Un pont sur la brume

by Kij Johnson, Sylvie Denis (Traduction)

Kit Meinem d'Atyar est peut-être le plus doué des architectes de l'Empire. Peut-être… Ce qui ne fait aucun doute, en revanche, c'est qu'il lui faudra convoquer toutes ses compétences, l'ensemble de son savoir pour mener à bien la plus fabuleuse réalisation qui soit, l'oeuvre d'une vie : un pont sur le fleuve de brume qui de tout temps a coupé l'Empire en deux. Un ouvrage d'art de quatre cents mètres au-dessus de l'incommensurable, cette brume mortelle, insondable, corrosive et peuplée par les Géants, des créatures indicibles dont on ne sait qu'une chose : leur extrême dangerosité.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Novella, Hugo Awards, Fiction, Speculative Fiction

140 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Kij Johnson is an American writer of fantasy. She has worked extensively in publishing: managing editor for Tor Books and Wizards of the Coast/TSR, collections editor for Dark Horse Comics, project manager working on the Microsoft Reader, and managing editor of Real Networks. She is Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas, and serves as a final judge for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

Johnson is the author of three novels and more than 38 short works of fiction. She is best known for her adaptations of Heian-era Japanese myths. She won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short story of 1994 for her novelette in Asimov's, "Fox Magic." In 2001, she won the International Association for the Fantastic in the Art's Crawford Award for best new fantasy novelist of the year. In 2009, she won the World Fantasy Award for "26 Monkeys, Also The Abyss," which was also a finalist for the Hugo and Nebula awards. She won the 2010 Nebula Award for "Spar" and the 2011 Nebula Award for "Ponies," which is also a finalist for the Hugo and World Fantasy awards. Her short story "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change" was a finalist for the 2007 Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards. Johnson was also a finalist for the 2004 World Fantasy Award for her novel Fudoki, which was declared one of the best SF/F novels of 2003 by Publishers Weekly.

Reviews

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The soul often hangs in a balance of some sort. Tonight do I lie down in the high fields with Dirk Tanner or not? At the fair, do I buy ribbons or wine? For the new ferry’s headboard, do I use camphor or pearwood? Small things. A kiss, a ribbon, a grain that coaxes the knife this way or that. They are not, Kit Meinem of Atyar. Our souls wait for our answer because any answer changes us. This is why I wait to decide what I feel about your bridge. I’m waiting until I know how I will be changed.”

The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson won both the Hugo and the Nebula for best novella.

I’m not sure what other stories were nominated, I am sure they were all well written by talented writers that tell fine stories – but this one was really, really good.

This works on so many levels: it is an interesting science fiction story, it is an intense and revealing character study of a complicated man in a complex and alien culture, and it is a brilliant allegory of obstacles that keep us apart and connections that bring us together.

Johnson has introduced the reader to a fascinatingly mysterious and alien culture. There is a river of mist that is caustic like acid and in it swims indefinable monsters. There is an Empire that is split in two by the mist, there are families and friends whose lives are defined by what separates them, and there are families who accept a generational sacrifice for the duties placed upon them by the obstacles.

Like the best storytellers, Johnson shares with us what needs to be known and leaves a lot of mystery, we end with questions unanswered and ambiguities unexplained. I am sure there will be those who want MORE, MORE, MORE – a trilogy, a series of Mist with an accompanying graphic novels – but I hope not. Johnson has given us a wonderful gift, a beautifully written, minimalistic treasure, a work that stands alone.

I cannot help comparing this to Lucius Shepard’s brilliant The Dragon Griaule stories.

*** 2019 - My GR friend Mark Monday reminded me of this WAY cool story and I was compelled, nay, forced, to repost so ALL of the GoodReads universe will know about this awesome novella.

