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The Bridge of Years
This novel, first published in 1946, is one of May Sarton's earliest and, some critics think, one of her best. It takes place during the years between the world wars and explores the life of a Belgian family, the Duchesnes, and their mutual devotion which intensifies under the shadow of impending disaster.
Mélanie Duchesne, mother of three, is an active businesswoman, whose courage, energy, and optimism bind the family and its farm together. Paul, her husband, is a philosopher, detached, moody, continually embroiled in the spiritual conflicts of a crumbling Europe.
The last years before the second war are tense ones, a time for stock-taking, for a quickening of the pace of life. But it is Mélanie who encourages her family to proceed with their plans, to continue with their way of life. And it is Mélanie who decides their future as the Germans launch their invasion of Belgium.
Mélanie Duchesne, mother of three, is an active businesswoman, whose courage, energy, and optimism bind the family and its farm together. Paul, her husband, is a philosopher, detached, moody, continually embroiled in the spiritual conflicts of a crumbling Europe.
The last years before the second war are tense ones, a time for stock-taking, for a quickening of the pace of life. But it is Mélanie who encourages her family to proceed with their plans, to continue with their way of life. And it is Mélanie who decides their future as the Germans launch their invasion of Belgium.
342 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
16 people are currently reading
321 people want to read
About the author
May Sarton
153 books600 followersMay Sarton was born on May 3, 1912, in Wondelgem, Belgium, and grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her first volume of poetry, Encounters in April, was published in 1937 and her first novel, The Single Hound, in 1938. An accomplished memoirist, Sarton boldly came out as a lesbian in her 1965 book Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing. Her later memoir, Journal of a Solitude, was an account of her experiences as a female artist. Sarton died in York, Maine, on July 16, 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 2, 2023
Another wonderful novel by May Sarton. This is one of her early novels, and it’s set between the World Wars. She handles her cast of characters deftly; I appreciate how clear-eyed her writing is.
December 27, 2025
The Bridge of Years is a quietly profound novel set primarily in Belgium, following the Duchesne family across four pivotal moments between the two world wars: 1919, 1930, 1936, and 1940. What begins as a domestic family story gradually becomes a searching moral examination of conscience, responsibility, and the cost of silence.
When the novel opens in 1919, Paul and Mélanie Duchesne have already been married for several years. They have one young child, Françoise, about four years old. Paul is an idealistic philosopher; Mélanie is steady, observant, and quietly authoritative. Their marriage is loving, thoughtful, and rooted in shared values—values that will be tested not by drama, but by time.
The novel is divided into four parts, each distinct in tone and purpose:
Part I (1919): Foundation
This section establishes formation—marriage, early ideals, intellectual ambition, and the moral atmosphere of the family. The groundwork is laid gently but deliberately.
Part II (1930): Suspension
The long middle years between the wars. Domestic continuity dominates: children grow, daily life continues, and Europe seems calm. Yet the calm is false. Paul’s work fails to gain recognition, while Mélanie holds the family together with quiet competence. This section’s stillness is deceptive, and intentionally so.
Part III (1936): Displacement
Here, balance begins to shift. Aging, regret, and unfulfilled promise surface. The sense of stability loosens—not through catastrophe, not through resolution, but through subtle movement out of alignment. What once felt settled begins to strain.
Part IV (1940): Reckoning
This is where everything the novel has been carrying finally speaks back. Set during the “phony war,” Sarton confronts the rise of fascism directly. Ideology spreads not through obvious villains, but through silence, institutions that refuse responsibility, parents who agree, and authorities whose “hands are tied.” Attempts to stop a fascist student leader fail at every level.
It is Mélanie who articulates the novel’s central insight: this war is taking place in each man’s heart, and if it is not fought there now, it will return in another generation. Her moral clarity—sometimes expressed as righteous anger—is one of the book’s greatest strengths.
Paul, too, finds his voice at last. His third book succeeds not because it is clever, but because it is written with heart and memory—especially the memory of Gerhart, a friend whose idealism history may try to erase. Paul insists that remembering matters, even when the world prefers forgetting.
I finished this novel deeply moved and quietly changed. The Bridge of Years is not dramatic or fast-paced, but it deepens steadily and rewards attentive reading. It is a book that understands history not only as events, but as moral weather—and it feels as urgent now as when it was written.
