Why people recommend it
Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell is a critically acclaimed 1959 novel that chronicles the quiet, stifling suburban life of a middle-class Kansas City housewife in the mid-twentieth century through a series of brilliant vignettes. On The Book Review podcast segment Inside The New York Times Book Review: ‘Fates and Furies’ in July 2024, guest Lauren Groff enthusiastically recommended Evan S. Connell's work, grouping it alongside his companion novel and urging all listeners to read these extraordinary books, which she noted had significantly influenced her own literary perspective despite not being as widely recognized as they deserve to be. Furthermore, Pamela Paul discussed Evan S. Connell's related structural approach during the December 2015 episode Inside The New York Times Book Review: The 10 Best Books of 2015. Pamela Paul observed that the author originally structured the narrative across two separate volumes, splitting the perspective between husband and wife to achieve a cumulative psychological portrait. Together, these podcast segments celebrate the novel's precise craftsmanship, enduring artistic brilliance, and unique ability to capture the quiet complexities of domestic life and marital alienation through minimalist, yet devastatingly effective, narrative techniques.
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”