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

build a bridge, bridge builder, build a bridge. to where? to yourself, of course. to other people. build a bridge across the mist, the alien mist, thick and full of life and toxic to the touch. build a bridge to bridge two lands, to make one empire whole. build a bridge that makes change. build a bridge to the you of your story, build a bridge back into your life, into your past and then out again, to your future. build a bridge to your fellows, to love; build a bridge and keep it, keep the connection, for once. there are all sorts of bridges. make one that lasts. you can do it!

the fantasy elements are minor. the mist is one such element. a river of it, an ocean of it. small un-fish swim in it, big ones too, big ones that rise with the mist, that make things disappear.

looking for action, reader? don't look here. looking for a novella that gets deep into its fully three-dimensional protagonist's head - a story built around character? looking for the kind of tale that has an exquisite sort of tension based on things that may or may not happen to characters that you have come to understand, admire, even love? pick this one, pick it! looking for a whole world that is fully contained in a finite number of pages? a story that actually ends... but the best kind of ending! an ending that promises more, off the page, a bridge to a place that you will have to imagine yourself. you can do it!

The Man Who Bridged the Mist won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella in 2011. a well-earned win.

the story intrigued me, it saddened me, it made me happy and hopeful and it made me think about myself and the choices I've made in my life. it was excellent. smart prose, smart characterization, smart and sensitive author. also, a lot of technical detail about building a giant bridge in the sky, across a strange and terrible and fascinating mist.

hey you can read this for free:
http://www.kijjohnson.com/MistBridge.doc

[Hirondelle (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novella length story about project management of building a bridge over some unexplained fantastic "mist". And it is mostly very good and precisely to my taste (engineering project management fantasy with character development!), except the ending is wrapped up with two elements I really did not like, one because too "cheap" and predictable by trope-rules, the other because felt inconsistent with the realism of the rest of the story.

I can be a bit, or a lot, pedantic about if I classify something as sf or fantasy, or both. This is IMO both, leaning towards sf, it defines a tech, is consistent within that tech. It carefully avoids defining too much about the mist, or the creatures living on it, but hey, Clarke's third law, this could very well be another planet and just sufficiently advanced nature beyond the science knowledge of those humans living there (who do not have radios or telegraphs or know much about electromagnetism). So I am tagging it as science fiction, because IMO it is, it plays within the rules of scientific thought, of the knowledgeable even if it does not try to explain what the mist is scientifically. Of course, from a random reader, the mist itself might be more interesting to explore than the story of building a bridge over it (or from another point of view of the political fantasy, the fascinating question of how did the empire manage to establish itself on both sides of that river) but within the scope of this one story, of these characters, I think that is perfectly handled that the mist exists, how it contrains people's lives and no more is actually really needed for this to be a story worth reading.

And the decision at the ending, of what Rasali wants to do with the rest of her life more overambitious and her plans feel over the top. If there had been bits of the science they currently had about the mist, if there had been hints of scientists studying the mist and a real research plan, and who might help her design and build the boat, a more realistic research project, sure. But that ending feels tacked on, over the top ambitions, rather than a sensible program, it does not fit the pragmatism of the rest of the book when regarding technology..

Another issue I had with this book was Valo's death, which I had been predicting and dreading, somehow I was just expecting it as if Valo was a redshirt in a Star Trek original series episode. Named character, poignant details, felt like he would be sacrificed for pathos, without compromising giving the readers a "happy" ending and he did. I saw that. It was telegraphed, it was a cliché. I hated this detail, it felt cheap and yeah, cheap is not much of a technical term to speak about writing, but it was. The author built up this character so we would care when he died and he dies because the author wants to give us feels and for us to think there is loss here, but hey main characters and eventual romantic relationship not compromised at all, we just get to sympathize with them when they feel sad about secondary character dying ... Cheap poignancy! Extra emotion points. I do not have the patience for taking this seriously, maybe the flaw is in me.

