Bridge

Bridge is a literary novel-in-linked-stories following Alice, a San Francisco legal secretary whose grip on reality loosens as depression deepens around her. Robert Thomas builds the story through 56 chronological vignettes, and the PEN Center USA Award it earned in 2015 is a genuine mark of distinction — critics rightly praised its Nabokovian precision and utterly original voice. That said, this book is not for everyone and it is certainly not for this audience: suicidal ideation, a purchased gun, murder, and an extramarital affair run through the narrative without apology. Adult literary fiction readers who prize challenging, lyrical prose will find it remarkable. Faith-family readers should steer clear entirely.