The Bridges of Madison County

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Summary: Most romantic, caring, unselfish book that you'll ever read.
Review: Robert James Waller writes so good in this book it is unbelievable. The love of Robert and Francesca makes you wish you could have been them. This story makes an affair almost seem right but so wrong at the same time. A word to the wise be aware this book WILL make you cry. It is the most touching book out there you haven't read anything until you have read this love story. You will read this book over and over.

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Summary: Deadly Dull
Review: When this book first came out a friend of mine raved about it and told me I just HAD to read it. Well I picked it up and figuring it was a nice slim volume I'd finish it in no time. It started off very slow and I kept putting it down and trying to get back to it but it nearly put me to sleep a few times then I gave up entirely. How this book remained on the NY Times Bestseller list for a few years is beyond comprehension. Highly overrated garbage,and have no intention of renting the movie either.

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Summary: Marketing at its best!
Review: As a marketing professional, I envy Robert James Waller for having written this book, something so entirely calculated it could not fail to sell millions and make him and his publisher very, very rich. (Doesn't he teach business in Oklahoma?) Unfortunately, for serious readers, this is the state of today's publishing world. Their motto: "Target your market and attack! Appeal to the most common denominator. This is a business! We are not trying to change the world, we are trying to make a piece of change!" Can we blame their approach, with stockholders demanding the high returns? Well, Waller delivers handsomely with this extended greeting card, zeroing in on the heartstrings of America's sexually/emotionally/familially frustrated hordes looking for anything to take their minds off of reality, if only for a few hours, which just so happens to be the maximum length of time it takes to read the book -- another calculation for the attention deficit disorder! ed masses.) The Bridges of Madison County is not about good literature. It is not about dramatizing and bringing light to the social issues of our day. It is about marketing sexual escape. It is a romance novel of a different color, the old made new and respectable via a serious dust jacket. (Something to share at church!) Just look at the language used. No one on this earth speaks as the main characters do. A masculine hero who parts his wet hair down the middle and wears sandals? Don't make me throw up. (Even Clint Eastwood recognized this weakness in the "plot" and thus left it out of his script for the movie.)No serious person can say this is art, but that's not why books are published these days anyway. They are selected on their money-making merit. Witness the Bridges wannabe, The Note Book. Another piece of crap that keeps selling, satisfying both the author and printer. You'll have to excuse me now. I'm off to my typewriter and my sappy love let! ter to the lonely women of America. Thank you, Mr. Waller! for showing me the way. Let's see, what will I buy first?

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Summary: All the deep emotion and refined sensibility of Liberace
Review: ... and that's an insult to Liberace, whose maudlin treacle was at least technically competent. _Bridges_ is a stupendous failure on every conceivable level and probably some inconceivable ones. Its only redeeming value is its unintentional hilarity; otherwise, it's a sugar-frosted turd.

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Summary: Not credible.
Review: I just couldn't bring myself to feel sympathy for this woman who on a whim decided to cheat. She wasn't abused, neglected, ignored or any of the other reasons a person might be expected to experience before looking for an affair. She was just plain ole bored. Nothing worth wasting sympathy on. Can't believe these two people who only saw each other for a brief period could carry the torch the rest of their lives. The children reading the story and thinking that it was just wonderful without feeling even a little sorry for their father doesn't ring true. Sorry..can't recommend.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't capture my heart ..
Review: Does that mean there is something wrong with me .. that I didn't understand how can this be a love stroy .. well .. as much as Francesca and Kincaid tried with me .. I just saw it as a wife cheating on her husband .. in a very bad way ! I didn't see the love .. the love never been given the chance to happen .. to convence me ! Thank you for giving me the space to say what I think !

Rating:
Summary: BOMC: A true romance novel!
Review: Why must the story be realistic? Why must the writing becreative? What does it matter if there are cliches? If you want realism, watch the news channel, if you want creative, read Dickens, Austin, Bronte.. BOMC is a romance, repeat a ROMANCE!!! Read all the 5-star reviews and find out what being in love is really all about!

Rating:
Summary: BOMC: A true romance novel!
Review: Why must the story be realistic? Why must the writing be creative? What does it matter if there are cliches? If you want realism, watch the news channel, if you want creative, read Dickens, Austin, Bronte.. BOMC is a romance, repeat a ROMANCE!!! Read all the 5-star reviews and find out what being in love is really all about!

Rating:
Summary: Violently moving. The best I've read of its kind.
Review: For those who have felt the intensity of true passion in their lives. This book stirred me as I have not felt in decades. It is a powerful read, and not always in a kind manner. Love lost, opportunities missed, passion denied. And passion realized, however briefly.

Rating:
Summary: Have you noticed how many of these books have been sold?
Review: Lots of them!!! Just take a look at customer reviews, they areall very recent, why? because this book is a classic! there are two kinds of people in this world, those who love the book and those who like it but won't admit it. Many are listed here below..I must accept that I saw the movie first, and I liked it very much so then I read the book which complemented certain things that are not portrayed nor explained in the movie.