The Bridge of San Luis Rey: Thorton Wilder

This was a short book, but guaranteed to cause depression. I didn't expect a book about a bridge collapse in Peru, which claimed five lives, to be a particularly uplifting read, but was surprised on the depth of the emotion it evoked. I didn't understand the time line for the last portion of the story. It seemed to happen years after the other two stories, though they were all mingled together. The story opens with the real event of the bridge of San Luis Rey collapsing in the eighteenth century. It then starts the nonfiction story of identifying the people who lost their lives on the bridge. There were five victims and a local priest, Don Juniper, wanted to make sense on why those people were chosen by God to leave the world. He interviews friends and townspeople about the victims and we are then told each story in turn. The five people all seemed to have one thing in common. They were looking to be loved. The first story is about a woman, Dona Maria, who had always had an unhappy life. She married a man who could take her away from her unhappy parents. She then had a daughter who was embarrassed by her and never seemed to miss an opportunity to hurt her. Once her daughter moved to Spain, Dona Maria became a sort of tolerated presence in town. She got a companion, Pepita, from the orphanage to ease the loneliness and once when she went to a play she was picked on in front of everyone when the actress poked fun of Dona Maria openly on stage. Dona was actually lost in her thoughts about things she would write to her daughter in her next letter and never heard the insults. Embarrassed Pepita lead her home. The next day Camilla, the actress, was sent to apologize. She thought the Lady was being kind when she dismissed any wrong doings, and then actually felt terrible for her behavior. A little while later Dona Maria found a letter Pepita was composing to send to the mother of the orphanage. It expressed her loneliness and her devotion for Dona Maria. The letter changed Dona Maria and she vowed to herself to be a better person for Pepita because of her bravery. The next day they cross the bridge. The second story is about twin brothers, Manuel and Esteban, who were raised at the same orphanage as Pepita, though several years before her. No one ever takes the time to tell them apart and they are all the other has. Manuel becomes enraptured with the actress Camilla, but she doesn't return his affection. She was the mistress of the Viceroy of Lima, and had a matador as a lover. One day she asks Manuel to write her a letter. She doesn't even know which twin he is, but has him swear his secrecy since the letter was to her lover. Over time she has him write several letters for her and Esteban assumes they are in love. Manuel tries to explain that she is using him merely because he can write, but Esteban thinks he is standing in the way of their love because Manuel will not want to leave Esteban alone. Manuel then gets an infection in his leg and ends up dying. Esteban goes around saying he is Manuel and sadly no one knows the difference. Having lost the meaning of life he signs up to work for a man, which is why he is on the bridge when it collapses. The last story is that of Camellia. She too was an orphan, but adopted by Uncle Pio, who made her into the best actress in Peru. From her view we never hear of how she insulted Dona Maria, just that all of a sudden she was obsessed with becoming a lady, which we assumed came after the meeting with Dona Maria. She then falls for the Viceroy of Lima. Once she starts having affairs she meets with Manuel-who was also not important enough to make it into her story. However here is where I get confused, I realize Camilla's story is used to tell about Uncle Pio and her son Don Jamie, who both die on the bridge, but her story seems to last longer than the other two. Maybe I simply missed something about the passage of time, but Dona Maria and Pepita seem to be on the bridge a short time after Camilla comes to apologize, maybe a year. The same goes for Manual's death, since he got sick shortly after writing letters for her. Camilla's story goes on where she gets small pox and is too embarrassed to return to the stage because her face is scarred. She then devotes herself to religion. Uncle Pio begs her to let him raise Don Jamie because he is often sick and Camilla cannot give him the care he needs. Once she consents, both Uncle Pio and Don Jamie cross the bridge and end up dying. Camilla then loses her two daughters who are sent to the orphanage. This book definitely shows how everyone is connected especially in a small community. It was actually very powerful for being so short. It seemed as though every word were important. Just as each person was going to start a new chapter in their life, their lives were ended. Don Juniper, who was focused on making sense of the deaths, scored each person's worth and found the five people on the bridge had the most to lose; they were the most promising citizens out of everyone. He put his findings in a book. His work was seen as heretical and he was burned at the stake. He thought up until the end that surely someone would come to his aid, but in the end it seemed like everyone who had helped him write the book through their interviews, came to see him burn. There are many ways to interpret this book and it was very good. I will definitely read it again.