Seemingly total equality between the sexes (every relationship mentioned is straight though, just warning...) and it seems in a relatilely low tech universe which depends on physical labour, women here can totally competently be as strong physically as men. This setup is not uncommon in sf/fantasy and it always leaves me with complex feelings regarding my (female) body and its limits. (But this is complex like I said and I have not processed it.) Some authors can do interesting things with this setup, here it felt quite shallow, just a way to make things very equal in that society, even if muscle power was essential for raising that bridge.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so not the kind of story I love.

I love epic fantasy and space opera and technological thrillers. As one of my favorite reviewers says, a book needs BOOM! 

And yet this quiet character study moved me.  But why is it a novella? I want to know more about Kit, and Rasali, and the empire, and Mist, and ... MORE!

[ambyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quiet, slow story. There's no surprises here--the title gives away the ending from the start. The mist will be bridged, and Kit will be the one to do it. Valo's death was so heavily foreshadowed that I called it from the moment Kit suggested he go to university.

But sometimes it's nice to read a story that's low-conflict, that's about inevitability and acceptance rather than trauma and recovery. I enjoyed the subtle development of the characters and the focus on the human side of engineering. I would read more about these people or this world.

[Yuyine · Rating 3 out of 5]

À mon grand regret, je suis moyennement conquise par Un pont sur la brume. Le rythme très lent, l’absence d’évènements et le côté peu original de la métaphore principale m’ont ennuyée. Malgré tout, c’est indéniablement un beau texte, apaisant et, à bien des égards envoûtants. Les réflexions sur le progrès et sur les relations entre les humains en font une ballade pleine de subtilité qui mérite la découverte.

Critique complète sur yuyine.be!

[Elessar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronique complète
[...] Kij Johnson nous offre ici une superbe tranche de vie, un récit humain et touchant, plein de poésie. Il y a vraiment une ambiance particulière qui se dégage de ce texte, on a presque l'impression de naviguer nous aussi sur le fleuve de brume.

Encore une fois, Le Bélial fait mouche avec cette excellente novella pleine d'émotion qui nous permet de découvrir une auteure quasiment pas publié en france.

[Jurassic Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un court roman dans une collection que j'aime particulièrement ! J'ai pas grand choses à dire, j'ai bien aimé l'ambiance et le mystère de cet univers. J'ai aimé suivre les personnages tout au long de cette construction. De vivre au rythme du chantier et de ses aléas. C'était dynamique, on ne s'ennuye pas et il se passe quand même parfois des choses dramatiques mais on ne s'y attarde pas. On parle de changement, d'évolution et des risques de ce genre de construction.

[Kaiju Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vivid and beautiful. Slow paced but contemplative. Reading The Man Who Bridged the Mist is truly like living another life in another world. The characters and world-building here are masterclass level.

I loved this novella when I first read it in 2012, and it didn't disappoint on a second reading today. It's a quiet story about people and place, not heavy on plot or action. I wished for rain as I read. A dark room with rain against the window would be a perfect setting. And I'll miss Kit and Rasali. Maybe I'll visit again before too long.

When asked what her goal in life is, Rosali responds: "You have seen me succeed a thousand times, and fail a few. I wish to live well, each day."

That's the kind of book this is. And, its a good way to succeed for a day.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My actual review of this story is here, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
-- which is mostly a rant against GR's idiotic policy of stealth-merging reviews of individual short stories. A fine example is here, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... -- where you will find many more reviews of this story, some rendered unintelligible, since the original reviews were of the *story*, not the magazine where it first appeared! Bah.

Story history and other reprints are listed here, http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg...

[Helloran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une très belle nouvelle, qui parle avec délicatesse des bâtisseurs, de leur sacrifice au profit des autres, mais aussi du changement provoqué par un tel chantier : les lieux, les mentalités, les projets personnels, tous les aspects de la vie sont impactés, et nul n'est à l'abri.
Pour finir, un extrait du livre :
"Que vaut-il mieux ? Une grande victoire, ou mille petites ?"
Et un proverbe gallois cité en épilogue : "Pour être un chef, sois un pont."

