Janet Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller The Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I think I enjoyed the film more than the book in this case. I'm not usually a Clint Eastwood fan but thought he played Kincaid very well. Meryl Streep was Francesca and I think she is brilliant in whatever part she plays. She is one of those actresses who loses herself in the part and can take on so many different faces. The book differed somewhat from the film. In the book, the week or so she spent with Kincaid is the only contact she ever has with him. In the film, they correspond for the rest of their lives. I found it a little far-fetched that a relationship could develop and survive with zero contact. I also found it difficult to understand why Francesca never tried to make contact with him after her husband died. For all that I enjoyed the story, I'm a bit of a sucker for star-crossed lover type romances. I've read a couple more of his books Slow Waltz at Cedar Bend and Border Music, I preferred the latter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Jacobs Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 One for the GF I think it will be too soppy for me to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) She did try to make contact with him after her husband died (in the book) but to no avail. Edited January 29, 2009 by Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I loved it, it's one of the few books and films that could make me cry, when I read the book, it had been quite a while since I'd seen the film, and actually, come to think of it I haven't seen the whole film from beginning to end. The end of the film is one of the most heart wrenching scenes I have ever witnessed, no dialog, but the facial expressions in trucks in the pouring rain. /sigh/ I'm not a huge Eastwood fan, can take or leave him, but in this he was perfect. Streep always is. Hmmm, as to why she didn't contact him after her husband died, I can only wonder...but could it have been that their interlude was so perfect, such a wonderful memory that she was afraid to sully it with present reality? I just don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) She did try to make contact with him after her husband died (in the book) but to no avail. Oh, ok, I didn't remember that. But. If she'd persisted, she probably could have. :?: Edited January 29, 2009 by Janet Added spoiler tag to my post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) "When Richard died in 1979, when the funeral was over and the children had gone back to their own homes, she thought about calling Robert Kincaid. He would be sixty-six; she was fifty-nine. There was still time even with the loss of fourteen years. She thought hard about it for a week and finally took the number off his letterhead and dialed it. </Snip> "McGregor Insurance." Francesca sank but recovered enough to ask the secretary if she'd dialed the correct number. She had. Francesca hung up. Next she tried the Information operator in Bellingham Washington. Nothing listed. She tried Seattle. Nothing. Then the Chamber of Commerce offices in Bellingham and Seattle. She asked them to check the city directories. They did, and he was not listed. He could be anywhere, she thought. She remembered the magazine [National Geographic], he said to call there. </Snip> She asked about Robert Kincaid. Of course the editor remember him. "Trying to locate him, huh? He left the magazine in 1975. The address and phone number I have are..." He read off the same information Francesca already had. She stopped trying after that, mostly because she was afraid of what she might discover." So she did try, but sort of ran out of options, I guess. She was notified of his death in 1982. Sorry for the huge spoiler but it's relevant to those above! Edited January 29, 2009 by Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 You're right Janet Isn't it funny how both Pontalba and I forgot that passage? Maybe we both thought she didn't try hard enough, but as Pontalba said, perhaps she preferred the memory to present day reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergran71 Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 I loved the film, didn't realise it was based on a book though. Will have to add that to my list of wanted books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 I recently watched the film version and I've never cried so much in my life! The emotions are so raw! A beautifully made film and I'd certainly read the book after seeing the movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 You're right Janet Isn't it funny how both Pontalba and I forgot that passage? Maybe we both thought she didn't try hard enough, but as Pontalba said, perhaps she preferred the memory to present day reality. I think that might be exactly that poppy, if you love someone as much as she purported to love him...wouldn't you go to the ends of the earth to find out what happened to him? I know I would. I wouldn't care who I badgered and aggravated. I'd find out if it was humanly possible. But I'm pretty stubborn. Janet, thanks for posting that excerpt. I appreciate the reminder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I think that might be exactly that poppy, if you love someone as much as she purported to love him...wouldn't you go to the ends of the earth to find out what happened to him? I know I would. I wouldn't care who I badgered and aggravated. I'd find out if it was humanly possible. But I'm pretty stubborn. I totally agree. At the end I was thinking, "Go and find him, keep looking until you do!" I always get frustrated when people give up too easily. I don't think I could have stood the not knowing, even if I had found out he had got married or died in the meantime, it would at least be better than not knowing. 'The Horse Whisperer' was another one where I'm sure they could have made it work. At least in 'Gone With the Wind" (another favourite I know Pont ) Scarlett ends with 'Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all tomorrow is another day.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I totally agree. At the end I was thinking, "Go and find him, keep looking until you do!" I always get frustrated when people give up too easily. I don't think I could have stood the not knowing, even if I had found out he had got married or died in the meantime, it would at least be better than not knowing. 'The Horse Whisperer' was another one where I'm sure they could have made it work. At least in 'Gone With the Wind" (another favourite I know Pont ) Scarlett ends with 'Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to get him back. After all tomorrow is another day.' LOL re Scarlett, another mule headed Southerner. heh But yes, I've always been one to want closure, apparently some would rather not know in case it is unpleasant to them. It's just a shame the book [so called sequel to GWTW] was so. . . . unsatisfying. But that's another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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