5 stars
When the novel opens in 1919, Paul and Mélanie Duchesne have already been married for several years. They have one young child, Françoise, about four years old. Paul is an idealistic philosopher; Mélanie is steady, observant, and quietly authoritative. Their marriage is loving, thoughtful, and rooted in shared values—values that will be tested not by drama, but by time.
The novel is divided into four parts, each distinct in tone and purpose:
Part I (1919): Foundation
This section establishes formation—marriage, early ideals, intellectual ambition, and the moral atmosphere of the family. The groundwork is laid gently but deliberately.
Part II (1930): Suspension
The long middle years between the wars. Domestic continuity dominates: children grow, daily life continues, and Europe seems calm. Yet the calm is false. Paul’s work fails to gain recognition, while Mélanie holds the family together with quiet competence. This section’s stillness is deceptive, and intentionally so.
Part III (1936): Displacement
Here, balance begins to shift. Aging, regret, and unfulfilled promise surface. The sense of stability loosens—not through catastrophe, not through resolution, but through subtle movement out of alignment. What once felt settled begins to strain.
Part IV (1940): Reckoning
This is where everything the novel has been carrying finally speaks back. Set during the “phony war,” Sarton confronts the rise of fascism directly. Ideology spreads not through obvious villains, but through silence, institutions that refuse responsibility, parents who agree, and authorities whose “hands are tied.” Attempts to stop a fascist student leader fail at every level.
It is Mélanie who articulates the novel’s central insight: this war is taking place in each man’s heart, and if it is not fought there now, it will return in another generation. Her moral clarity—sometimes expressed as righteous anger—is one of the book’s greatest strengths.
Paul, too, finds his voice at last. His third book succeeds not because it is clever, but because it is written with heart and memory—especially the memory of Gerhart, a friend whose idealism history may try to erase. Paul insists that remembering matters, even when the world prefers forgetting.
I finished this novel deeply moved and quietly changed. The Bridge of Years is not dramatic or fast-paced, but it deepens steadily and rewards attentive reading. It is a book that understands history not only as events, but as moral weather—and it feels as urgent now as when it was written.
5 stars
April 27, 2022
This is a very thoughtful and thought provoking story of one family in Belgium between the two world wars. It is a deep look at how lives are affected by war, both in its aftermath and in the build up to war. There is love in the treatment of the characters and in the development of courage and honor for these characters.
The rise of fascism is dealt with in a clear- eyed manner as are the struggles of coming to terms with finding a way to face it and not be diminished. Basically, the story is built on each person finding the way to a life that is meaningful for them.
The rise of fascism is dealt with in a clear- eyed manner as are the struggles of coming to terms with finding a way to face it and not be diminished. Basically, the story is built on each person finding the way to a life that is meaningful for them.
May 20, 2021
loved it - - from the story, the characters to her writing. poetry is around every corner. in the beginning she captures the writer's dilemma, the things that gnaw at writers rat-like. the urge to once and for all 'get it down,' when 'it' is still happening.
and i love me a good literary love triangle (thank you Jeanette Winterson), especially as Sarton does not belabor the point--or any for that matter. she captures the feelings and growing pains of various characters, different ages, genders, preoccupations. she deals with the PTSD of world war I and the impending doom of world war II and is this lovely mother figure who doesn't sacrifice at the altar of motherhood but when choices have to be made this woman, Melanie, truly wants to do not necessarily what is best for her family but what her family wants.
she is patient and kind--keeps the factory open if only for the workers when things get dangerous--and she almost veers off into lesbianism or makes us think that she might or could had circumstances been different. I don't say this because of Sarton's background. Melanie herself expresses great love for her female friend and even says, 'i don't love Paul,' because sometimes she doesn't, because sometimes you don't, you can't. she says she loves her friend and wants to be with her all of the time. to its credit it is not presented as internal struggle or this swallowing of propriety, it is just all wrapped up in the moment and moments leading to other moments and patience and the constant creation of, in her case, not art, but family. it just seems like a real marriage instead of a trade-off. (interesting, as Sarton was not married and didn't live with her long time lover and that she writes over and over in 'journal of a solitude' the extent to which she loved her solitude. someone who wasn't conventionally married, because she couldn't be during her day, truly captured the ins and outs of a long-term marriage.)
