The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (Book Review)

The Bridges of Madison County
by Robert James Waller

174 pages
Warner Books Inc., 1992
fiction
Finished in 1 day
Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★ 

Amazon.com / BN.com

"On the morning of August 8, 1965, Robert Kincaid locked the door to his small two-room apartment on the third floor of a rambling house in Bellingham, Washington."

My Review: For a book that is only 174 pages in length it sure did pack a lot of emotion! I've read novels that are over 400 pages simply because that is how much space the author needed to convey what Robert James Waller was able to do in simple sentences. I was instantly placed into the shoes and life of this photographer and farm wife. And while this truly is a love story to end all love stories I did not find it corny or as uncomfortable as I've been apt to find those I've read. I place it in a category such that Gone With the Wind has only been able to fill. My only issue with the story is the fact that the farm wife is a wife! I think it's overlooked because she is unhappy and her life doesn't truly begin until she meets this photographer who is just passing through. Does this promote adultery? Perhaps. But I suppose back then that wasn't the point? The point was the passion that the reader was looking for, that Francesca and Robert were desperately looking for, and all parties involved found it in abundance, on a little farm, near a cleverly hidden bridge, in Madison County.

I have not seen the movie nor do I think I ever will. Not because I don't love Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, because I do appreciate their great body of work. But because I feel some works of literature should remain as such and nothing more.

The only thing I would have appreciated and feel would have helped move this story along faster was if there were more photographs. Otherwise, if you are looking for a feel good book that will make you laugh, cry, and feel such passion that you haven't felt in a long time, this is the book for you. I guarantee all you'll need is a couple of hours in your busy day to finish it. Enjoy!

Summary: The legendary love story, the bestselling hardcover novel of all time, and the major motion picture starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. This is the story of Robert Kincaid, the photographer and free spirit searching for the covered bridges of Madison County, and Francesca Johnson, the farm wife waiting for fulfillment of a girlhood dream. It shows readers what it is to love and be loved so intensely that life is never the same again.

A timeless, universally appealing story of love and loss. In just four days, two people find one another and commit themselves to each other for a lifetime even though they remain apart.

To learn more about Robert James Waller please visit his wiki page.

My Overstuffed Bookshelf Challenge

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore (Book Review)

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story

by Christopher Moore

304 pages

Simon & Schuster, September 1995

romance/comedy/horror

Read in 8 days

Another Review…

Star Rating: ★★★ 1/2

Amazon.com | BN.com

My Review: Meet C. Thomas Flood, a writer, who's in San Francisco with little money and no place to stay. After making a shrewd $50/wk deal with a Chinese man to share a room with 5 men named Wong, he then manages to procure a job as a night manager at the local town market. His luck does not stop there. After befriending the Emperor of San Francisco and the Animals who work the graveyard shift at the market he manages to get himself a girlfriend. We should ALL be so lucky! Then again, perhaps we should not count our chickens before they’ve hatched. For you see, all is not as it seems for C. Thomas Flood. Probably he should have taken his fathers advice and stayed home to learn the family farming business.

For starters, the roommates he starts out with all want his hand in marriage! You read right. They’ve heard that a gay marriage is just as legal a way of procuring a green card to stay in America as a heterosexual one. Why he declines their offer of taking good care of him for as long as they all shall live is beyond me. Then there’s the slightly crazy yet harmless Emperor who lives in the streets he protects with his two dogs Bummer and Lazarus. His latest adventure finds him in search of a vampire who he believes is the killer behind the latest string of vicious attacks. The Animals are, I’m sure, the stereotypical group of guys you’d find working the night shift at just about any supermarket. The things men do when left to their own devices! Lastly, there’s his girlfriend. How he meets could be called coincidence but it wasn’t. Why he agrees to move in with her immediately and do (almost) her every bidding is a mystery as well. Let’s call it love? Either way the real reason boils down to Jody being a vampire. Albeit a new vampire, she’s quickly learning the ropes of how to survive. All while being watched by the more than 800 year old vampire who made her into who she is now.

This is a love story. The likes of which you’ve probably never read but will find yourself searching for the rest of this trilogy to see what happens next. And don’t worry, I’ll be reviewing those for you in the coming weeks.

To learn more about Christopher Moore, please visit his site.

The Bodyguard (Movie Review)

Title: The Bodyguard 20th Anniversary

Director: Mick Jackson

Screenwriters: Lawrence Kasdan

Producer: Kevin Costner, Lawrence Kasdan & Jim Wilson

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Production Company: Warner Bros.

In Theaters: November 25th, 1992

Run Time: 129 minutes

Color: Color

Starring: Whitney Houston & Kevin Costner

Genre(s): drama/music/romance/thriller

Storyline: A pop singer has been receiving threatening notes, and her manager hires a bodyguard known for his good work. The bodyguard ruffles the singer’s feathers and most of her entourage by tightening security more than they feel is necessary. The bodyguard is haunted by the fact that he was on Reagan’s secret service staff but wasn’t there to prevent the attack by Hinckley. Eventually the bodyguard and the singer start an affair, and she begins to believe his precautions are necessary when the stalker strikes close to home. Written by Ed Sutton

Movie Trailer:



My Review: I’ve seen this movie several times when I was old enough to fully understand it. When it came out in 1992 I was only 8 years old so naturally my mother did not take me to see it. I’m glad I got to see Whitney on the big screen in what will always go down in my lifetime, as being one of the greatest love stories ever told. It’s got drama, suspense, great dialogue, and of course, a love story that back then was a big deal because it showed a white man and a black woman romantically involved with each other. It was probably one of the breakthrough films to portray that and not get completely panned for it. Bravo for that!

Aside from the stereotypes it shattered, there was also amazing singing done by the late Whitney Houston. I suspect the 20th Anniversary came about because of her sudden and tragic death but the why makes very little difference. This movie, no matter how or when you see it, can easily be put in the same league as Casablanca, Gone With the Wind, and Sleepless in Seattle, when it comes to timeless classic love stories. There are many more (like Titanic) that I don’t mention but that’s because I may not have seen them.

If you want to know the story behind the classic I Will Always Love You this is where you will find your answer. No one will ever be able to sing it with the class, elegance, and soulful tone that Whitney Houston has. She is by far one of a kind. It was easily felt in the movie theater when it came to the last few minutes of the movie. Whitney Houston’s character, so in love with her former bodyguard (played by Kevin Costner) that she cannot bear to fly away without giving him one final kiss goodbye. As she runs off her private jet, the audience (myself included), were so overwhelmed we just started clapping and cheering. I sense it was also because we knew what even larger moment was coming after that. The long pause in her timeless song before the orchestra explodes and she belts out, “And Iiiiiiii….” in a way no one could ever hope to come close to coping. I cried and I’m sure the audience did as well as we were all awestruck by her magnificence. We’d heard that song countless times before but at that moment it was indescribable. Then, after we gave her her moment, we could not help but join her as well sang the remainder of the song with her right through the credits.

I’ll never forget that. It was truly unforgettable.

My Rating: A

Will You…Run And Tell That?