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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
An ancient bridge collapses over a gorge in Peru, hurling five people into the abyss. It seems a meaningless human tragedy. But one witness, a Franciscan monk, believes the deaths might not be as random as they appear. Convinced that the disaster is a punishment sent from Heaven, the monk sets out to discover all he can about the travellers. The five strangers were connected in some way, he thinks. There must be a purpose behind their deaths. But are their lost lives the result of sin? ... Or of love?
About the Author
Thornton (Niven) Wilder (1897-1975) American writer and playwright, best known for OUR TOWN (1938) and THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY (1927), an examination of justice and altruism.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travellers into the gulf below. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travellers into the gulf below. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This beautiful little vignette (only 124 pages long)kept me in thrall from beginning to end. Full of stunningly accurate observations, expressed in the most gorgeous prose, this short novel cannot fail to captivate. Although it begins with a disaster (the collapse of the bridge in question), and focuses on the lives of the five fatalities, somehow it manages not to be overburdened by sorrow.
Each of the five, slightly eccentric, but heart-warming characters is exceedingly well drawn. Their biographies are apparently based on the writings of Brother Juniper who documented as much about them as possible in order to try and ascertain why this disaster befell them in particular. (This method was eventually to be his downfall as the conclusion of the novella indicates). Be that as it may, they are all united by virtue of the fact that none quite fit the norms of 18th century Peruvian society (although for differing reasons). And yet, there is a little of each of them in all of us. This book cannot come more highly recommended.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This book is a beautifully written masterpiece (but most know that) - however the kindle text is flawed by misprints that wouldn't be permissable in a printed book and especially of such a carefully drawn novel like this... it's disappointing because this is the first Kindle text I've read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a delightful series of vignettes charting the doomed lives of five people in Peru. Wilder reaches dizzying heights of superlative telling in this book. His characters are lessons on how to write. His tragic backgrounds do not tear jerk nor offer crass emotional hooks, he designs as a master craftsman, easing each figure into the narrative with heart, warmth and skill.
Such colourful people inhabit these pages. The brilliance of Wilder's writing shines from every page. This is how writing should be done.
Get this book, read it and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Peruvian life that Wilder offers here. Tragic, heartfelt and ultimately doomed, yet uplifting for all that. Worth more than five stars, see for yourself.
Such colourful people inhabit these pages. The brilliance of Wilder's writing shines from every page. This is how writing should be done.
Get this book, read it and immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of Peruvian life that Wilder offers here. Tragic, heartfelt and ultimately doomed, yet uplifting for all that. Worth more than five stars, see for yourself.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A fantastic read!
This short book is different from most in that the subjects discussed are not unusual or different but the idea that fate decided that they would all be at the same place at the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. V. Thomson
A wonderful book
This book is quite modern in its structure and style, in the sense that there is no single plot. It is an exploration of the individual lives of five people in eighteenth century... Read more
Published 7 months ago by R. H. Yule
A big disappointment
I must have missed the whole plot. It was a struggle to complete and it was hardly a 'gem' in literature terms - read something else.
Published 11 months ago by vagabondo
Kindle version is terrible
The amount of basic text errors in the Kindle edition meant that I had to return this item and ask for a refund. Read more
Published 15 months ago by George
A classic revisited...
Thornton Wilder is perhaps best known for his play, "Our Town," which is the staple of high school drama groups and this book, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize. Read more
Published 17 months ago by John P. Jones III
Everything happens for a reason
If you're the kind of person who thinks that everything happens for a reason, you may find something profound in this book. Read more
Published 20 months ago by booksetc
a gem
Just a note to say if you invest the short amount of time it takes to read this beautiful book you will not be disappointed.
Published 21 months ago by G. Brooks
Lovely tale
The author explores the meaning of life, the universe, and tried to understand why good things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people, and whether or not there is... Read more
Published 21 months ago by John Keats
The conundrum of fate or chance
I have returned to this novel many times; there is something so classic in its examination of an accident - is it chance, fate or God's will? Read more
Published 21 months ago by Maud
A book to remember, and think about..
Other reviews have admirably shown what this book is about. To discuss the question 'Why do bad things happen to good people? Read more
Published on 31 May 2009 by Peter Buckley
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