[FROM FACEBOOK]
Sue: I’ve noticed that I enjoy first novels. So far, so good with this one!
[Following review from iRead on Facebook]
The Invisible Bridge
By Julie Orringer
Julie Orringer’s astonishing first novel, eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story collection, How to Breathe Underwater (“fiercely beautiful”—The New York Times;“unbelievably good”—Monica Ali), is a grand love story set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war, and the chronicle of one family’s struggle against the forces that threaten to annihilate it.
Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he falls into a complicated relationship with the letter’s recipient, he becomes privy to a secret history that will alter the course of his own life.
Meanwhile, as his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena and their younger brother leaves school for the stage, Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty. At the end of Andras’s second summer in Paris, all of Europe erupts in a cataclysm of war.
From the small Hungarian town of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras’s room on the rue des Écoles to the deep and enduring connection he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a love tested by disaster, of brothers whose bonds cannot be broken, of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war.
Expertly crafted, magnificently written, emotionally haunting, and impossible to put down, The Invisible Bridge resoundingly confirms Julie Orringer’s place as one of today’s most vital and commanding young literary talents.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Bill: I’m reading, and quite enjoying, The Passage by Justin Cronin. But it’s slow going because with over 700 pages in hardcover, it’s quite heavy, literally as well as figuratively.
I usually wait for books to come out in soft-cover form, for economical reasons, though even pocketbooks are quite costly, especially when one reads as much as Mariette and I do. But a few years back, I got back into buying hardcover books on sale as bargain books — usually $5 to $10.
But the reviews for The Passage made me want to get this one right away.
A few weekends ago, there was quite a sale on books at Chapters/Indigo, including The Passage, released just five days previously, on sale for $16 compared to the reg. price of $32 and change.
Before heading to the store, I went online to check out a few of the hardcover books they had on sale for $5. While online I was reminded that the books are even cheaper if bought online. The difference is relative slight but is significant if buying several at a time. So that’s what I did.
Of course you can opt for free shipping if your purchases total more than $39, which ours always seem to do, quite easily.
Free shipping can take longer, but I usually buy the books and forget about them until they arrive a few to several days later. However, in this case, I ordered eight books (all hardcover) on Saturday, June 12 and they arrived at our door — to Mariette surprise and delight — on Monday, June 14.
For the curious, and since I just refreshed my memory by looking up my confirmation e-mail from Chapters/Indigo, the books I bought were:
1 – The Passage $16.47
2 – Wolf Totem $7.99
3 – Careless In Red $5.00
4 – Anathem $5.00
5 – Bright Shiny Morning $5.00
6 – The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo $21.12
7 – The Girl Who Played With Fire $21.12
8 – The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest $21.12
Some may recognize the last three as the famous Millennium Trilogy by the late Swedish author Stieg Larrson. Mariette had borrowed, read and returned the books and Travis has his own set in Toronto, but I wanted to read these books. Besides, they were all on sale from their reg. price in the $32 range.
Too much information? LOL
Anyway, I too enjoy first novels but I usually try them out when they hit the Bargain Books stage. Granted, some have been duds, but most are at least worth the price I pay, or more. And I have discovered some fine authors this way.
Looks like you found a really good one that I’ll have to check out. Thanks for the tip.
OK, enough’s enough. Before I turn THIS into a book. LOL
Bill, I don’t know what type of books you like, but… I often find myself drawn to historical fiction as I like to be transported to another (real) place and time.
Some first novels I remember liking included Secret History by Donna Tartt, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The last two writers are Canadian, I believe.
You might like Dennis Lehane – do you?
Your books were definitely delivered quickly!
There was a second hand book sale in the rotunda of my office building yesterday and today to benefit United Way. You could fill a small bag for $2.50 or a large bag for $5.00. I was too busy to indulge. I don’t really have any shelf space anyway which is why it’s a good thing I have an e-reader.