The Invisible Bridge

By: Julie Orringer

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 27 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 Julie Orringer (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"One of the best books of the year."—Junot Diaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

“If you’re still looking for a ‘big’ novel to carry into the summer holidays—one in which you can lose yourself without the guilty suspicion that you’re slumming—then Julie Orringer’s The Invisible Bridge is the book you want. . . . Stunning. . . . In every admirable sense an ‘ambitious’ historical novel, in which large human emotions—profound love, familial bonds and the deepest of human loyalties—play out against the backdrop of unimaginable cruelty. . . . Orringer traverses this perilous rhetorical terrain with remarkable—and, more important, convincing, self-possession. . . . Remarkably affecting. . . . A life powerfully, unsentimentally and inspiringly evoked in this gracefully written and altogether remarkable first novel.”—Tim Rutten, The Los Angeles Times

“The Invisible Bridge deserves to be praised. It takes the introspective themes we’ve loved so well in American literature—from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself to A. M. Homes’s Music for Torching—and points them in a different direction. . . . Rendered in sweeping, epic fashion . . . a close look at the terrible ways that enormous historical events can affect individual lives. . . . 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.”—Andrew Ervin, The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

A stunning achievement

What did you love best about The Invisible Bridge?

This is a beautiful, poignant story which held my attention from beginning to end - with one big exception. The canvas is one which particularly interests me, having lived through some of it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Invisible Bridge?

The ending.

What didn’t you like about Arthur Morey’s performance?

Everything. I'm a big fan of Mr. Morey, but this reading is a disaster. As someone who is multilingual, I was appalled at the numerous mis-pronunciations throughout the book. While some of these may have been intentional (though I doubt it), I cannot imagine why the publisher didn't choose a reader who is familiar with the various languages. I winced each time a word or a phrase was mis-pronounced, and this just took me right out of the story and into near apoplexy! Please, Mr. Morey, next time you are hired to read a book which contains words in another language, get some serious coaching from a professional. This one is a blot on your otherwise perfect landscape.

If you could take any character from The Invisible Bridge out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Andras.

Any additional comments?

What's next from Ms. Orringer?

Reader needs to bone up on French & Hebrew terms

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I really like this book, and the narrator did a pretty good job overall, but I was appalled at how he butchered the pronunciation of the French and Hebrew terms (I'm in no position to judge his pronunciation of the Hungarian terms). Is it really so hard to find a reader who is knowledgeable about these other languages? or at least, willing to learn how to pronounce a few words? For the record "charoset" is not "chair-row-set"! Ugh.

What a wonderful book!

What did you love best about The Invisible Bridge?

The list is too long to mention all the things I loved. Firstly, the characters were so real and believable. I could see and feel each one of them. Secondly, it was an eye-opener regarding what the Hungarian Jews went through during the second world war. The writing style was also exceptional.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Adras, but I also loved Tibor and Klara. How do you pick your favourite?

Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?

I think that Andras and Klara were the best portrayed... which is fascinating since a male voice did both of them. But the intonation during Klara's parts was just feminine enough to make it clear that she was speaking without sounding ridiculous.

Who was the most memorable character of The Invisible Bridge and why?

Every character was memorable. I can't pick just one.

Any additional comments?

This was perhaps one of my favourite audio books of all time, behind only Cutting for Stone and the Outlander series.

A Novel Novel

Would you consider the audio edition of The Invisible Bridge to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print vesion -- loved the audible one.

Any additional comments?

This is the kind of novel I can get lost in. I miss it now that I've finished listening. I learned a lot about the 2nd World War and how it affected everyday people in Hungary. It is a perfect book for additional novels about the same characters.

loved it

This book is so well written! I have read many WW2 historical fiction books, but have yet to read any from this perspective. It was beautiful and heart-wrenching.

A story of love conquering evil

One feels as though, after the opening chapters, those of excitement and love in Paris, that one has entered the book of Job. Of course telling the story of necessity must reflect a full measure historical accuracy regarding antisemitism, , it becomes unnecessarily long and redundant with one tragic story after another when one or two would have adequately represented the horrors of the time. At time the author's metaphors appear forced , an unnecessary attempt at artistry . Descriptive phrases become ponderous. Unnecessarily she delves into medical stories which expose her lack of knowledge of the era. The final chapters , which could have lifted the story from its horrors are truncated, leaving the lives of those characters, whom the reader comes to admire and for whom affection has been engendered, are left unrevealed. It seems as though the talented author is underserved by her editor. It is as though the sadness of the story has left the author bereft of any strength to leave the reader with a smile for the story of love, strength and daring to survive . There is no reflection of the last part of Faulkner's closing sentence of his Nobel acceptance speech.

A Testament of Love

A beautifully written love story spanning pre-war Paris and Hungary through WWII and the Hungarian Revolution. Written in harrowing detail about the times, it is well worth reading because we can never forget that there is evil in the world but also bravery and great love.

Terrible pronunciation

The story was quite good but the narration suffered as the narrator massacred the pronunciation of the Hungarian words, names etc.

Interesting Hungarian history

I didn’t know much about Hungary and the Jews during World War II. Very interesting

Epic scope

The first historical novel about Hungary during WW2 I've read. Characterization and conflicts were realistic and well written. The "coincidences" worked for me. Had a bit of "La Boheme" feeling at the beginning but I could relate. Will listen to it again.