4.5 out of 5 stars
On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads
How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.
In a Nutshell: Three novellas comprising science/speculative fiction, history, future meanderings, space, science versus religion, with surprising happenings and story developments.
These three novellas are connected, sometimes more than others, but each one can be read separately.
With all of them I adored some parts, becoming totally immersed in the wonderful storytelling. The writing itself is stunningly good, the prose atmospheric and illustrative of the time. I particularly liked the 1950s small town America setting of the first tale, which I thought was the best one. I loved how there were so many stories within the stories, a literary style that has long been a favourite of mine; I like to have my reading mind taken off on meandering tangents.
The stories are all set around the fictional town of Heavenly Hill in Ohio, spanning a time period of 200 years (1857 - 2057), with connections throughout. Now and again I felt that the 'speculative' aspect could have been reined in a little as a few of the ideas did not seem fully formed. Then again, perhaps that's the nature of the genre.
Before the stories begin there is a long introduction and explanation of why the stories were written, which I confess to only skimming; I prefer to read this sort of text at the end of a book. Like a character's backstory, the 'why' only matters to me once I've got to know what's inside. It's a hard book to review, without summarising each novella, and sufficient information is given in the blurb. Maybe the only question that needs answering is 'did I enjoy this?'. I did. I looked forward to getting back to the book each time I left it, and my eagerness to turn the pages only waned a little in the last of the three. I liked the little surprise story at the end, too.
Bridge of Dreams is unusual, immersive and clever. I recommend!
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