Readers of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Richard Russo (EMPIRE
FALLS) might do a double take when they see the title of his latest
work, BRIDGE OF SIGHS. After all, Russo has earned his acclaim
writing about contemporary life in small-town upstate New York. The
Bridge of Sighs, located in Venice, Italy, is several thousand
miles from his favorite haunts.

Constructed in the 16th century, the Bridge of Sighs crossed the
Rio di Palazzo and connected the interrogation rooms of Venetian
police with the prisons. In the 19th century Lord Byron gave the
bridge its famous name by suggesting that inmates walking across
the pathway to imprisonment would sigh as they had their final view
of beautiful Venice before being taken to their cells. Legend also
suggests that eternal love awaits those who kiss at sunset in a
gondola under the bridge.

The title of the novel refers to a painting of the famous bridge
crafted by one of the main characters, Bobby Marconi, who is now an
accomplished artist residing in Venice. BRIDGE OF SIGHS is the
story of Marconi, Louis C. Lynch (whose middle initial creates the
unfortunate moniker of Lucy that will follow Lynch throughout his
life) and Sarah Berg, who becomes his wife while retaining a
long-distance connection with Bobby.

Russo was raised in Gloversville, New York, a town named for the
primary product manufactured in the community. His novels often
have focused on the post-World War II communities of the northeast
that thrived in a booming economy and then began to suffer a slow
death as the trades and industries that supported them moved to
other locales in the United States and the world. In BRIDGE OF
SIGHS, the town portrayed is Thomaston, New York, where a highly
successful tannery once provided jobs and livelihoods for the
town's residents. But the business came with costs. The tannery
poured toxic chemicals into Thomaston's water supply, ultimately
bringing disease and death to its residents. When the tannery was
forced to close its doors, the resulting economic depression made
the once-thriving community a hollowed-out shell of a town.

The story is told primarily through the lives of the Lynch, Berg
and Marconi families, with Lynch serving as the primary narrator.
Through his eyes we watch his father struggle as technology and big
business make obsolescent his job as the community milkman. The
family opens a small neighborhood grocery store that will serve as
the backdrop and foundation for their lives for nearly one-half
century. Through the corner store comes the individuals who
populate the pages of BRIDGE OF SIGHS and make it an endearing and
poignant story. The events, so expertly chronicled by Russo, cannot
help but remind readers of similar experiences and travails in
their own lives.

It is ironic that a major theme of BRIDGE OF SIGHS is painting.
Bobby Marconi and Sarah Berg are accomplished artists. While Russo
works in an altogether different medium, the characters he portrays
and the events he depicts are as vivid and beautiful as any great
work of art. His heartbreaking narrative of the calamities of life
that all of us confront is touching without being maudlin, and his
characters are sympathetic and unforgettable. As you reach the end,
you want to turn back to the opening pages and start once again.
Russo's ability to present individuals with dignity and grace make
this a quietly astounding novel that should be on everyone's fall
reading list.