The Bridge

I received this as an advanced copy from Netgalley.com for an honest review.

There are countless stories rich in history interlaced in the concrete, wire, and foundations of human civilization;  whether it be a tower in Pisa or a bridge that spans the waters between New York City and Brooklyn; every brick, trestle, and pylon could tell a story.  It is up to us, the stewards of the past, to recognize, learn from, and appreciate these works.  We would not be where we are as a society without people like the Roeblings. I can now say after reading this novel the Roeblings are added in my mind to the likes of Guggenheim, Olmstead, and Vaux.

The novel is not the dry telling of pounds per square inch of pressure in the caissons or the tensile strength of the wires; It is the story of a monumental project and the people who dedicated their lives to see it through. Specifically, a husband and wife team whose love and respect for each other are tantamount, as well as their mutual intelligence shines throughout the story much to the credit of the author Peter J. Tomasi. Graphically it is beautiful. They set the historical tone without being overly fussy and fastidious to detail. Sarah Duvall did her research into the period. Pictures of the bridge are not overly technical. I would assume this is a stylistic choice, yet they convey all the necessary information to the reader. This allows the story to move at a good place and pause when necessary for reflection. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who appreciates a good history lesson that is so intriguing it could be written as a work of fiction. I look forward to reading many more works by the author and enjoying the art of the illustrator.

I had no idea about this story, and it's embarrassing because I live 20 minutes away from the town of Roebling and Trenton. I need to get my butt to the museum.
That said, I loved the story in this graphic novel. I loved the art, but there's something about Tomasi's writing that just doesn't gel for me. I found myself reading pages over and over again and feeling like something was missing. He says, in the preface, that he struggled with fitting the story into the short, graphic novel format of about 200 pages. Maybe that's it. Maybe his writing needs room to breath. I am left with a feeling that the Roeblings (all of them) were quite weird and didn't understand some of the actions they took. With more exploration, I may have understood some of their motives.
I was most interested in the construction of the bridge and the health effects on the workers. Truly fascinating! I was less interested in the board meetings and the politics, but I get that they are a part of it and had to be covered. I also would have liked to have known more about how the people felt about the bridge, I only caught a glimpse of how the people connected to the ferries felt.
If anything, this graphic novel just set me on the path to reading more about it, so...success!