[Horia Ursu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-deserved Hugo and Nebula win for this great story by Kij Johnson, a writer whose work I am just beginning to explore. Excellent storytelling, great world-building, and the end that I was hoping for. There are more stories to tell in this fictional universe and I hope Kij Johnson will write more soon.

[Assaph Mehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella has won both Hugo and Nebula, a big distinction. I like to occasionally read what's the art-critics like in the genre, so delved in.

What to Expect

A short read where nothing much happens -- this is a story delving into the way progress changes people, as viewed through the interactions on an engineering project. It follows the lead architect over a five year span, completing a bridge across a mystical river, with some flashbacks to his youth. There isn't much drama, just small interactions of people going about their lives and dealing with each other, with loss, with life.

What I liked

The prose is gentle and charming, flowing well. The characters are engaging even through the short narrative.
The fantasy world, specifically the mist, is left unexplained. It is there to inspire a sense of awe at the strangeness of it, not to speculate on the effects of magic or setting on society and the world.

What to be aware of

As mentioned above, the conflict here is a muted, man-against-nature type. The interest lies in the character change and interactions, not in any sense of adventure.

Felix's Review

Felix only comment was that you'll get more bang for your time from Julius Frontinus' report on the maintenance of aqueducts -- he said this novella useful neither for engineers nor thrill seekers.

Summary

An interesting read, especially for authors who hear that they need more conflict in their works. Read this if you're in the mood for something literary.
--
Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He's the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.

Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.

[Dav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a profoundly beautiful tale. I was constantly struck by how masterfully balanced it is. Delicate, strong and full of layers, like a sculpture. Just, wow.

The story came recommended, and I read it in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection where it was the final story. I'm hesitant now to read any of the others because how can they possibly be any better? This is how you close a collection.

[Ettore Pasquini · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this novella in the mail from Amar a few weeks ago... what a beautiful surprise! The book starts very solid but for me it had kinda of a sluggish mid section, although it does pick back up for the ending. Also it's short! I appreciate brevity. I loved that most of the characters were females (one notable exception being the man of the title), which is refreshing, especially for a fantasy tale. Also interesting was the focus on engineering -- bridge and aqueduct engineering in this case -- and related responsibilities, like how it affects the life and death of the people involved with it. Very true.

[Bebertfreaks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un récit taille humaine.
Celui de la construction d'un pont et des échanges entre l'architecte et les personnes impactés par sa construction.

Une Brume fantastique, qui restera énigmatique et mortelle.

J'aurais aimé en savoir plus ou en voir plus de cette étrange Brume. Elle restera jusqu'à là fin, pleines de mystères.

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

He got me to care about the people at Nearside and Farside. I really likes that Kij uses the "not your usual hero" a lot, like Patricia A. McKillip does. More focus about world and story and progress of something crucial within the story than action. A new favorite author :)

[Lukasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

[LuckyVV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je m'attendais à une novella beaucoup plus axée sur la SF ou le fantastique, qui restent finalement des thèmes peu explorés et en périphérie de l'histoire. Celle-ci est pourtant assez travaillée et intéressante, mais l'intrigue manque un poil de tension et de profondeur pour moi. La psychologie des personnages est cependant très marquée.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 6 for my Fantasy in Fiction class

2.5 stars

Nothing really happens in this, which after our discussion in class I realized is the point. I mean, I GET it, I understand the concept of quiet fantasy and the fact that the character study is the focus of the novella, but I still just did not vibe with it. I've never been a fan of slice-of-life stories except in rare cases, and within the fantasy genre it just doesn't seem to fit. I'll admit it, I'm just as bad as the rest of the masses-give me death and destruction, fire and excitement! I'm not evolved enough to love this one, unfortunately. I'm basic and proud!

