Bridges of Madison County

Certain books stay with you for a few days after you’ve read the last page. Some stay for a year. Others continue to linger in a timeless fashion. Bridges of Madison County is one such book. 

I reserved 5 books online from the New York Public Library. But since the wait time is from 9-13 weeks, I decided to revisit older works that are readily available for checkout. And since Bridges is only a few chapters long, it was my first choice. 

The first time I read Bridges was in 2005, years after its movie adaptation was released. In the 90s, I was into the mystery/thriller genre and the story of a lonely married woman having an affair with a stranger didn’t catch my fancy. Or perhaps, I was way too young to care. Although I’ve heard wonderful things about the movie over the years, I didn’t think it’s something that would interest me. 

I wasn’t even looking for the book when I came across it at a Barnes & Noble. Sometimes life surprises you with good things when you’re not paying attention. It’s my rule to read the first chapter of a book before buying it. I want to give authors I’m not familiar with a fair chance to impress me and the first chapter is that chance. I had that in mind when I took Bridges off the shelf. But I didn’t even make it to the checkout counter because I finished it right there, standing by a corner bookcase, surrounded by titles begging to be chosen, with the lamplight on 86th Street flickering for dramatic effect. 

My second reading of Robert and Francesca’s short week together was also under the light of a street lamp on Corona Avenue while sitting in my car in between seeing patients two days ago. I suspect there’s no better way to read this story than being true to the nature of the love they shared; a brief, magical respite from a life of repetition, responsibility, and predictable rhythm. 

Bridges is a beautiful telling of a love that happened too late (or too early, depending on how you wish to see it). But Francesca and Robert chose to step out of the confines of timing and convention and dared to step into an alternate life where the two of them together is possible, if only for a few days. What could be more heartbreaking than knowing a great love that is not yours to keep? Or cannot keep?

This post is not meant to dissect this poignant piece or critique the areas where Robert James Waller succeeded. Or failed. And there were many failures, lines of dialogue that made me cringe, unnecesary repetitions, and thoughts too cheesy I can’t even bear to think of them. You can see how doing so would ruin my experience of it. As the author aptly put it, “Analysis destroys wholes. Some things, magic things, are meant to stay whole. If you look at their pieces, they go away.” Movies also tend to do that. They have a way of watering down the emotional journey you went through while reading the book. And this, I refuse to be ruined. The same goes for The Great Gatsby, which I will discuss at a different time, in a dfferent post. 

So, no, I still have not seen the movie. Someday when I’m too old to read, maybe I’ll watch it. Maybe. 

When you're wishing there's a bridge somewhere...