Bridges

Linda
Griffin
Genre: 
Historical

A fatal car accident kills Mary Claire’s brother and leaves her blind and badly scarred. Summoned to Westfield Court to hear the reading of her grandfather’s will, she learns the house and his possessions are hers. Mary Clair must, however, allow her aunt to live in the house until death and she must wed within a year. Throughout the story, Mary Clair keeps a running dialogue with Neil Vincent, the chauffeur. She finds he loves to read as much as she does, and they have read many of the same works. They also talk about philosophy and theology. Mary Claire finds he is a “Christian” atheist. She is Catholic and tries to get him to come to church with her, but he resists. Neil thinks he feels fatherly feelings towards the eighteen year old girl, because he is twenty years her senior. But he soon learns he is mistaken.

“Bridges” is the perfect title for a story which bridges so very many topics. There are the bridges mentioned on the cover, friendship, faith, love, but there is also the bridge of the age difference, a bridge burned later in the book, and the bridge of appreciating nature through senses other than sight. Ms. Griffin expertly uses a blind heroine in this novel, ably bringing the reader into her realm. Despite the story using dialogue almost exclusively, it is at times very difficult to discern who is speaking to whom. While the characters are enjoyable, they seem one dimensional. Connecting so many of life’s significant milestones, “Bridges” is a most noteworthy story.

Belinda Wilson