Mr Bridge
Mr Bridge by Evan S. Connell, published by Penguin in 2012, is a poignant exploration of a man’s internal struggles amid the facade of success. This edition, comprising 275 pages, presents a narrative centered on Walter Bridge, a successful lawyer in a Kansas suburb, who grapples with existential doubts, repressed desires, and deep-seated prejudices. Through a blend of dark humor and keen observation, Connell portrays the complexities of marriage and family life, revealing the disconnect between Walter’s outward achievements and his inner turmoil.
Readers will find a satirical yet moving depiction of Walter’s daily existence, where even his attempts at kindness, such as gifting stock certificates to his family, highlight his inability to connect emotionally. The novel delves into themes of family life and personal limitations, offering insights into the dynamics of a couple growing old together. This edition also features an introduction by Lionel Shriver, providing additional context to Connell’s work. Mr Bridge stands as a significant contribution to literary fiction, inviting reflection on the nuances of human relationships and the challenges of self-acceptance.
Official synopsis Publisher
Evan S. Connell’s Mr Bridge is a moving and darkly funny portrayal of a man who is outwardly successful but internally stunted by existential doubts, repressed sexual yearnings and deep-seated prejudices. Fans of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Yates will enjoy Connell’s pitch-perfect portrayal of marriage and family life, and this new Penguin Classics edition also includes an introduction by Lionel Shriver, author of We Need to Talk About Kevin. Walter Bridge, husband to India and father to three, is a successful lawyer in a Kansas suburb. The daily dramas of his life only serve to illuminate his prejudice, self-doubts and dreary existence – his Christmas gifts to the family are stock certificates, which he immediately takes back to manage on their behalf – yet he is also kind and charitable, loving his wife while never able to tell her so. In Mr Bridge, Evan S. Connell gives us a moving, satirical and poetic portrayal of a man who cannot escape his limitations, and a couple growing old together but unable, ultimately, to connect. The companion novel, Mrs Bridge, telling the story from the other side of the marriage, is published in Penguin Modern Classics with an introduction by Joshua Ferris, author of Then We Came to the End and The Unnamed. Evan S. Connell was born in Kansas City in 1924. He served in the US navy in the second world war and lived briefly in Paris before returning to the US, where he wrote an incredibly varied range of books and supported himself with odd jobs. In 2009, he was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize for lifetime achievement, and in 2010, he was awarded a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Connell died in New Mexico on 10th January 2013, aged 88. “Mr Bridge is a tour-de-force of contemporary American realism, a beautiful work of fiction”. (Life). “With a delicate and subtle irony, Mr Connell shows us, first from her, then from his point of view, the little daily dramas of this ordinary family. It is very, very funny, often moving and sad, and written with an uncompromising realism that one rarely comes across. To me the Bridges were a revelation: I cannot recommend them too highly”. (Daily Telegraph).
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