Thornton Wilder's Bridge

Since I adopted this little corner of the Suite a little over a month ago, I've been wondering what I would write about for my first "real" article.

I knew I wanted to start our discussion of great American books with something that wasn't obvious -- something maybe not everyone has read but that I could say, in my mind at least, is undoubtedly a classic.

While I was thinking about this, I did some Web searching about great books and American literature and I found this reprint of a really cool speech that gave me some good ideas about what defines great literature.

The speaker, Eva Brann of St. John's College, said one of her college professors defined a great book as one that makes your hair stand on end and your neck tingle.

Well, that settled it. I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. Because there's one book I've read recently (OK, not all that recently) that gave me that reaction, and still does whenever I think about it.

The book is "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" by Thornton Wilder. Though it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1928, it is less well-known than many of Wilder's plays. That's a shame, because it's really a great book.

The book was Wilder's second novel, and it tells the story of a bridge in Peru that collapses, killing five people. A monk witnesses the incident and decides to use it as an effort to prove the existence of God by determining why these five lives were taken at this time.

It doesn't hurt that I read this book within days after Sept. 11, 2001. It probably seemed particularly poignant given the situation in the world at that time. But it is a really beautiful book about free will. For a more detailed description of the book and Wilder's sources, check out this site.

I think I fell in love with this book in part because of when I read it -- it seemed like it could have been written that day rather than 74 years before. And the book's message that each life is precious and worthy of study and remembrance was especially meaningful at that time.

But it's a book that can speak to all people at all times because it's themes are so universal: unexpected death, questioning God's motives, wondering how to remember.

It's also well written and an incredibly fast read. I think I read it in about three evenings. And I was sad when it was over, because that tingle in my neck went away. Sounds like a pretty good definition of a classic to me.

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