woodys-uk
Price: £22.63
In stock
13 used & new from £2.55
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Red Classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Red Classics) (Paperback)

by Thornton Wilder (Author) "On Friday noon, July the twentieth, 1714, the finest bridge in all Peru broke and precipitated five travellers into the gulf below ..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


5 new from £7.50 8 used from £2.55
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 3 used & new from £14.95
Paperback (New Ed) £8.99 £5.73 35 used & new from £0.87
Mass Market Paperback (3rd printing) 5 used & new from £13.50
Library Binding 4 used & new from £12.45
Hardcover (Large Print) 2 used & new from £8.00
Show more editions and formats

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Appointment in Samarra (Vintage Classics)

Appointment in Samarra (Vintage Classics)

by John O'Hara
4.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.20
Confessions

Confessions

by Saint Augustine
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  £3.99
An American Tragedy (Signet Classics)

An American Tragedy (Signet Classics)

by Theodore Dreiser
4.2 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.01
Our Town and Other Plays (Penguin Modern Classics)

Our Town and Other Plays (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Thornton Wilder
2.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £6.47
The Age of Innocence (Wordsworth Classics)

The Age of Innocence (Wordsworth Classics)

by Edith Wharton
4.9 out of 5 stars (18)  £1.99
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New edition edition (26 Jan 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141023627
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141023625
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 11 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 345,935 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Book Description

A brand new imprint from Penguin Classics


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?
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
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
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Red Classics)
97% buy the item featured on this page:
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Red Classics) 4.5 out of 5 stars (8)
The Road
1% buy
The Road 4.2 out of 5 stars (396)
£2.95
Appointment in Samarra (Vintage Classics)
1% buy
Appointment in Samarra (Vintage Classics) 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.20
Snowleg
1% buy
Snowleg 3.2 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, 31 Jan 2002
By Mrs. A. C. Whiteley "AllieW" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Modern Classics) (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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting..., 11 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
I first heard about this book when it was reviewed on BBC Radio 4 as I Alfa-Romeo-ed my way home from work.. the reviewers rhapsodised over it.

Its a tiny book, and I read it at a sitting in about one and a half hours, and haven't been able to get it out of my head since. Sad, beautiful and haunting, and yet also hopeful and (dreadful phrase) heart-warming. Although about as different in every way as it is possible to be, it somehow reminded me of J G Farrell at his best.

Wilder is a wordsmith of rare ability, building extraordinary edifices with words, although his perhaps over-mannered style might grate with some.

Suffice to say, I loved it, and have kept going back to re-read parts. Highly recommended.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not interesting enough, 14 Jul 2004
By Depressaholic (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
'The Bridge...' focuses on a disaster in 18th century Peru, in which a bridge over a ravine collapses sending five people to their deaths. The tragedy prompts a priest, Brother Juniper, who had himself narrowly avoided being caught up in the disaster, to question why those five had been chosen to die and others, including himself, survived. He sees it as a natural experiment for testing God's plans, and, ultimately, a key to understanding the way in which He works. The book is a synopsis of the priest's investigation into the lives of the five victims and, ultimately, where the priest's own questions lead him.
The investigations into the five lives are nicely retold here, each one offering suggestions about why that particular victim may have been chosen, but each differing from the previous. Wilder's prose is thoughtfully constructed and his characters well realised, although each is a little caricatured in order to make his point (as is perhaps necessary in a book this length). The Marquesa with her wounded maternal feelings, Pepita, with her self-loathing, Estaban with his obsessive brotherly love, Pio with his excesses and Don Jaime with his innocence all seem to hint at a solution to God's plan, but ultimately serve to confuse and disorientate. The fate of Juniper himself is probably the only true clue the priest possesses.
So why only three stars? I don't know if it was the subject matter, the shortness of the book or Wilder's style, but the reading of this left absolutely no impression on me whatsoever. I did enjoy it, but it failed to move me and fails to haunt me, as the blurb promised. Perhaps this says more about me and my expectations of a book covering this subject, but I didn't find Juniper's conclusions and fate particularly surprising or thought provoking. Perhaps the shortness of the book meant I by-passed the point, but this isn't a work that I will be revisiting anytime soon.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 5 months ago by Peter Buckley

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking short novel
A clever, thought-provoking short novel. The Bridge of San Luis Ray is set in 18th century Peru and focusses on the lives of five people killed when the bridge of the title... Read more
Published 7 months ago by BookWorm

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, perfectly observed
This has been my favourite book for 17 years. I have been re-reading it throughout my life, and as I grow older I notice different things every time. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2007 by Gilda Maurice

5.0 out of 5 stars "What Is God's Will?" in a Classic Tale
One of the great spiritual conundrums we all face is why one person dies while another lives. Airplane crashes, violent public events, and unexpected heart attacks in young people... Read more
Published on 28 May 2004 by Professor Donald Mitchell

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just for people interested in Christian ethics.
Written gracefully, descriptively and economically, The Bridge of San Luis Rey is the story of five people who die when the small rope bridge they are walking across collapses... Read more
Published on 30 Nov 1999 by antonyeaston@hotmail.com

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject











i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.