(E–pub READ) [Mr Bridge]

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Evan S. Connell Þ 0 Read & download Read & download é PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Þ Evan S. Connell Free download Mr Bridge Walter Bridge is an ambitious lawyer who redoubles his efforts and time at the office whenever he sense that his family needs something even when what they need is of him and less of his money Affluence material 45 Stick em up Coming toward him was a red eyed unshaven man with one hand thrust into the slit pocket of a shabby trench coat Mr Bridge said impatiently What is it you want Give me your money the man said in hoarse voice and he made a threatening gesture Don t be ridiculous said Mr Bridge and walked away While driving home he contemplated the incident The man s presumption was extraordinary If he had no money he should get a job like everybody else Mr Bridge Walter doesn t think like everybody else but he believes everybody else should think the way he does If they did the world would be a better placeI enjoyed the gentle poignant humour of Mrs Bridge written in 1959 ten years earlier than this companion piece Read her book first My review of that is here was written in 1969 in the dawning of the Age of Auarius as the musical Hair identified the era It s possible the author shows us a different side of the Bridges from his modern vantage point The story actually takes place between the two World Wars and we see Mr Bridge laying down the law as to proper behaviour what is expected of men and women and children and business and society and and andThere is no uestion that he is a hard or at least long worker spending hours at the office with his faithful assistant Julia and in his study at home where the family is nervous about disturbing him Surprisingly he does sometimes sit in there wishing they would but he has no way of letting them knowAt one point he seriously considers explaining something about an interesting business case to the rest of the family but talks himself out of it None of this would make sense at the dinner table They might listen but it would be a strain No No he thought as he peered into his glass there is almost nothing I can say to them My life is cut in half The halves remain side by side in perfect euilibrium like halves of a melon I suppose the same is true of most men Or are they somehow unlike me Are they able to share themselves He has no idea what other men think and do but he s pretty sure of what s important to him Mostly it s business but not always He has times when he sits out with the family reading his paper or listening to his favourite music Often idle family chatter is going on around him Mr Bridge discovered that he could not read any though he continued holding the paper He listened to his daughters and his wife and he observed his son but he no longer understood what was being said as he listened to their voices and to the seasonal music of the insects the problems which had troubled him during the day did not seem important and he reflected that he had practically everything he ever wanted See He s a nice guy And sometimes he is He is by turns solicitous of his wife and her happiness but he s sometimes exasperated by her innocence and naivety She really has never been there and done that Then again he uses it to his advantage It s easy for him to boss her around He assumes she trusts he s right She doesn t always incidentally read Mrs Bridge first It s the better book anywayHe puts his foot down and doesn t like anyone who isn t from a white middle class church going family He s happy to do business with other people but he doesn t want to associate with them except as servants or staff When teen son Douglas is seen associating regularly with a teen waitress from their country club Mr Bridge calls him in for a discussion Where did she live In a big apartment building near Menorah Hospital Her mother worked at Menorah he thought Menorah Was this girl a Jewess Douglas didn t know He had never thought about it He guessed she might be Irish What was her name Peggy O Hara There is a time when Walter accidentally voices aloud a thought he has been secretly harbouring that Hitler has some good ideas about Jews Even his mild mannered wife is progressive in her thinking than he is as are the kids of courseDespite his comment about being happy reading his paper he seems happiest when he visits the vault in his bank to look at his securities He takes great pride and pleasure in amassing investments to ensure a comfortable future He s a bit of a Midas in that regardHaving said that and being no admirer of Walter Bridge I can understand him Here s a man who s lived through the Great War and the Depression and loathes the Roosevelt administration whose New Deal gives away his hard earned money to the undeserving get a job I have always liked the saying It s a reason but it s no excuse I may understand why people think the way they do or even behave the way they do but it s not an excuse for their behaviour Mr Bridge could give you lots of reasons but I don t think any of them excuse him This is a terrific portrait of the man Mrs Bridge loved and lived with for so many years I did often want to bop him on the head because I recognised him so well Connell gives him uite a dark side too which is extremely well hidden from everyone It comes as a surprise when it suddenly erupts here and there Their trip overseas was a real eye opener for both of the Bridges It s a good read but read about the Missus first

Evan S. Connell Þ 0 Read & download Read & download é PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Þ Evan S. Connell Free download Mr Bridge S classics during their author's lifetime With their shared ability to capture the manners and s of the American upper middle class Connell has done for the late thirties what Sinclair Lewis did for the twenties Connell brilliantly describes the daily life of the upper middle class Bridges I considered abandoning Mr Bridge several times Walter Bridge lives a regimented and unexamined life He is a bigot He is boring except for an occasional flash of wit and a few acts of unexpected kindness I didn t like him at all But I did finish because Connell s pitch perfect prose made me turn the pages

Read & download é PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Þ Evan S. Connell

Evan S. Connell Þ 0 Read & download Read & download é PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Þ Evan S. Connell Free download Mr Bridge Assets and comforts create a cocoon of community respectability that cloaks the void within not the skeleton in the closet but a black hole swallowing the whole householdThe Bridge novels have been recognized a Evan S Connell s two books Mrs Bridge and Mr Bridge should be read togetherPlease read first my review of Mrs Bridge here I will not repeat what I have said before I am glad to have read her book before his Her book gives a complete view of the events Why it is this way is a conseuence of how Mrs Bridge ends To explain would be a spoiler Nevertheless you must read both to fully understand the familyThe two books are written in the same manner both have the same marvelous humor prose style and short chaptersBoth give readers a look into the lives of the Bridge family members the two parents and their three children You learn about the family maid Harriet and Mr Bridge s secretary in the second book than you do in the first Both books draw the kids extremely well To learn about them is reason enough to read the two books The first book pulls you in and makes you want to know everything that is possible to know about the family The second book satisfies that need While the kids are covered well in both books you understand the parents better having completed the second I strongly advise against reading only the first book despite that I rated the first book higher I love both of these books I love the manner in which they have been written how the chapters have been constructed and the prose style I love their humor and that they are so true to life What the kids say is what kids do say to their parents The same is true for the adults The dialogs are perfect absolutely perfect This is a book focusing on character portrayal You already know from the first book what will happen This book makes even clear Walter s India s Ruth s Caroline s and Douglas personality I came to care for all of them except I came to realize that view spoilerWalter was not the man I originally thought he was I came to feel disappointment with his inflexibility his controlling manner and his prejudices He is blind to his prejudices There are people like this so although this disappointed me because I had come to care for him the book is not weakened by his having such disturbing faults hide spoiler