Review of The Bridge

[Aeesha Bashir]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Bridge" by Andrew Palmer.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Bridge by Andrew Palmer walks us through the tragic events that eventually led up to the Quebec Bridge disaster which we see through the eyes of Alec Durand, an engineer who oversaw the construction, and two final year engineering students, Ben O'Betany and Esther Emami. The author really highlighted a lot about the unique history of the Quebec Bridge.

The author writes in the third person narrative style, alternating between the past and the future/present with the different points of view. It all starts when Ben, the protagonist, is paired with Esther for an assignment; while researching, they come across a diary belonging to a certain Alec Durand, who worked on the construction of the Quebec Bridge. This diary is a sort of first-person account of everything that happened, including the contractors' cost-cutting measures, inaccurate measurements, and a careless head engineer, all of which contributed to the tragic accident.

The multiple points of view added to the appeal of this book because of the contrasting characters such as Alec, a man desperate to prove himself, and give his wife the life she deserves, Ben, a highly intelligent young man who doesn't seem to put much effort into anything and Esther, a perfect student; extremely studious and laser focused, but it's not just the differences in personality that I liked but also the depth of character development, another thing I liked was the author's incredible marriage of fact and fiction which I found absolutely delightful. There was also a very rich and vivid way of explaining objects, characters, and locations, which brought the book to life. The iron ring ceremony was a wonderful idea for reminding engineers of the importance of their jobs and how to carry them out. It also emphasized the importance of more ethical practices and striking a balance, which I appreciated.

I have zero negative comments on this book as the editing was impeccable and I found no errors therefore it is definitely deserving of a 4 out of 4 stars. However, there is some profanity, not enough to distract from the plot, but it is worth mentioning.

I would recommend The Bridge to readers who enjoy historical fiction because it is heavily influenced by actual events, as well as anyone interested in learning about the iron ring ceremony, which I found fascinating. This book would also appeal to young adults because it has a coming-of-age feel to it.

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The Bridge
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[The Keeper Jr]

Your review really got me. I want to know what actually happened there and which events caused the collapse of the bridge. The book seems interesting as you have described it. I will surely try it. Thanks for the amazing review!