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59 Glass Bridges
In 59 Glass Bridges, an unnamed narrator travels through a maze that is at once mutable and immutable: walls fall to vine-filled forests, hallways to rivers, bridges to lamp-lit boats. What remains is the desire to escape. He is led along his harrowing path by Willow, a mysterious figure who cajoles him and responds to questions in a winking sphinx-like manner, with answers that are often more baffling than clear. Interspersed are the memories of the narrator, of his childhood and adolescence, and of his grandmother, a wise artist who at once pushes his creativity, while leaving him the freedom to craft his own journey.
Playing with the imagery and landscapes of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, Steven Peters' debut reveals how pivotal moments in our lives give substance and shape to the labyrinths in our minds.
Playing with the imagery and landscapes of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, Steven Peters' debut reveals how pivotal moments in our lives give substance and shape to the labyrinths in our minds.
- GenresLiterary FictionFiction
244 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2017
449 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 28, 2017
I loved this book - but not for the reasons I thought I would. I came in expecting a serious, thought-provoking yarn. What I got was exactly that - but also, a fun romp through a maze akin to Alice in Wonderland with a blue streak.
The imagery was compelling, the characters interesting and likable. Without spoiling anything, part of the fun of this book is grasping at the unknown, searching for meaning, questioning the narrator and imagining the consequences.
I finished the book in two sittings - and plan to read it again at a slower pace, just to absorb all of the nuances.
It's fun. It's fresh. It's worth your read.
The imagery was compelling, the characters interesting and likable. Without spoiling anything, part of the fun of this book is grasping at the unknown, searching for meaning, questioning the narrator and imagining the consequences.
I finished the book in two sittings - and plan to read it again at a slower pace, just to absorb all of the nuances.
It's fun. It's fresh. It's worth your read.
June 27, 2017
Brilliantly wrought, 59 Glass Bridges takes the reader on a strange, inexplicable journey through office buildings, across skybridges, tunnels of razor-thorned talking vines, armed with a cowboy hat, a Bible with strange Italian marginalia and guided by a somewhat real ghost named Willow. Woven through this tale is the tender and complicated memories of the narrator growing up with his grandmother. It's not a big book, but everything inside this slim volume feels big, feels extraordinary and that's because it is.
March 29, 2017
59 Glass Bridges loops two stories together. The first story is a nightmarish vision of the enclosed overpasses which crisscross downtown Calgary, where the narrator finds himself lost and wandering, while the second story is the narrator’s memories of visiting corn mazes in rural Alberta with his grandmother.
While the nightmare half of 59 Glass Bridges describes Calgary as a labyrinth built of impossibly strange towers containing whole rivers, Steven Peters writes the narrator’s pastoral memories of his grandmother with a delicacy in stark contrast to the surreal extravagance of the narrator’s descriptions of the city. The characters seem real and their effects on the narrator are reflected in his later journeys.
59 Glass Bridges tells us not only how labyrinths are built, but how best to wander through them. It is a story about being lost, how to be lost, and when we first were lost. It is worth a read.
While the nightmare half of 59 Glass Bridges describes Calgary as a labyrinth built of impossibly strange towers containing whole rivers, Steven Peters writes the narrator’s pastoral memories of his grandmother with a delicacy in stark contrast to the surreal extravagance of the narrator’s descriptions of the city. The characters seem real and their effects on the narrator are reflected in his later journeys.
59 Glass Bridges tells us not only how labyrinths are built, but how best to wander through them. It is a story about being lost, how to be lost, and when we first were lost. It is worth a read.
May 22, 2017
Awesome. Like a pop culture Borges, Steven Peters plunks us down in the middle of a surreal labyrinth full of talking owls, creepy locals, Starbucks, and Reeboks. And just when you're starting to feel a little unhinged, he grounds you in an incredibly moving and parallel story about the protagonist's troubled parents and spirited grandmother. Fast moving and full of killer prose. Highly recommended.
April 11, 2017
A twisted maze of a book: both wacky and strange as well as warm and heartfelt. 59 Glass Bridges is a fun and smart taste of contemporary CanLit.
