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The Other Side of the Bridge

Average rating: 4/5

Based on 43 ratings

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The Other Side of the Bridge

by LAWSON MARY

Knopf Canada | December 15, 2008 | Hardcover

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession.

Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father's character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know - the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge.

Then there is Ian, the family's next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed - a little, but not enough.

These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men - its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.

Arthur found himself staring down at the knife embedded in his foot. There was a surreal split second before the blood started to well up and then up it came, dark and thick as syrup.

Arthur looked at Jake and saw that he was staring at the knife. His expression was one of surprise, and this was something that Arthur wondered about later too. Was Jake surprised because he had never considered the possibility that he might be a less than perfect shot? Did he have that much confidence in himself, that little self-doubt?

Or was he merely surprised at how easy it was to give in to an impulse, and carry through the thought which lay in your mind? Simply to do whatever you wanted to do, and damn the consequences.

-from The Other Side of the Bridge
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Reviews

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      helpful to you?

    Rating: 4/5

    Great Canadian novel

    Dana

    2 years ago

    This is a Canadian story about two very different brothers in a rural Northern Ontario town. Arthur, the eldest brother, is shy, retiring, loyal and dutiful. His father approves of him and sets him up to inherit the farm. Jake is outgoing, egotistical and self-absorbed. His mother thinks he can do no wrong and makes Arthur protect him even when it goes against Arthur's best interests. So is set an antagonistic relationship.

    When Laura comes to town with her father the preacher during WWII, each brother falls in love with her.

    This story is told in the past (WWII era) and the present. In the present the doctor's son, Ian is smitten by Laura and goes to help out on the farm where once again Arthur and Jake are forced to face each other.

    This is a well-written story with a somewhat predictable ending. However, predictable or not the reader is drawn in and engrossed in the details of the small framing community and the lives of the Dunn brothers.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 5/5

    a book to cherish

    Chatelaine71

    2 years ago

    This is my favourite book ever. I didn't want it to end. I will surely read it again. Crow Lake was also fantastic and I hope that Mary Lawson will soon write again. Enjoy!

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 5/5

    Loved it

    ♥tally lamora♥

    • Top Book Reviewer

    3 years ago

    I loved this book just like i loved her other one crow lake. It was heart felt and full of emotions. she is a good writer and devolps characters, twists and plots well. there were parts that i cired a little and again takes place in canada YAY :D

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    As an avowed lover of "Crow Lake" I eagerly awaited Mary's second book. I got it when I picked up the mail last night, stayed up most of the night reading it, took a nap, called in sick to physio-torture-atherapy and then finished it.
    (Mom, if you are reading this "YES I lied about being sick -read the book and you will uderstand why I did this!"

    Mary once again sets her story in Northern Ontario and sets up the perfect love triangle between two brothers and the woman they both loved.
    The triangle soon becomes a square as all deal with the Great Depression, and the inevability of war and its consequences.
    inextricably intertwined,
    The novel blends hatred and love and good vs. evil and you will be captured on every page by the lyrical prose she is known for.
    Best book I have read this year, honestly, truly and not saying that as we grew up the in same fly-spot.
    BRAVO!!!

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Details

From the Publisher

From the author of the beloved #1 national bestseller Crow Lake comes an exceptional new novel of jealously, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsession.

Two brothers, Arthur and Jake Dunn, are the sons of a farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful and set to inherit the farm and his father's character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know - the family misfit. When a beautiful young woman comes into the community, the fragile balance of sibling rivalry tips over the edge.

Then there is Ian, the family's next generation, and far too sure he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the fifties, and the world has changed - a little, but not enough.

These two generations in the small town of Struan, Ontario, are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men - its unimaginable horror reaching right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. With her astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, Lawson builds their story to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising us with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.

Arthur found himself staring down at the knife embedded in his foot. There was a surreal split second before the blood started to well up and then up it came, dark and thick as syrup.

Arthur looked at Jake and saw that he was staring at the knife. His expression was one of surprise, and this was something that Arthur wondered about later too. Was Jake surprised because he had never considered the possibility that he might be a less than perfect shot? Did he have that much confidence in himself, that little self-doubt?

Or was he merely surprised at how easy it was to give in to an impulse, and carry through the thought which lay in your mind? Simply to do whatever you wanted to do, and damn the consequences.

-from The Other Side of the Bridge

About the Author

Mary Lawson was born and brought up in a farming community in central Ontario. She moved to England in 1968, is married with two sons and lives in Kingston-upon-Thames. This is her second novel.

Bookclub Guide

Mary Lawson's first novel, Crow Lake, mesmerized readers across the country and became a New York Times bestseller, a rare achievement for a debut author. With The Other Side of the Bridge she enchants us again, weaving together the stories of two families as they seek solace and redemption across two generations.

Set against the backdrop of northern Ontario's haunting landscapes, The Other Side of the Bridge opens with an unforgettable image of Arthur and Jake Dunn, two brothers whose jealousies will take them beyond the edge of reason, to a deadly point of no return. The sons of a farmer, they come of age during the 1930s, when money is tight and a world war is looming. When a beautiful young woman named Laura moves into their community, she unwittingly propels their sibling rivalry to its breaking point.

Years later, the local doctor's son, Ian, takes a job at the Dunn farm. His mother has left the family, and he develops a troubling attachment to Laura. As he desperately searches for direction in his own life, he stumbles onto a secret that forever alters the course of Arthur's. With vivid scenes and stunning twists, this is a novel rich with conversation topics.

The questions and discussion subjects that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Mary Lawson's The Other Side of the Bridge We hope they will enrich your experience of this magnificent novel.

1. How were you affected by the novel's prologue? What did you discover about Arthur and Jake in this scene? How did your perceptions of the brothers change throughout the book?

2. How would you answer the questions that conclude the prologue? What accounts for the differences between those who follow the rules, like Arthur, and those who defy them? Which came more easily for you as an adolescent: obedience or defiance?

3. How were Jake and Arthur affected by their family dynamic? Did their mother pamper Jake too much? Did their father favor Arthur because he was easier to manage, or was Jake difficult to manage because of his father's favoritism?

4. What was the effect of the novel's timeline? How did it compare to your own experience of the continuum between present moments and memory? What parallels run between Ian's life and Arthur's?

5. Discuss the use of the headlines that open each chapter. What do they say about the local and global concerns of humanity? In what way were the headlines timeless, and in what way did they convey the unique attributes of this locale? What headlines would be most significant in marking the chapters of your life?

6. What is the significance of the two time periods in the lives of the characters? How were the Dunn brothers shaped by a youth of economic hardship and the presence of POWs? How was Ian shaped by an era of greater liberation, with television for entertainment and "risqué" music on the radio? What dreams for the future did each of these generations possess?

7. Discuss the nature of love and marriage as described in the novel. What made Jake so irresistible to Laura? What made Dr. Christopherson's wife choose another man? Was Laura's appeal strictly physical when she first moved to town? What is the riskiest romantic decision you have made?

8. How are the characters shaped by the novel's setting? What do the natural surroundings of the town mean to them? What separates those who want to escape from those who bask in the town's familiarity?

9. Why is Ian so transformed by the "day of the dragonflies" that concludes chapter nine? What did these memories mean to him?

10. Discuss the novel's title. What does it mean for the characters to reach the other side of the bridge? Could Jake and Arthur ever be free of the wounds they inflicted on each other?

11. Who ultimately was responsible for Jake's fall from the bridge? Who ultimately paid the price (literally, in terms of his medical bills, and figuratively as well)?

12. How did you react to the knowledge that Ian followed in his father's footsteps after all? Did he make the right decision?

13. Laura confides in Arthur soon after meeting him, telling him she doesn't believe that God cares about humanity (Chapter Ten). How would you have responded to her?

14. Discuss the cycles of tragedy conveyed in the Dunn family history, from the death of Arthur's father to the closing scenes of Carter. How do characters cope with the concepts of fate versus intent? How do they cope with regret?

15. What common threads link the families in this novel to those in Crow Lake? What makes rural landscapes so appropriate for both of these storylines? Do you think people who grow up in cities feel the same passion for them as the characters in these two novels feel for the land?

16. If Matt Morrison, the brilliant and adored older brother in Crow Lake, had wandered into this book, which character do you think he would have had more in common with, Ian or Pete?

Hardcover

368 Pages, 6.02 x 8.46 x 1.11 in

December 15, 2008

Knopf Canada

English


0676977464
9780676977462

From the Critics

"Lawson's gifts are enormous, especially her ability to write a literary work in a popular style. Her dialogue has perfect pitch, yet I've never read anyone better at articulating silence. Best of all, Lawson creates the most quotable images in Canadian literature." -Toronto Star

"I could not put it down, but perhaps better to say that I could not let it go or that it would not let me go . . . Lawson transported me into a place that I know does not exist by taking me deep down into the story of a family whose fate is inexorable and universal. Her reality became mine." -Globe and Mail

"One of the most eagerly awaited books of the autumn season. . . . The prologue draws you in, as does the novel, which is consistently well-written, involving and enjoyable to read. . . . Achingly real, known, [Arthur's] inner life, with all its shifts in understanding, emotion, perception and conflicted impulses, is rendered with compelling force in concise, supple prose." -Ottawa Citizen

"[Lawson] returns to several of the themes that marked her brilliantly successful first novel, Crow Lake. . . . Lawson's cornucopia of novelistic gifts, even more bounteously on display in her second book, includes handsome, satisfying sentences, vivid descriptions of physical work and landscape and an almost fiendish efficiency in building the feeling that something very bad is about to happen." -National Post

"An accomplished successor to [Crow Lake]. . . . With her cast of engaging characters, Lawson subtly but surely builds the dramatic tension toward a climax that changes the lives of both the Dunn and Christopherson families. Lawson's story is a coming-of-age tale for two generations of young men, a community and a country." -Quill & Quire


"There's something timid yet masterful in Lawson's writing. She neither wastes nor wallows. Her characters do not so much develop as blossom into themselves, one petal after another. . . . This is a book you will be driven to share with friends." -Gazette (Montreal)

"A devastating story . . . about pushing fate and dealing with the consequences. The main characters of Arthur and Ian are expertly drawn." -London Free Press

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