Bridge 108

Compelling Premise. Lacking Execution. This was one of those books that seems destined for critical and maybe book club success at the expense of a wider commercial following. It was effectively a more interesting and less utterly depressing character drama in a sort-of-ish style of The Road.

The book only has 10 chapters, 4-5 of which are from the perspective of our main storyline character Caleb, the rest are from various adults on the periphery of the story but which sometimes provide key perspectives that Caleb can't possibly have.

Still, the utter lack of world building can be a solid narrative choice - when executed well. Unfortunately this simply wasn't executed to the level that I generally expect, and I'm not all that picky, y'all.

Finally, the abrupt and inconclusive ending was a bit too much and honestly in and of itself sunk this book from 4* to 3*.

If you enjoyed The Road and/ or generally like “awards season” dramas for your entertainment, you may well like this book. I personally despised the road and prefer more “summer movie season” type entertainment, so it just wasn't for me.