The Bridge: A Novel of Family, Forgiveness, and a Grandmother's Role in the 1934 Strike

by Doug Marlette

From Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Marlette comes the captivating story of Pick Cantrell, a successful newspaper cartoonist whose career has hit the skids. In the grip of a midlife meltdown, Pick returns with his wife and son to a small North Carolina town, where he confronts the ghosts of his past in the form of the family matriarch and his boyhood nemesis, Mama Lucy. What follows is an extraordinary story within a story, as Pick uncovers startling truths about himself and about the role his grandmother played in the tragic General Textile Strike Of 1934

A novel about family, love, and forgiveness, The Bridge explores how much we ever really know about others, and most important, about ourselves.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Historical Fiction, Southern

400 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2001

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was long - about 150 pages too long -
There was a lot of family bickering going on with unyielding - strong minded male and female characters.....some of it rather funny.....some parts annoying.
The main character- Pick Cantrell’s temper tantrum is what got him fired from his New York job ( he had been a successful political newspaper cartoonist). Still grouchy - he moves back to North Carolina - his boyhood small town.
His marriage was hanging on by threads - not exactly a peaceful relationship model for their son.
The new environment of North Carolina, opened up more problems. Painful family memories came flooding back.

As the reader ....we noticed a pattern: Pick Cantrell ( with his volatile tendencies), had flustering-muddled relationships with - ‘all’ - women! He began to see the source of his own struggles himself. His awareness alone - soften his ornery ways. He eventually does some healing with Mama Lucy.... his grandmother....the woman he most hated for years. [ I know - who hates their ‘grandmother’?] Odd in itself - don’t you think? I did too!!

As family sagas go - with a past and present storyline- the secrets, grudges, hurts, marriages, deaths, friendships, community, love, understanding, death, forgiveness, ( the emotional elements - bittersweet feelings) - the pacing was predictable, but forgivable....and much was charming.

Learning about the Texile Strike in 1984 and the influence of the southern families was fascinating.
Once Pick began talking with Mama Lucy about the strike — his relationship with her began to improve.
He asks, “why exactly did you decide to go on strike?”.
We get an experience of the hardships of the day. People were exhausted and depleted. Mama Lucy was working under horrible conditions.
We learn what community folks feared about the unions, - [outsiders - labor unions -were always stirring things up] - but the unions were treating them better than their own bosses. So, the workers made their choice to strike - hoped for better working conditions.
The strike created much chaos....but proved to have made a positive difference.

Overall - passionate storytelling.... both comic & tragic....

This was Doug Marlette’s first novel. Sadly he died... and we won’t have more.

[Diane Barnes]

I have read 150 pages, and every time I open the book I am annoyed and impatient, because I keep waiting for it to get better. It takes place in Hillsboro, (the fictional Eno in the story) and I am familiar with the town, the people, the language and speech patterns, because I grew up in Durham, only 20 miles from there. I know about the textile mills, and the working conditions, so it follows that this would interest me. But the main character of Pick Cantrell is really irritating me, Mama Lucy is a caricature, and the writing is not pulling me in. Others seem to like this book a lot, and maybe it's the time of year, or just me, but I'm giving up. No star rating, since I did not finish.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a Christmas gift from a friend, it's a first novel and has a lot of the problems of a first novel, but it still was engaging and a great first-novel effort. Marlette was an award-winning political cartoonist as a primary career, and only came to novel-writing later in life. This one is set in a fictional Carolina town that is basically Hillsborough, and deals with the textile strikes and strife that came with the attempts at unionization of the Carolina mills in the 30s. It's also very thinly based in reality, since the main character is a former political cartoonist learning about the historical plots via a grandmother device, and a bunch of the modern characters are clearly identifiable as fictional counterparts of actual Hillsborough residents. So, that made it interesting to read as someone who can pick out who the "real people" are in it.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Cynthia's review that follows. Like Cynthia I now live in the area of NC that was the setting for the book. With Halloween just a couple of weeks away I'll have to make a run to Chicken Bridge to see the lit jack o lantern.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the WHAT was up with that scene with the escaped convict? LOVED the rest of the book but that seemed like a snipped from some other book. So needless.

