A review by suprconman99
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This read wasn’t exactly what I expected. I thought I was getting a philosophical novel about a monk wrestling with existential angst as he tries to reconcile his faith with the reality of a random disaster that kills several people. There is a little bit of that, bookending the narrative, but the bulk of the book is actually a handful of vignettes illuminating the victims’ interlinked lives, in all their complexity and moral ambiguity.
How much you enjoy this book will depend on how taken you are (or aren’t) with Wilder’s lyrical prose and subtle wit. He does, ultimately, take a stance on the question of meaning in a seemingly meaningless, brutal world, not via the actions of the misguided Brother Juniper but via the tireless, selfless work of the abbess Madre Maria del Pilar. Still, it all felt a bit slight; perhaps my expectations were too high going in.
How much you enjoy this book will depend on how taken you are (or aren’t) with Wilder’s lyrical prose and subtle wit. He does, ultimately, take a stance on the question of meaning in a seemingly meaningless, brutal world, not via the actions of the misguided Brother Juniper but via the tireless, selfless work of the abbess Madre Maria del Pilar. Still, it all felt a bit slight; perhaps my expectations were too high going in.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death