2008 01 29 Bridge of Sighs

2008/01/29

Finished ‘Bridge of Sighs’ last night when I should have been working on homework.  For the second Russo novel in a row, I wish I stopped reading before the last 50 pages. As in ‘Empire Falls’ the cliches stand out to the point of distraction. When the Magical Negro appears I wanted to throw the book away. In ‘Empire Falls’, the school shooting made me mad enough to mark the page to know when to stop when I get the time to re-read it. Two great books that made me want to rip out 50 pages of them and put them back on the shelf.   ‘Bridge’ was absolutely fantastic up to the appearance of ‘Miss Cleo’ and I’m frustrated that I allow that small part to soil the rest of the book.