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political cartoonist Pick Cantrell has a gift for pissing people off. After publishing a cartoon making fun of the Pope, he decks his publisher at a New York daily, gets fired from his job, and ends up in the Piedmont of North Carolina where he restores a house while his wife resumes her career. In it all, she about leaves him for a more successful man (who doesn't slug his boss) while he begins to discover the family secrets that Southerners are so good at hiding (I can say this since I’m one of ‘em). 380 pages later, his wife is back in love with him, he’s doing free lance work, they have a nice house due to his skills as a carpenter, his disgruntled grandmother dies happy and he’s given the town of Eno as well as his family back their lost history. The Bridge is just a tad too neat. It’s a comedy in the classic style, where fortunes are lost then restored fourfold. Yet, throughout the book, as Pick explores his family’s history through his grandmother Lucy, the reader is given a unique view of life in a textile mill town during the Great Depression. Furthermore, Marlette, who is a political cartoonist, shows brilliance in some very humorous scenes. On several occasions, starting in the first chapter, Marlette provides vignettes of Southerners getting the best of condensing Yankees. Marlette shares the throne with Roy Blount for the king of this genre (see Roy Blount’s piece about sushi in his collection of Southern Humor).

Felicity looked at me. "I couldn’t take all the racists down there."
"Yes," I said. "It’s awful. So unlike this garden of racial harmony y’all got up here—Howard Beach, Bensonhurst, Crown Heights—hell, New York’s a goddamn paradise of brotherly love!"
---
"Besides," she continued, "southerners just sound so… ignorant. I just can’t take anything they say seriously. I’m a Democrat, of course, but I must say I could barely vote for Jimmy Carter because of htat accent of his."
"Well, ma’am"—the chill in my voice could have frozen hummingbirds in mid-flight—"where I come from we call that bigotry."

Although the title page claims the book is a work of fiction, containing the usual disclaimer, "Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental," Marlette admits he’s drawn much of the background from his own family. Like Grandma Lucy in the story, a National Guardsman bayoneted his own grandmother in the General Textile Strike of 1934. Although there wasn’t a massacre in Eno, there was a massacre of strikers in Honea Path, South Carolina. And like with Pick in the novel, Marlette’s own great uncle was a union organizer. There is at least one other similarity too. The Webb family who owned the mill seems to parallel the Love family who started Burlington Industries. They both had a son named Spenser (although the Spenser in the novel was disowned). Both families had a member who went north for additional graduate studies and became professors. However, I don’t think the Love’s ever had any children sympathetic to the union, like Spencer Webb.

Although Marlette’s first attempt at a novel is a bit too neat for my taste, I’m glad I read it for the picture he drew of life in the textile mill towns in the early 1930s. For those of you who do not know Marlette’s work, I’d recommend reading his comic strips "Kudzu," which portrays life in the South humorously. This strip can be found in most Southern newspapers and he has published several collections of the strip, one of which adorns the coffee table in my office.

[Readnponder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people will remember Doug Marlette for his cartoon strip, "Kudzu." His first novel, "The Bridge," draws from his family's experience. What a treat! The book deals with a present day cartoonist, down on his luck, moving back to Piedmont area of North Carolina (Eno in the book is Hillsborough) and learning who his irascible grandmother REALLY was.

Mama Lucy was active in the mill strikes and labor unrest in the 1930s in NC. An author's note at the end tells us Marlette's real grandmother was indeed bayonetted by a National Guardsman in 1934. This was a part of local history I knew nothing about. I loved learning about life in the neighboring mill towns. I loved the increased understanding between the generations. And all along the way, Marlette kept my laughing. I'm so sorry that he is not around to write more.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bridge, Doug Marlette (3.5)
They often say ‘write what you know’. Doug Marlette certainly did that. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who found out his family was deeply involved in the volatile textile union disputes of the 1930’s - who writes about a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist who found out his family was deeply involved in the volatile textile union disputes of the 1930’s. That being said, this book is a moving story about family disputes and misunderstandings set amidst an interesting part of US history. It was worthwhile to watch Pick, the protagonist, unravel the complicated history of his previously seen one-dimensional grandmother. He also does service to the various types of people of North Carolina, now and in the past - from all walks of life.

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is not much that I can say here that hasn't already been said by previous reviewers. The Bridge by Doug Marlette definitely belongs on the same bookshelf as Look Homeward, Angel; Cold Mountain and Saints at the River. This gripping story of a fallen editorial cartoonist from NYC returning home to North Carolina and his matriarchal family of strong women and tragic men drew me in page by page. The epiphany at the bridge told me that yes you can go home again.

What a light into our hearts and souls was extinguished when Marlette was killed in an accident.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doug Marlette lived very close to me, and I sometimes enjoyed his comics, so I was curious to see what he would write about our town. The town character details I loved, the plot, not so much.

