Why people recommend it
Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell is a masterclass novel that explores the rigid emotional constraints, professional ambitions, and inner life of a conventional Kansas City lawyer during the decades leading up to the Second World War. On The Book Review podcast segment Inside The New York Times Book Review: ‘Fates and Furies’ in July 2024, author Lauren Groff enthusiastically recommended Evan S. Connell's companion novels, urging everyone in the audience to read these extraordinary texts and praising their profound influence on her own writing style. Additionally, Pamela Paul discussed the publication during the podcast episode Inside The New York Times Book Review: The 10 Best Books of 2015, analyzing how the author initially conceived the project as two distinct volumes dedicated to the husband and wife respectively to achieve a balanced, dual perspective on marriage. These references underscore the novel's lasting reputation as a brilliant companion piece to its predecessor, lauded for its sharp psychological insight, economical prose style, and unflinching examination of mid-century American masculinity, emotional repression, and suburban ennui through a series of fragmented, beautifully crafted narrative vignettes that reveal the quiet tragedies of ordinary family life over many years.
Who recommended it
- Lauren Groff Recommended
- Pamela Paul Discussed
Lauren Groff — 1 mention
“uh because I I've been influenced by jeene gardam who is amazing and she's not as well known as she should be uh and evanes Connell who wrote Mr bridge and Mrs Bridge the these are extraordinary books that I would urge everybody to read”
Pamela Paul — 1 mention
“she started it off actually as two different books almost like a Mr bridge and Mrs Bridge kind of thing which which does the same thing”