El Puente/The Bridge: A Novel - Softcover

"In the past few years, Americans have discovered that the mixing of races and nationalities along the Rio Grande--the border between Mexico and the United States--can create fascinating cultural situations. In Romo's debut, the river has turned red and smells of mulberries. Tom Brokaw broadcasts bulletins, David Letterman makes jokes, and thousands of people come to a bridge to ogle. . . . The lives of the 13 women in Romo's text unfold like verbal snapshots through third-person narratives. . . . Highly recommended. "Author Ito Romo. . .has written a novel which illuminates as well as entertains." "The book is beautifully written and haunting in its understated and intense feeling." Romo treats his women well. Each is finely portrayed, fully explained, lovingly rendered. . . . Romos imaginative concept manifested through effective use of magic realism succeeds in telling a complete story. The images he has created haunt the reader. In the past few years, Americans have discovered that the mixing of races and nationalities along the Rio Grandethe border between Mexico and the United Statescan create fascinating cultural situations. In Romos debut, the river has turned red and smells of mulberries. Tom Brokaw broadcasts bulletins, David Letterman makes jokes, and thousands of people come to a bridge to ogle. . . . The lives of the 13 women in Romos text unfold like verbal snapshots through third-person narratives. . . . Highly recommended." AAA1/2Romo treats his women well. Each is finely portrayed, fully explained, lovingly rendered.AAA1/2 AAA1/2. . . RomoAAA1/2s imaginative concept manifested through effective use of magic realism succeeds in telling a complete story. The images he has created haunt the reader.AAA1/2 AAA1/2In the past few years, Americans have discovered that the mixing of races and nationalities along the Rio GrandeAAA1/2the border between Mexico and the United StatesAAA1/2can create fascinating cultural situations. In RomoAAA1/2s debut, the river has turned red and smells of mulberries. Tom Brokaw broadcasts bulletins, David Letterman makes jokes, and thousands of people come to a bridge to ogle. . . . The lives of the 13 women in RomoAAA1/2s text unfold like verbal snapshots through third-person narratives. . . . Highly recommended."

This tenderly wrought novel is about a town on the Rio Grande and resonates with pure border voices. Thirteen women -- all ages and backgrounds -- react in unexpected, humorous, and mysterious ways when one day the river suddenly turns crimson red. The bridge, which the women cross and re-cross in the course of this cycle of stories, becomes a site where the women acquire knowledge about their lives and their landscape as the mystery of the colour of the river unravels. Romo illuminates a cross-section of border life in classic, lyrical prose, rich with elements of fable, ancient morality tales, and magic, all the while capturing the extraordinary textures of contemporary border life. This novel captivates and entertains with its mix of closely observed reality imbued with deep spirituality.