Title: The Bridge
Author: Karen Kingsbury
Pages: 272
Year: 2012
Publisher: Howard
The Bridge is a small town type
story that involves a bookstore unique to the community of Franklin. It is located around other small town type
shops where people don’t just purchase a book, but a place where hearts are
touched. Charlie is the owner who has
been running the store out of a home with history dating back to the Civil
War. He furnishes it with shelves of
books, a loft with a sofa and chair, and the coffee pot is always on. More than those things, Charlie invests
himself and shares his faith with all who come into the bookstore. Whether they buy books or not, he remembers the
people for they are more than customers to Charlie and his wife, Donna. When he opened the store, he was given a
scrapbook to fill with memories from his customers with pictures of some
holding their favorite book and some of their signatures. Charlie doesn’t really need the scrapbook to
remember. What he needs is the Lord to
provide a way to keep the store going after a flood wipes everything away in
two days. How will God provide? Books have meaning, not just in the story but
because of what they represent. What do
they represent to you?
Ever since Charlie was little he heard the
same demeaning message from his father.
He decided he would prove he could do something. After marrying Donna, he was cut off from his
family and their money, but he didn’t care because he was happy. He was content even through heartbreak years
before. He was really at an end because
he feels no hope. Ryan and Molly shared
their love of classics at the bookstore with their favorite being Jane
Eyre. They, too, had a forbidden love
that grew out of their friendship, but Molly’s Dad would never allow it. He had her life all planned out and marriage
to Ryan was not part of the plan as Ryan didn’t come from their social or
financial class.
Now seven years have passed, and the
bookstore is on the brink of closure.
Ryan wakes up one morning to find himself no longer employed with a band
as a guitarist. Molly is taking care of
animals, and her sole companion is the one video she had that Ryan made. One time a year she allows herself to travel
into the past and watch that video, crying as it plays. Charlie found hope in books long ago while
living with his father. Molly longingly
wants to go back and change things, and maybe then life would be better. Charlie believes in God, but Molly doesn’t
find God or His Word all that comforting.
Characters living with past hurts, trying
to cope in the present and not quite sure what is in the future are depicted in
this novel. The story is a nice breath
of hope, reminding one and all where true hope resides. We aren’t made to be alone; we all need
friends regardless of marital or social status.
Karen writes a heartfelt dedication to each of her children inside the
book before the fictional part starts. The
Bridge is a work of fiction that can touch hearts with love, hope,
forgiveness, and faith.
My rating is 4 stars.
Note: I received a
complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely
my responsibility. Other reviews can be
read at http://seekingwithallyurheart.blogspot.com/
. Also follow me on Twitter
@lcjohnson1988, FaceBook at https://www.facebook.com/lisa.johnson.75457