as for Hitler, she deftly deals with the talks and worries, the life changes (life saving) and all the rest that people went through anticipating and experiencing fascism. 'this can't happen. surely this won't happen. surely people will stop this from happening. can't people see who this man really is? what can we do? we have to do something. we can't save them all; can we save one person?' their desperation, desolation and despondency is palpable and relatable after 2016-20. (no, not literally comparing across the board. but many people saw how a sick ego ran rampant and, fed on itself, could have kept going...) this is to say that I think the book is universal and inexhaustible and doesn't just serve as a warning but as a reminder. these people living in a lovely house in Belgium 100 years ago (beginning of the book. it sweeps across decades) are interesting and relevant to contemporary times.
and i love me a good literary love triangle (thank you Jeanette Winterson), especially as Sarton does not belabor the point--or any for that matter. she captures the feelings and growing pains of various characters, different ages, genders, preoccupations. she deals with the PTSD of world war I and the impending doom of world war II and is this lovely mother figure who doesn't sacrifice at the altar of motherhood but when choices have to be made this woman, Melanie, truly wants to do not necessarily what is best for her family but what her family wants.
she is patient and kind--keeps the factory open if only for the workers when things get dangerous--and she almost veers off into lesbianism or makes us think that she might or could had circumstances been different. I don't say this because of Sarton's background. Melanie herself expresses great love for her female friend and even says, 'i don't love Paul,' because sometimes she doesn't, because sometimes you don't, you can't. she says she loves her friend and wants to be with her all of the time. to its credit it is not presented as internal struggle or this swallowing of propriety, it is just all wrapped up in the moment and moments leading to other moments and patience and the constant creation of, in her case, not art, but family. it just seems like a real marriage instead of a trade-off. (interesting, as Sarton was not married and didn't live with her long time lover and that she writes over and over in 'journal of a solitude' the extent to which she loved her solitude. someone who wasn't conventionally married, because she couldn't be during her day, truly captured the ins and outs of a long-term marriage.)
as for Hitler, she deftly deals with the talks and worries, the life changes (life saving) and all the rest that people went through anticipating and experiencing fascism. 'this can't happen. surely this won't happen. surely people will stop this from happening. can't people see who this man really is? what can we do? we have to do something. we can't save them all; can we save one person?' their desperation, desolation and despondency is palpable and relatable after 2016-20. (no, not literally comparing across the board. but many people saw how a sick ego ran rampant and, fed on itself, could have kept going...) this is to say that I think the book is universal and inexhaustible and doesn't just serve as a warning but as a reminder. these people living in a lovely house in Belgium 100 years ago (beginning of the book. it sweeps across decades) are interesting and relevant to contemporary times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2020
A frightening and fascinating look at what the result of turning one’s head when brutal fascists come to power. This novel follows a Belgium family through the years from the end of World War I to 1940, when the Nazis invade Belgium. It is both a novel of ideas, philosophy really, and of how decent people struggle when nationalism, bigotry, cruelty, and greed come to power. If it sounds familiar, that is why it is a frightening book to read right now.
September 5, 2017
Written in 1946, this is a lucid, moving, utterly engaging story focused on the Belgian Duchesne family whose members are linked irrevocably and yet distinct.
I love Sarton's work, especially her journals, but this novel is a first for me, one for the top of the list.
A storm is coming, so I can't write more now.
Kind of appropriate, given the novel's sweep and bridging!
I love Sarton's work, especially her journals, but this novel is a first for me, one for the top of the list.
A storm is coming, so I can't write more now.
Kind of appropriate, given the novel's sweep and bridging!
March 6, 2023
The Bridge of Years is a character study of the Duchesne family during the years between World War I and World War II. The Duchesnes live in the Belgian countryside, and our introduction to Paul and Mélanie takes place in 1919 (Part I) as the world is recovering from World War I, when “the world was to have been a brilliant sunlit place where everything would suddenly change. However, the unified courage which had sustained them as one people was broken into a million private struggles.”
