The Invisible Bridge

Author: Julie Orringer 

Publisher: Vintage, 2010

My Source: Louisville Free Public Library

Okay, so I’m in my 40’s and my To Be Read list is over 200 books long. With that in mind, I don’t see the point in continuing to read books that do not keep my interest. The Invisible Bridge is one of those books. According to my Kindle I have only read 10% of the book, and I have been reading it for at least one week now, which is unheard of for me. I don’t hate it, but I am not excited to read it and find myself doing other things (I even started and finished another book) when normally I would be happily reading away.

The story is about two Jewish Hungarian brothers, Andras, and Tibor and is set in 1937 just before WWII. Andras gets a scholarship to study architecture in Paris and Tibor has been accepted to medical school. A wealthy woman from their Hungarian town asks Andras to deliver a large box and mail a letter when he gets to Paris. Neither Andras nor the reader knows what is in the box or what the letter is about. Andras moves to Paris knowing little French and is tutored by one of his professors who also happens to be Hungarian. He befriends three other Jewish men attending his school and starts to feel comfortable in his new home. One month into his schooling, Andras finds out that his scholarship has been cut because he is Jewish. He is then forced to find another way to pay for his studies.

As I mentioned in one of my other reviews, I am a Francophile, so I appreciated the Paris setting and the French phrases thrown in here and there. I also enjoy reading historical fiction especially about WWII. Additionally, I found the author’s writing style to be quite good. What I did not like was the slow pace of the novel. To be fair, as I previously noted, I am only 10% in, but nothing compelling about the plot or the characters has grabbed me or sucked me in yet.

This book was not for me, but someone more patient who is willing to wait for the action to start might not be turned off by the story. I assume the story will pick up as the war begins and the brothers, as Jewish men, start to feel the discrimination of the time. This must be the case as its average rating on Goodreads is 4.19 out of 5 stars.

This is the first book I have not liked since starting my blog. I considered not reviewing it at all, but that did not seem fair to my readers. I don’t want to be known for praising every book I read. So take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I would skip it if I were you.

                                                          Rating: 2 out of 5 high fives