Book #47 of 2011: The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Where do I start with this book? Well, I put it on my to read list since Orringer’s collection of short stories, How to Breathe Underwater was nothing short of brilliant. Her first novel, The Invisible Bridge is the epic story (read: 600+ pages, though worth every line) of Andras Levi, a Hungarian Jew. We meet Andras when he is just about to leave for Paris to attend architecture school, and follow his journey through his student struggles, as he finds love, and as World War Two looms in the distance. I don’t want to give much more away, but this book deals with a lot of injustice and tragedy, which one pretty much expects from a piece of historical fiction with a Jewish main character set during this time. However, Orringer has managed to give these characters such a life, you know them so intimately, it’s almost painful to read about their hard times. It’s a story I’ve found myself thinking about often after turning that last page, and I highly recommend it.
