What do you think?
Rate this book
The Goat Bridge
American photographer Stephen Brings has fled a troubled relationship in Chicago and the painful memory of a kidnapped and still-missing son, only to stumble into the Balkans at the outbreak of the civil wars.
As he drifts through the countryside, Stephen struggles to resolve the trauma and sorrow of losing his son, and soon the landscape begins to mirror his own inner battles. After a return trip to America fails to heal the rift between himself and the mother of his child, Stephen returns to Sarajevo, where he begins a project to document images of the Bosnian people—not war images, but personal portraits of an embattled nation. There he finds himself falling in love with a German journalist, who helps to heal his ailing body and to overcome his tragic loss.
The Goat Bridge is an unforgettable tale of memory and oblivion, a probing story of loss and redemption, of letting go and holding on, and of the universal human search for meaning. In the end, it is also a love story about finding the wisdom and courage to surrender to one's own and another's heart.
"Brilliant. . . . The intricately layered narrative, moving back and forth in time and space, builds to a conclusion both bloody and subtle. . . ."
—Chicago Tribune
"Touched with some of the aphoristic delicacy of Milan Kundera, and searching in the mode of Graham Greene, McNally's tale of redemption nonetheless has a sinewy elegance entirely its own."
—Publishers Weekly
"[A] lacerating and exquisite novel of loss and mourning. . . ."
—Booklist: A 2005 Editors' Choice
As he drifts through the countryside, Stephen struggles to resolve the trauma and sorrow of losing his son, and soon the landscape begins to mirror his own inner battles. After a return trip to America fails to heal the rift between himself and the mother of his child, Stephen returns to Sarajevo, where he begins a project to document images of the Bosnian people—not war images, but personal portraits of an embattled nation. There he finds himself falling in love with a German journalist, who helps to heal his ailing body and to overcome his tragic loss.
The Goat Bridge is an unforgettable tale of memory and oblivion, a probing story of loss and redemption, of letting go and holding on, and of the universal human search for meaning. In the end, it is also a love story about finding the wisdom and courage to surrender to one's own and another's heart.
"Brilliant. . . . The intricately layered narrative, moving back and forth in time and space, builds to a conclusion both bloody and subtle. . . ."
—Chicago Tribune
"Touched with some of the aphoristic delicacy of Milan Kundera, and searching in the mode of Graham Greene, McNally's tale of redemption nonetheless has a sinewy elegance entirely its own."
—Publishers Weekly
"[A] lacerating and exquisite novel of loss and mourning. . . ."
—Booklist: A 2005 Editors' Choice
- GenresNovels
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2005
51 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2015
Incredible novel about loss, grief, parenthood, life and love after tragedy and war. McNally steers seamlessly between the past, the present, Chicago and Sarajevo and Vermont as he tells the story of a photojournalist coming to grips, over time with the kidnapping of his son.
I read McNally's Until Your Heart Stops many years ago and may need to go back to it.
Uplifting, funny and incredibly insightful on the cumulative effect of grief as well as how to live through and with it.
I wonder if the author has ever toyed with re-releasing the book with the photographs that Brings, the main character takes throughout the book. Their descriptions are used to begin a number of chapters and they frame the action beautifully at times. Brings's letters to his son are always incredibly affecting.
This is a beautiful, amazing novel.
I read McNally's Until Your Heart Stops many years ago and may need to go back to it.
Uplifting, funny and incredibly insightful on the cumulative effect of grief as well as how to live through and with it.
I wonder if the author has ever toyed with re-releasing the book with the photographs that Brings, the main character takes throughout the book. Their descriptions are used to begin a number of chapters and they frame the action beautifully at times. Brings's letters to his son are always incredibly affecting.
This is a beautiful, amazing novel.
October 19, 2007
McNally puts together a fantastic book that spans years and continents. His novel is an exploration of war at the end of the 20th century, as well as the special status of Americans abroad.
There's a lot to love here in an intricately-crafted novel. Anyone who loves books should check it out. This is not your average low-action contemporary literary novel. If you like a good deal of gunfire and explosions in your fiction, this is a book that will please you.
There's a lot to love here in an intricately-crafted novel. Anyone who loves books should check it out. This is not your average low-action contemporary literary novel. If you like a good deal of gunfire and explosions in your fiction, this is a book that will please you.
July 3, 2012
Amazing writing, imagery.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews