Saturday, June 04, 2011

Book report

I've been greatly enjoying Evan Connell's "Mr. Bridge" (when I was in Singapore) and now "Mrs. Bridge." The odd thing about these novels is that, on the surface, they are exactly the sort of thing that would be (and was) made into a Merchant-Ivory movie. They bring to mind Updike territory, although they read as if they were written earlier (reflecting that they are set 30 years earlier and in a much more conservative time, albeit one that is already changing).

Yet underneath and in truth, "Mr. Bridge" and "Mrs. Bridge" are savage and pitiless (albeit empathetic), offering exceptionally dark comedy.

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