the concentration camp setting. A great read, but one that should not be entered into lightly. "
— Amanda, 5/13/2011 -
" This book lived with me for a long time. It's amazing what the human spirit can endure. "
— Betty, 5/13/2011 -
" This is a wonderful well written love story between Andras Levi a young Hungarian architecture student and Klara Morenstern a dancer living in Paris before World War 11. "
— Karen, 5/13/2011
About Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer is the author of the award-winning short story collection How to Breathe Underwater, which was a New York Times Notable Book. She is the winner of the Paris Review’s Discovery Prize and the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Stanford University, and the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. She lives in Brooklyn.
About Arthur Morey
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.