I wish he had lived to write many more novels and comics.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bridge is the story of Pick Cantrell, a political cartoonist living in New York whose career has just fallen apart. When Pick and his family move back to his home state of North Carolina, he is forced to spend time with family that he had long been able to avoid, especially his formidable grandmother, Mama Lucy. Through his evolving relationship with Mama Lucy, Pick begins to uncover stories from his grandmother's past and discovers her role in the General Textile Strike of 1934.

The book moves backward and forward in time as we see Mama Lucy in her youth, describing her life as a poor mill worker, and then also watching the present-day story of Pick unfold. I really liked the scenes that took place in the past; it was fascinating to learn about the issues faced by mill hands and learn more about Mama Lucy's character. The modern plot has its own complexities, as Pick and his wife Cameron struggle to find their new normal in North Carolina, and Pick continues to uncover more details about his complicated family.

I really enjoyed this book. I love Southern fiction, and the North Carolina backdrop was gorgeous. I did find some of the dialogue to be a bit unrealistic, but overall this was an intriguing story filled with interesting characters.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading The Bridge by Doug Marlette. I think it is possibly the best novel I’ve read this year! It is essentially about the 1930’s Southern textile workers’ strikes against the industry for better wages and better working conditions. That is a quick and dirty -and unfair- summary. More justly, it is about one amazing woman’s courage, hardships, love and loss during those terrible times and one man’s lessons in acceptance Largely based on Marlette’s family history of textile work in Burlington, NC and the massacre of strikers that occurred at Honea Path, South Carolina, the novel tells the story of hard times in the 30’s and forgiveness years later.

Marlette writes about Southern life in a distinctly Southern way, channeling the great Pat Conroy in his prose and his word choices. Here is a novel by a writer with great promise, lost to us too soon.

[Carolyn Russett · Rating 4 out of 5]

story of Pick Cantrell, a successful newspaper cartoonist whose career has hit the skids. In the grip of a midlife meltdown, Pick returns with his wife and son to a small North Carolina town, where he confronts the ghosts of his past in the form of the family matriarch and his boyhood nemesis, Mama Lucy. What follows is an extraordinary story within a story, as Pick uncovers startling truths about himself and about the role his grandmother played in the tragic General Textile Strike Of 1934

I wasn't sure i was going to love this book -- maybe because it was written so long ago? however it was a wonderful read. The characters are real and wonderful to talk about.

[Chandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! This historical fiction book by deceased author and former political cartoonist, Doug Marlette, was based on fictional Eno disguised as Hillsborough. Marlette resided in Hillsborough when he wrote and published this book. The book is about a political cartoonist that moves back to NC and settles in the town where his grandmother grew up. The main character, Pick, has a tumultuous relationship with his grandmother. The relationship heals as he learns of his grandmother’s part part in the labor mill strikes in the 30s. I really enjoyed this story, but I loved trying to figure out the location of the various Hillsborough landmark references.

[Ilena Holder · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't know who D. Marlene was until he died in a car wreck. The newspaper articles got me interested in his first (and last) book, The Bridge. It was badly written and clumsy. Some reviewers said he had not found his "voice" yet, I felt he had little talent for writing. Perhaps he was a great cartoonist, but this didn't mean he would be great at everything he attempted. More interesting than his book, was his running feud he had with the super author, Allan Gourganis. If you want to read a mesmerizing, brilliant piece of writing, read his book The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.

[Kshydog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the grandma, Mama Lucy, with her feisty attitude toward her family, her previous life during the strike. Pick was a interesting type of person holding attitudes from his past, his not understanding why his mother was taken from his home, blaming Mama Lucy for his childhood version of life. Enjoyed his humor as a cartoonist, the hill-billy behavior of his relatives was almost too cliche. Amazing how his new home became an aspect of the past. Enjoyed the connection to real life events from NC, his descriptions fit the area.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much to learn from history when we are open to listen and look at the lives that touch our own, even those who have seemed difficult. This story is full of actual historical events from the time of the textile mills in the south through the eyes of a cantankerous grandmother told to her grandson. As he begins to see her life through her experiences as a young woman during the textile strikes and the poverty of the time, his heart softens and their relationship is reshaped. He also learns family secrets that impact his own life.

[Threasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the description of the book, I didn't think it would be very good. Happily, Mr. Marlette proved me wrong. It is the story of Pickard Cantrell and Lucy Cantrell mostly. Pick grew up hating his grandmother and fearing her. He moves back to town and starts seeing her and asking her about the family history. Soon, Mama Lucy is living with Pick, his wife and son. The book also tells the story of strikes in the cotton mills in the 30s. Mr. Marlette makes the history come alive. It is also very funny.

[Lynn Zoia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long book, tiny font in the paperback I read. But worth the occasional "print breaks" I needed. It's a story in a story, with an almost Forrest Gumpian bent, as the second story hits on a slew of actual events tied to one witness.
My only problem with it is that the back-in-times aren't linear, so there were chunks that I had to realign in my head. But maybe that's a me problem and others are able to discern that this one came before the one we read earlier. But I digress...
I enjoyed it and will now be on the lookout for Marlette's second novel, Magic Time.

[Christine Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite interesting the background about the real events of the mill protests and life in South Carolina at this time. Interesting lead-in and context for his investigations. Some good characters - it was a little bit long, but overall I thought well done and I enjoyed it.

[Nancy Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely an amazing historical and compassionate glimpse into our grandparents' generation of fabric factory work, the hard fight for the Unions, and family secrets...Thoroughly enjoyed your novel based on actual events Mr. Marlette!

[Ellie Garvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping novel based on true events of a textile mill strike in 1934. I thought it had a slow start, but once the flashbacks and back stories started, it was mesmerizing. I stayed up late to finish because I couldn't put it down!

[Victoria Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful, backed up with historical events, an easy read and hard to put down. Very well written and thought provoking.

[Holly Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the first couple chapters, I wasn't totally sure about this book. But I stuck with and ended up really loving it. Terrific story based on some historic events. Complex and realistic characters.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo!!!!!! Excellent!!!!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the history of the NC area

[Morgan James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. One of the best stories I've read in a long time.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorites. I'm just so sad that Doug Marlette died in that car accident a year ago. No more of his wonderful writing to look forward to. His other novel, The Magic Time is also excellent.

The main character has a mouth and temper that gets him into trouble, straight away he's fired from his New York job for losing it with his editor. He reluctantly agrees with his wife, Cameron, and moves back to NC, where he grew up, to start fresh. Back in NC he faces the family, mainly Mama Lucy, and memories of his mother. Mama Lucy, is the cantankerous, prickly, matriarch of the family. And Pink has never gotten along with her. He harbors a deep rooted grudge against his grandmother and believes she is responsible for his mother's long hospital stays and eventual death.

Their relationship blossoms (corny word I know) as Mama Lucy tells Pink about her involvement in the mill strike, what happened to her best friend, her brother, her first love, and her husband. And slowly, Pink realizes her grandmother was never responsible for her mother's troubles.

This book had it all-- it was humorous, sad at times, but also uplifting. The history behind the mill strike workers was interesting. The Bridge is set in my local area--Chapel Hill, Elon, Burlington, and Pittsboro, so it was neat reading about all the local places. Just as a side note, the traditional lighted pumpkins still appear on Chicken Bridge on Halloween night.

[GinnyP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading from about 10 years ago, this is set outside Durham, in the Eno River area. Not an A-1 book in terms of writing, but it is the history I read it for - the efforts to unionize the mills in North Carolina. The book references true events like the Burlington strikes, a massacre in Eno, and a plot to dynamite the mill. The narrator ("Pick") is, like Doug Marlette was, a cartoonist who comes back to his roots, and unknowingly purchases the house of the former mill owner. Through stories told by his irascible grandmother, Pick mends his relationship with her and finds out about his family he never knew was involved in such an important part of local history. The story has many southern references like sweet tea and biscuits, a contrived situation with Pick's marriage - strong, then crumbling, then a predictable sweetness - and the almost-violent ending turns out rather sappy, but I still had tears in my eyes for the last few pages of tribute to Mama Lucy and Annie Laura.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time around. I don't remember when i first read it, but the story continued to haunt me even though i forgot the title and author.

Pick Cantrell is a pulitzer prize winning political cartoonist who loses his job when he refuses to apologize for a contraversial cartoon and in a fit of fury beats up on his boss. As a result he and his wife Cameron and their child Wiley return to the North Carolina of his youth. The plan is for Pick to rehab an old house while Cameron goes to work to support them.

Pick has spent a lifetime hating his grandmother Mama Lucy. In this story within a story he learns of his grandmother's girlhood in the textile mill, the labor union, strikes, social status, love hate, bravery and fear. At the same time he confronts his own deamons.

I liked it as well the second time. Sadly, Doug Marlett died between readings.