Russo, Richard: Bridge of Sighs

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Much of Richard Russo's novel Bridge of Sighs is told from the point of view of Lou C. "Lucy" Lynch. Now 60 years old, Lucy still lives in Thomaston, the small town in upstate New York where he grew up. In two generations Lucy's family has lived out the American dream, moving, as their circumstances permitted, from an economically depressed neighborhood to the middle-class section of town to, finally, one of the homes that Lucy had once regarded as palatial. Lucy's father, Big Lou, had envisioned such a future for the family but never realized it himself. But it was his gamble in buying an ostensibly doomed corner store that led eventually to the family's financial security. The store also served as the family hearth over the years, and it is the setting of much of the book's action.

Lucy tells the story of his childhood in memoir form. Writing it is his way of coming to terms with his past before he and his wife leave for a vacation in Italy. They expect to visit an old friend there, Bobby Noonan, who's now a renowned painter. The Lynches were one of those families that people fall in love with as a unit, and Bobby had fallen into their orbit as a teenager.

Bridge of Sighs is a long and complex book, and the above summary only captures the surface of its setting. Russo has again created a rich universe with his prose, fully realized, peopled by flesh-and-blood characters who sometimes regret missed opportunities and who lie to themselves and others. Even Lucy, we are given to understand, is not as reliable a narrator as we at first suppose. This is the theme that runs through the story: We are not only what we appear to be. What we are depends on the context and on the details we choose to provide--or which we remember. The only character in Bridge of Sighs who arguably is exactly what he seems to be is Lucy's father, a good-hearted optimist who is frequently criticized by his wife for having a too naive view of the world.

Unusually for a Richard Russo novel, I have some criticism. I think the book ended poorly. In the last 50-odd pages the story is sidetracked as a new character is introduced to the Lynch orbit. There is also an elderly black woman whom Sarah befriends who is more of a stock character than we are accustomed to seeing from the author. The whole concluding section doesn't fit with the rest of the narrative at all and really disappoints as the final chapter in our acquaintance with the Lynches. I also didn't like the overly dramatic conclusion of Bobby Noonan's story. It's not a satisfying close, and reads like something from a by-the-numbers romantic movie. Had the book ended 50 pages sooner, I think it would have been much improved.

Comments

[Clare D]

1.

I must look out for Russo! I'd not heard of him before - and, despite the ending , the rest makes me think this os something I'd very much enjoy...after my current TBR pile is diminished, though!

[Debra Hamel]

2.

There's no question: you would definitely enjoy him.