Paul is a moody philosopher who isolates himself from his family while writing a book. Mélanie is headstrong, working to keep her family business, their small farm and their family functioning. She likes nothing better than working in her gardens. Their daughter Françoise is a spoiled and jealous only child.
We later revisit the family in 1930, in 1936 and 1940 (Parts II, II and IV). Their family has grown to include Collette and Solange, and each part more fully develops the characters and their relationships to each other, the community they live in and the world. Each part reveals more of each person’s hopes, dreams and struggles of life living in post and pre-war Europe.
Sarton’s story flows with poetic descriptions of time, place, people and philosophy. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I was engrossed in the family from beginning to end. The book ends when World War II begins, as everyone is fleeing the farms surrounding the Duchesne home. I didn’t want the story to end!
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
Paul is a moody philosopher who isolates himself from his family while writing a book. Mélanie is headstrong, working to keep her family business, their small farm and their family functioning. She likes nothing better than working in her gardens. Their daughter Françoise is a spoiled and jealous only child.
We later revisit the family in 1930, in 1936 and 1940 (Parts II, II and IV). Their family has grown to include Collette and Solange, and each part more fully develops the characters and their relationships to each other, the community they live in and the world. Each part reveals more of each person’s hopes, dreams and struggles of life living in post and pre-war Europe.
Sarton’s story flows with poetic descriptions of time, place, people and philosophy. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I was engrossed in the family from beginning to end. The book ends when World War II begins, as everyone is fleeing the farms surrounding the Duchesne home. I didn’t want the story to end!
https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/
February 28, 2021
Lovely. This is a great example of what I go to fiction for: a chance to spend some time with compelling characters in a setting that is foreign enough to be interesting but close enough to be relatable, in a story that challenges the characters and also challenges me to reconsider my beliefs and feelings [another surprisingly similar example that I read this year was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]. I loved the Duchesne family and their paradise of a farmhouse, and seeing how they overcame their trials was moving and inspiring. The ending is great, and kicks this up to a 5-star book for me.
July 15, 2024
Somewhat autobiographical. A haunting and beautiful book about a family living in the countryside outside Brussels between the two World Wars. Theirs are lives of happiness, hard work, comfort, beauty, and love, but we the readers know that the horrors wrought by Nazi Germany are lurking ever closer to the Duchesnes. Done with a very light touch to remarkable effect. Seems relevant today.
December 30, 2019
thoughtful and wonderful as all her novels are.
March 6, 2020
Undeniably a beautiful writer.
did-not-finish
March 18, 2025I like the writing and the concept but it’s slow going. Someday i will revisit this, but it’s not for me right now.
June 1, 2025
Even if it’s written a long time ago based on the conflicts and ideology of the time, it’s scary how much similarity is to the current trends.
A lot of sentences worth quoting.
A lot of sentences worth quoting.
November 26, 2019
Up to now I only read some of May Sarton's Journals and a few poems. I found so much resonance in her work that I decided it is time to give her fiction a go. Although The Bridge of Years was very sentimental, I really enjoyed it. I am not necessarily a WW2 fan, but I enjoy reading about how the home fires were kept burning, and this is the first time I read about it in Belgium. I love May's description of detail, and her love of the (seemingly) ordinary really shines through. The ending was perfect, but I am still pondering possible outcomes. Maybe that's precisely what good books are supposed to do ...
March 6, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, in fact I should say, I have really enjoyed this book several times. The first chapter, introducing the Duchesne family, delights my heart as the description of Melanie's work in the garden and with the animals (before she goes to work in town), is described so vividly I can almost smell the dirt and feel Melanie's exuberance. Each family member's looks and personality is also depicted realistically and sympathetically, as well as that of the the cook, nurse, housekeeper, Bo-Bo. The effects of the war, and the conflicts of political and philosophical viewpoints of all the characters, as WWII approaches gives the book a timeless depth.
May 20, 2013
My first Sarton novel, and this one really snuck up on me. Very character-driven and introspective. Sarton has a great way of getting inside every single character's head. http://www.thewellreadredhead.com/201...
May 10, 2011
An all-time favorite, lost, found and reread. Classic novel technique, wonderful insights.
July 14, 2009
This has been my fav so far this summer
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews