Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Rating:
Summary: Excellent character study in Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
Review: Connell does a superlative job of illustrating upper-middle class society in the 30's and 40's with these two novels. Each is a series of vignettes that serves to illuminate the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, through their interactions with each other, their family and the society they live in. Subtle, richly textured and very real - these are the people that lived ordinary lives. I recognized people I know in these portraits

Rating:
Summary: Excellent character study in Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
Review: Connell does a superlative job of illustrating upper-middle class society in the 30's and 40's with these two novels. Each is a series of vignettes that serves to illuminate the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, through their interactions with each other, their family and the society they live in. Subtle, richly textured and very real - these are the people that lived ordinary lives. I recognized people I know in these portraits

Rating:
Summary: sympathetic characterizations of the "upper class"
Review: These are two easy reading books that consist of short episodes in the lives of an "upper class" couple in Kansas City in the 1930s and 40s. Each book progresses through their lives, so you see them age and their children grow. The book "Mrs Bridge", characterizes her as a true ditz, the kinds who always says meaningless "right" things and rich woman preoccupied with shopping. Mr. Bridge is characterized as a remote, clueless kind of guy. The book ends with Mr. Bridge's death and his son sadly recognizing that his dad spent all his life trying to make life better for his family when all his family really wanted was some time with him. Showing the biases of the time of publication, Mr. Bridge becomes much more humane and likeable in the book about him. In "Mr. Bridge," even the annoying Mrs. Bridge is much more likeable. Even though set long ago, there are all sorts of insights that are very human. Everyone can see themselves in this book somewhere.

Rating:
Summary: sympathetic characterizations of the "upper class"
Review: These are two easy reading books that consist of short episodes in the lives of an "upper class" couple in Kansas City in the 1930s and 40s. Each book progresses through their lives, so you see them age and their children grow. The book "Mrs Bridge", characterizes her as a true ditz, the kinds who always says meaningless "right" things and rich woman preoccupied with shopping. Mr. Bridge is characterized as a remote, clueless kind of guy. The book ends with Mr. Bridge's death and his son sadly recognizing that his dad spent all his life trying to make life better for his family when all his family really wanted was some time with him. Showing the biases of the time of publication, Mr. Bridge becomes much more humane and likeable in the book about him. In "Mr. Bridge," even the annoying Mrs. Bridge is much more likeable. Even though set long ago, there are all sorts of insights that are very human. Everyone can see themselves in this book somewhere.