Robert James Waller
The Bridges of Madison County (1992)
Author: Robert James Waller
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
52-year-old divorced photographer, Robert Kincaid packs his pickup truck and travels to Iowa's Madison County, the location of seven covered bridges he is to photograph for National Geographic. There, he asks directions of Francesca Johnson, 45-year old, alone at home while her husband and two children visit the Illinois State Fair. They soon become lovers, and Kincaid asks Francesca to run away with him, but she refuses. Francesca stays loyal to her family, and memories of Kincaid are all that remain. SPOILER: Looking back years later, Francesca concludes that undying, romantic love is compatible with family values though it is an extramarital one. After her death, remained family read about the love story of their mother and Robert Kincaid.
Geographical Setting: : Near Winterset, Iowa
Time Period: 1965
Appeal Characteristics:
As the winner of Book Sense Book of the Year 1993, previously known as the ABBY Award, this is the story between a photographer and an Iowa farmer's wife who, together for only four days, never lose their feelings for each other. This book is a quick read not only because it is very short in length and has a solid plot, but also the storyline is so lovely and romantic that it draws reader's attraction. Sometimes unrealistic dialog of Kincaid detracts from a well-plotted, quick, and pleasant read, however. The portrayal of characters is well done. While Francesca is a well-rounded character, Kincaid is a mythic figure that is quite masculine, unsettled, and instinctive, but the gentleman who keeps his passion and desire under control. He is aware of himself as obsolete in a culture that requires conformity, and distrusts magic and imagination. Author's writing style is multilayered and sophisticated, and helps to make readers accept the tale as believable. The first person narration is excellent for the immersion in the story. The tone is overall calm and a little sorrowful because the story covers hopeless love affairs. Though the story seems slightly beyond the realms of reality, it explains something which could happen to anyone because the likely events take place in realistic settings, in a county in Iowa, in the recent past.
Read-alikes:
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks is recommended because the writing style of the author is similar to Robert James Waller's one. With a sad but lovely tone, the book is a heart-wrenching love story of a divorced single mom who has given up on finding a new love and a suffering widower from his lost love. It covers self-discovery, renewal, and the courage to love again. A man named Garrett goes through pain of losing his wife after her death. Theresa finds his last message in a bottle to his deceased wife while running on a beach. She is inspired and moved by his writing and eventually finds him.
As The Bridges of Madison County does, The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans covers a love with both wonderful and tragic consequences. This book also shows how perseverance and hard work fruits in the long run. It is a sentimental romance novel whose storyline is simple but elegant. Teenager Grace Maclean loses a leg in a terrible accident while riding her horse, Pilgrim. Grace and Pilgrim are both emotionally and physically scarred by the accident. Realizing that Grace is to recover completely her horse must recover, too, Grace's mother, high-powered editor and journalist Annie Graves, moves Grace and Pilgrim to Montana in order to be near "horse whisperer" Tom Booker who can cure troubled horses with only a calm voice and a soothing touch. Annie falls in love with the gentle horseman.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough is a bestselling romantic family saga set in the Australian Outback. The book covers a story of dreams, struggles, dark passions, and forbidden love. This is the story of the Cleary family, who moved to Australia in the early 1900s to work Drogheda, a vast sheep station. But the heart of the book is the forbidden love between Meggie, the only daughter of the Cleary family, and Ralph de Bricassart, the handsome parish priest. Their love dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma. The story of the epic is heartbreaking, but powerful, moving, and a perfect read.
Also, The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve is a gentle romance and a tale of inner anguish. News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends Kathryn Lyons, his wife, into shock and emotional languishment. With serial news and information, she confronts the incomprehensible situation. Each discovery forces her to realize that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all and he led a secret life. This book is beautifully plotted, tensely paced, and thoroughly absorbing. This story asks readers how well they can ever really know another person, and what desire he or she has in mind.
For the readers who seek a story of true love, Where The Heart Is by Billie Letts is recommendable. This story shows the power of love to change lives. Seventeen-year-old Novalee Nation finds herself pregnant and abandoned alone in a small town in Oklahoma. The story tells of her finding love, friendship, and meaning in her life as she struggles to raise the baby on her own. Hearts may be broken in savage ways, but still they mend and ultimately reach out again and find all the love they need and deserve. Novalee and all the other characters who give love find it richly returned.
Red Flags: There is a briefly described sex scene.
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