The Other Side of the Bridge

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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. Oh, does Ian have my sympathy. I remember being in my late twenties with a job, a marriage, a mortgage, and a baby on the way pretty much having these same thoughts. I will say in my sixties that I finally feel a little more sure and confident, and it has been a long road getting here. Foundation: The foundation (or base) of a bridge is the element that connects the structure to the earth and transfers loads from it to the ground below. Have you ever wept to come to the end of a book? I did today, when I finished our book club selection, The Other Side of the Bridge, by Mary Lawson. It was absolutely the best book I have ever read -- at least that’s how I feel today. There were many times throughout that I thought that if I could write the perfect book, this would be it: with the themes of duty and the benevolent traps of love and friendship, of the conflict between disappointment and contentment, and (how could I help but notice) the trials of motherhood, all mixed up in the lives of characters set in a time and place gorgeously fraught with commingled beauty and despair. Lots of lovely foreshadowing throughout, as well. Another intriguing theme was Lawson’s treatment of the power and sanctity of Words. Whether words are written or expressed through action they become holy offerings in the trials of our momentous yet insignificant lives. An amazingly intricate and ambitious first novel - ten years in the making - that puts an engrossing new spin on the traditional haunted-house tale.

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 My favorite thing about this book w Like 'Crow Lake', this book takes place on a farm in rural northern Canada. The protagonists are the Dunn family, especially Arthur and Jake, two brothers who could not be more different. Jake is a dilettante, a man who is without empathy or conscience, living his life impulsively and for the moment. He is good-looking and his mother's favorite. Arthur, the older of the two, is serious and streadfast, a hard worker and a man of few words but deep emotions. It is Arthur that helps his father keep the farm going.

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) There are multiple themes throughout the story. They include growing up, friendship, love, adultery, sibling rivalry, war, guilt, responsibility, choices in life, and farming. Hanging systems : Hanging systems are used to attach utility infrastructure to bridges. This can include wiring, piping, or ductwork. Immediately I love the writing. Each line is loaded with subtle humor. The theme, and why you might be interested? Who doesn't connect with the competing emotions between one sibling and another and parents' preferences for one child over another?

He [Arthur] saw that it was impossible to be sure of anything, where Jake was concerned. He could never know what Jake was thinking or intending, never know his motives, never understand the first thing about him.”

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As the forces within arch bridges are pushed toward the ground, the arch is forced out at its base, which is referred to as thrust. As the height of an arch increases, its outward thrust increases. To keep an arch bridge standing, the trust is restrained by its abutments. Louise Doughty in The Independent finished with "Her Booker longlisting should be a source of joy for everyone tired of self-indulgent "look at me" writing. The Other Side of the Bridge is a beautiful read, on every level." [5] While their mother spoils Jake compared the Arthur, Jake longs for their father Henry’s approval, something he never gets, in part because while he longs for it, he is unable to do the work or make the effort it would take to get Henry’s approval. Arthur, for his part, is well aware that Jake is their mother’s favorite, but feels powerless to change that. Told in alternating chapters and using newspaper headlines from the Temiskaming Speaker to establish a sense of time, Lawson’s novel is a gradual but deft weaving together of these two plot threads. 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.