Bridge of Sighs

By: Richard Russo

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 26 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Six years after the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls, Richard Russo returns with a novel that expands even further his widely heralded achievement.

Louis Charles ("Lucy") Lynch has spent all of his 60 years in upstate Thomaston, New York, married to the same woman, Sarah, for 40 of them, with their son now a grown man. Like his late, beloved father, Lucy is an optimist, though he's had plenty of reasons not to be - chief among them his mother, still indomitably alive. Yet it was her shrewdness, combined with that Lynch optimism, that had propelled them years ago to the right side of the tracks and created an "empire" of convenience stores about to be passed on to the next generation.

Lucy and Sarah are also preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy, where his oldest friend, a renowned painter, has exiled himself far from anything they'd known in childhood. In fact, the exact nature of their friendship is one of the many mysteries Lucy hopes to untangle in the "history" he's writing of his hometown and family. And with his story interspersed with that of Noonan, the native son who'd fled so long ago, the destinies building up around both of them (and Sarah, too) are relentless, constantly surprising, and utterly revealing.

©2007 Richard Russo (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Largehearted, vividly populated and filled with life from America's recent, still vanishing past." ( Publishers Weekly)

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Like the condemned Venetians who sighed as they crossed the bridge from condemnation to execution, this novel portends ill for each of its characters. The story revolves around three children coming of age together in a small town that is oblivious of it's own fate. The river has been polluted by the tannery and the community is crossing over from a well-oiled manufacturing town to the rust belt. The characters, like the town, make wrong decisions, but they muddle on in their myopic hope that things will get better.
I fell in love with the people because they had roots in the town and in their family. I rooted for them to find happiness and they did. None of them got exactly what they wanted, but they lived interesting and rewarding lives and made the best of what what life gave.

The story captures real people who were judged unworthy by fate to live out their dreams, but unlike the hopeless Venetians, their sighs were more of exasperation than hopelessness.

This book will keep you involved to the end.

Wonderful

I love Richard Russo and I think this might be my favorite book of his. I enjoyed the humor of Straight Man and the inner turmoil of Empire Falls, but I found this book most particularly affecting.

captivating and rich

I really enjoyed Bridge of Sighs- such rich characters and a complex unfolding of a great story. There is so much detail and insight into common feelings and emotions- a lot to empathize with in many of the characters. I am a choosey listener and reader, and found this well-crafted tale of Thomaston, NY to be extremely entertaining. Well read and well worth it.

I didn't want to leave

This story was indeed slow going for the first few hours, but I stuck with it, because of all the good things I'd heard about Richard Russo. So glad I did! What a sweet story. I must have listened to it at just the right time because I could relate much of the book to my own life in many ways. I'll think about Ikey's and the loveable characters inside for a long time.

Engrossing

I loved this book ...even though the beginning was slow, I really got into the characters and their world and just didn't want it to end.
I too wanted to be in Ikey Rubin's shop, being spoilt by Big Lou and his wife; I too fell in love with Bobby...oh Bobby.
The narrator did a fine job with the different characters' voices. At first I found his pace slow; but I came to realize that this pace fitted in perfectly with the main "teller" of the story, Lucy (Lou C. Lynch)who himself was rather slow and ponderous in everything he did.
If you're a fan of fast paced dramas with a gripping, detailed storyline then this probably isn't the right book for you. But if you like a novel with excellent characterizations that makes you think about life and love and engrosses you in an imaginary world and it's people, then you should thoroughly enjoy this.

Bridge of Sighs

Richard Russo immediately takes you into the small town of Thomaston, making you part of the lives of many of the cahracters. The interplay of the past/present thinking of the characters is interesting (although sometimes confusing). The lives of Lucy(Lou), Sarah and Bobby become intertwined and forever change each other. The story has elements of betrayal and coming of age that resonate with most people. Russos ability to use description is wonderful and really allows you to become involved. It was a worthwhile read, though could have been a bit shorter with the same impact.

Better than Empire Falls

I wish there were a way to give 4.5 stars to a book, for though I enjoyed this book tremendously, I would not say it achieves the highest level of literature. Nor, necessarily is that what it intends to do. Russo does not batter the reader over the head with his talent. He simply lets it unfold through his characters. And it is Russo's characterizations that are his strength. In Bridge of Sighs they are stronger than ever (stronger even than his Pulitzer Prize winning "Empire Falls" from 2002).

The lives of a handful of individuals from a factory-class Upstate New York town are both nuanced and elaborate. Each character is so rich, so full of faults and strengths, kindness and selfishness, that the town - divided into it's sectors of poor and middle class - seems to slowly become palpable as we get more and more familiar with its houses, stores and streets.

Russo's true gift is to underscore, without much action or special plot, the tumultuous inner lives of everyday people. Childhood, family, relationships (both young and old - casual and passionate), mean different things to people who are co-existing within them. Russo let's these contradicting expectations collide to a remarkabale and realistic effect. The story moves from past to present and from New York State to Venice (mostly New York) each shift in time and place letting the reader in a little further until we fully understand these multi-dimensional people.

This is a long, satisfying, big American book that communicates its purpose with clarity and precision, The book expands and digresses but there are no wasted words - by the last 1/3 it feels like every little detail is vital. The narration is very good and the writing is intelligent, serene and at times enlightening. I have read three Russo novels and this one is my favorite.

Pure gold!

I've read or listened to all of Russo's books. This one is pure gold. I cared about the characters, understood them and lived their lives with them.
Thank you for a wonderful story.

Wonderful

What a book! I've been a Russo fan since "The Risk Pool," and I downloaded "Bridge of Sighs" the day it was released. I took the day off from work and unplugged the phone. When it ended, I started it over again. There is a kindness and insight and depth of understanding to Mr. Russo's writing that makes me weak in the knees. He captures the pathos of the near-miss, and the dignity and indignities required to see through to the end the lives we choose.

Readers/listeners who are familiar with the down-on-their-luck towns of his other books (except "Straight Man," which is a whole other delightful story of its own) will feel as though they've come home again. These new characters, too, are flawed, trying hard, making the best of it, making mistakes, coming together, and falling apart. The plot is textured and complex, spanning generations, continents, and social classes. It is wistful, heartbreaking, sweet, sad, and often funny, and although I missed the wisecracking Sully and his friends (if you haven't yet, get "Nobody's Fool"), these people had distinct voices that were just as affecting and effective.

The narrator is terrific, with a nuanced style that reflects the pain (or joy) of the action and the lyricism of the prose.

Another great Russo read

The narrator's pace takes a while to get used to, but ultimately helps to draw the pictures of Lucy's life, and becomes convincing as the voice of Lucy. Wonderfully written descriptive prose in true Russo style. I loved listening to this story! If you like Richard Russo, you'll like this book!