December 22, 2017
***I won this book on Twitter***
What I liked:
The relationship between the grandmother and grandson. Sweet and mischievous. I enjoyed the throwbacks to the 90’s and the garden wars. There are plenty of delightful, relatable, and at times painful vignettes about Grandmother and grandson.
What I was frustrated by:
The maze and the resolution.
My brain wanted out of the damn maze already and couldn’t wait to fully understand the purpose. I sure kept after that bait to remain unsure of whether or not I “got it.”
***My best guess/possible spoiler***
It’s a metaphor. The guy (what is his name!?) was on his bed, looking up at the ceiling after his grandmother died. He was creating one last story, in which he triumphed over the roughest part of his grief—acceptance.
Yes?
What I liked:
The relationship between the grandmother and grandson. Sweet and mischievous. I enjoyed the throwbacks to the 90’s and the garden wars. There are plenty of delightful, relatable, and at times painful vignettes about Grandmother and grandson.
What I was frustrated by:
The maze and the resolution.
My brain wanted out of the damn maze already and couldn’t wait to fully understand the purpose. I sure kept after that bait to remain unsure of whether or not I “got it.”
***My best guess/possible spoiler***
It’s a metaphor. The guy (what is his name!?) was on his bed, looking up at the ceiling after his grandmother died. He was creating one last story, in which he triumphed over the roughest part of his grief—acceptance.
Yes?
November 4, 2019
I wasn't sure where this book would take me when I first started reading it, and I think that's the feeling that Peters intends to evoke. The idea that we're all stuck in an endless office building with no way of finding any greater meaning is certainly relatable, and Peters delivers the narrator's growing frustration in a very believable way, given the unbelievable environment. Furthermore, the structure of this book is compelling and kept me turning pages - two chapters for the maze, then a third chapter which focuses on the narrator's relationship with his family and particularly his Grandmother. With this in mind, the 'missing' 60th chapter is deeply bittersweet.
My favourite narrative is the story of the narrator and his Grandmother. She's a lively, outgoing, busy person; he's inward-turning and hurt by his parents' lack of care and divorce. The narrator gives us only glimpses at his life, but usually they are centered around the ability his Grandmother had to push him onwards and force him to keep engaging with life, even when he rather wouldn't. She doesn't apologize for having her own needs and desires, but she's always there for him, too. She's a great character, and her absence in the narrator's life is always going to be central for him, whether or not he escapes the maze. The 'real' chapters gave weight and meaning to the 'fantasy' chapters so that both came alive, and the book as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
My favourite narrative is the story of the narrator and his Grandmother. She's a lively, outgoing, busy person; he's inward-turning and hurt by his parents' lack of care and divorce. The narrator gives us only glimpses at his life, but usually they are centered around the ability his Grandmother had to push him onwards and force him to keep engaging with life, even when he rather wouldn't. She doesn't apologize for having her own needs and desires, but she's always there for him, too. She's a great character, and her absence in the narrator's life is always going to be central for him, whether or not he escapes the maze. The 'real' chapters gave weight and meaning to the 'fantasy' chapters so that both came alive, and the book as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
March 29, 2020
I hate books like this. You invest time in them and they don’t actually end. The author has a great concept and so it’s disappointing that he didn’t himself figure where the book was going and so just stopped writing and called that the end. It isn’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2022
59 Glass Bridges is well written. What I do like about ths book are the short chapters. It allows me time to make it through a chapter for the short amount of time I have each day. The plot and subplot are well defined through the charaters. The book was better than what I expected.
August 20, 2022
This was unlike anything I’d ever read! I really enjoyed it, especially all the flashbacks to the protagonist’s grandmother.
I’ll admit I know nothing about Theseus and the Minotaur, so I wish I’d done some homework before starting this.
Good read, beautifully written, kept me interested the whole time!!
I’ll admit I know nothing about Theseus and the Minotaur, so I wish I’d done some homework before starting this.
Good read, beautifully written, kept me interested the whole time!!
January 3, 2019
I honestly have no idea how I feel about this book.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews