The Bridge Builder's Story Book

I didn't plan or expect it when I picked this novel to read after finishing Half a Life by Darin Strauss. As it happens, however, the themes dovetailed nicely with that book.

Scott and Martha, American WASPs, get married in May of 1939, and set off on a European honeymoon. I chose not to wonder for too long as to how likely it was that Europe, and especially Germany, would be chosen for a vacation destination during that turbulent Spring and Summer before the War, even if the United States didn't officially become involved until 26 months later.

As you might imagine, the holiday doesn't go as well as you'd hope, opening the story up to contemplations on guilt, violation, survival and the kind of pain that gets down into the marrow of your bones and doesn't feel like it will ever depart. This is a quick read, and the topics are introduced but not *very* deeply discussed, so I will be thinking about them on my own for some time to come.

Fast himself was the child of Jewish immigrants to the United States, and his own marriage to his first wife lasted for 57 years, until her death. I don't usually figure the personal lives of the authors into their fictional work, but in this case I think he brings a lot of himself into this one, in the love that Scott feels for his wife and in the loathing he holds for what he sees of the German leadership.