[The Cannibal · Rating 4 out of 5]

♫ Faire un pont ♪ Pour de bon ♪ Lui donner ♫ Ton prénom ♪ Le traverser ♪ Pour t’embrasser ♫ Faire un pont ♪

Si Dick Rivers ne vous tente pas, vous pouvez toujours siffler la musique du film « Le pont de la rivière Kwaï », seul film (ou livre) que je connaissais et qui parlait de la construction d’un pont entre deux rives.

Maintenant, sur mon CV, je pourrai ajouter que je sais comment construire un pont sur une rivière de brume, rivière qui est remplie de trucs pas nets, genre des gros poissons ou des géants que l’on n’a jamais vu, mais qui ont déjà fait chavirer bien des barges.

On ne sait pas d’où vient cette brume épaisse, ni où elle va, ni même s’il y a de l’eau sous la brume, tout ce que l’on sait, c’est que certains il ne fait pas bon naviguer dessus et que cette foutue brume coupe l’Empire en deux !

En peu de pages, l’auteur arrive à nous faire ressentir de l’empathie pour ses personnages, dont les deux principaux, Kit Meinem d’Atyar, l’architecte du pont et Rasali Bac, celle qui aide les gens à traverser ce fleuve de brume qui fait 400 mètres de large.

Une belle histoire d’amour, tout en retenue, tout en douceur, une belle histoire humaine de construction d’un pont qui prend des années, une histoire de défis humains, de stress, de paperasses (et oui, chez eux aussi).

Une belle histoire qui nous montre aussi que la vie dans les deux villages séparés par le fleuve de brume est en train de changer aussi, avec l’arrivée des travailleurs et du fait qu’il ne faudra plus prendre les bacs pour passer d’un côté à l’autre.

Un court roman de SF qui se lit paisiblement, un mojito à la main et où, en plus de voir un pont prendre forme, on voit une société et des personnages se transformer.

Très plaisant. Une petite bouffée d’air frais que j’ai pris grand plaisir à respirer.

[Eggp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look out for Big Ones
also the Fairly Large Ones
in the caustic mist.

[Norman Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novella originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction, October-November 2011. 2012 Hugo Award winner and 2012 Nebula Award winner.

This is a quiet character study without villains or much action, yet it is a completely compelling story about a man and his obsession to build a bridge. Maybe because of my engineering background, I found the descriptions of this architect to ring true (probably my only comment is, why didn't he have a project manager to take care of the non-engineering tasks?). A man more comfortable with equations and materials than with other humans. But there is a poignant love story here, too. And just enough world building to be intriguing without being obtrusive. It's a world similar to Earth, but definitely not Earth. The mist that flows like water almost becomes a character itself. The hidden monsters within the mist provide tension. It's also a story about what happens when an industry becomes obsolete and what happens to those employed in that industry. There is a tremendous amount going on, yet it's never rushed or feels forced. I'd like to see more of this world, but I'm happy if this is all we get.

I originally read this story from the Hugo Award Voter Packet in 2012 and for the second time in 2021 in the collection At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories (2012). 70 pages

[Mladoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dire vrai, je ne sais pas trop comment je me sens au sortir de cette lecture ! Un peu déboussolée, émue, remuée, perdue dans la brume qui nimbe ce récit.
Le moins que je puisse en dire c'est qu'il mérite les prix qui lui ont été décerné. L'originalité de cette histoire dépayse complètement. Ce n'est pas bourré d'action, c'est plutôt contemplatif et foncièrement poétique.
Mais on a envie d'aller au bout de cette histoire, celle de Kit et Rasali, de tous les habitants de Proche et Loinville, l'histoire de la naissance de ce pont, de ce fleuve impétueux et dangereux, enveloppé du mystère de cette brume délétère et des créatures, ces Géants qui rôdent aux abords sans jamais se montrer clairement, comme des monstres chimériques qui se cachent aux limites de l'imaginaire collectif.
Le tout avec une fin pleine de promesses d'aventures à venir, pour continuer à rêver, les yeux rivés vers l'horizon, les pieds plantés sur le fait du pont sur la brume !

[Sylvaine Yvenou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il y a un registre littéraire que je fréquente très peu celui de la fantasy . Un challenge m'a donné l'occasion de découvrir Un pont sur la brume de Kil Johnson, un roman récompensé par les prix Hugo et Nebula du meilleur roman court, pardonnez du peu.
Il est architecte bâtisseur pour l'Empire, sa nouvelle mission construire un pont sur la brume , relier les deux rives distantes de 400m . Kit Meinem d'Atyar va relever le défi et affronter les géants qui grondent dans le fleuve de brume ..
Ce pont va changer la vie des habitants des deux rives, changer leur regard sur l'autre et surtout changer Kit et son regard sur le monde qui l'entoure et le sens qu'il désire donner à sa vie. Un roman entre deux espaces temporels, passé et futur, un roman où les humains font face aux éléments et à leur destinée, un roman où la construction du pont rythme la narration jusqu'à .plus soif.

[Francis · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'avais beaucoup entendu vanter cette novella de Kij Johnson dans la presse et par les internautes. Et bien que le concept d'un pont sur la brume intense soit original et invitant, je trouve que l'on a mal exploité le sujet, car la SF dans cette plaquette devient plutôt un prétexte pour l'intériorisation et le développement du portrait psychologique des personnages. L'on construit des ponts, des débuts, des fins, des entre-deux. Je déplore pourtant la grande liberté que s'est permis l'auteur à la fin de cette novella, de croire que l'on pourrait s'imaginer notre propre suite, s'imaginer ce qui adviendra des personnes après le récit. Pour moi, cette fin est une déception en soi, mais je ne déplore toutefois pas le talent de l'auteur. Seulement, je m'attendais à plus que ça...

[The Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une très belle nouvelle, qui parle avec délicatesse des bâtisseurs, de leur sacrifice au profit des autres, mais aussi du changement provoqué par un tel chantier, de la permanence et de l'éphémère, et de l'interaction entre le changement technologique et social.

Une brume qui sépare un Empire en deux et qu'on ne peut traverser qu'avec des bacs, et ce pont qui va rejoindre ces deux rives.
Ce pont est au propre comme au figuré, l’effort qu’on doit faire pour se rapprocher de l’autre pour passer au dessus des a priori, et des non dis

C’est une nouvelle pour les amateurs de Le Guin qui mets en valeur l'auto-réflexion et l'identité plutôt que des actes héroïques

"Pour être un chef, sois un pont."

[Rebecca Zettl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite its accolades, I just couldn't enjoy this one. In spite of its fantastical setting the makings of the book were quite mundane, primarily centred around a major construction project and the impacts of the same on its makers and the small communities it would change forever. The most important revalations of the narrative are deeply personal: Kit's sense of responsibility, the threat to Resali's identity as a Ferry and the growing relationship between the two, as well as the resulting changes in Kit's world-view. Yet the strangely distant writing style made even these emotionally charged revalations as dry and dispassionate as the bridge building itself. All in all, I found this a slow and unengaging read.

[Thistle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story in The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six, and it was easily the best story in the book. As part of my review for that book:

The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Novella -- 2+ hours to read where most other stories in this book were about an hour. Set on a fantasy or alien world, Mist is a dangerous thing. It usually appears where water does (rivers, lakes, oceans), and kills people. One architect is sent to build a bridge over a great river of Mist. Sounds boring, but it was really interesting (both the technical details, the world building, and all the people he got to know).

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous novella that meditates on themes of mastery and humility, permanence and transience, and the interplay between technological and social change. Johnson efficiently achieves rich world building without heavy-handed exposition. The story held my attention from start to finish, even though it moved at a gentle pace without sharp conflicts, clear adversaries, or major plot twists. This novella may appeal to fans of Le Guin's contemplative yet gripping tales that highlight self-reflection and identity rather than heroic deeds or fast-paced battles.