Thus begins the moral journey of The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder (1928).
First, let me preface by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As my first introduction to Mr. Thornton Wilder, I was impressed; but then he's no stranger to the Pulitzer, winning two more Pulitzers for Drama (Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth). Wilder has a way with the written word that is striking and fresh. For example:
Some say that we shall never know and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer day, and some say, on the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by the finger of God.
Sadly, my favorite quote in the book as well as the crux of the story is found so early in its reading. The story of The Bridge of San Luis Rey is Brother Juniper's attempt to rationalize or moralize the death of the five unfortunate travellers.
Brother Juniper, a Francisan monk, witnesses the event on his own journey to cross the century old woven bridge. Was this a mere accident, the five traveller simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? Playthings to dispose of at a god's whim? If not, how could God let such a tragedy occur? In an effort to make sense of it, Brother Juniper adopts a scientific approach, interviewing anyone and everyone who knew the victims and gleaning any scrap of knowledge that may or may not be relevant. He then compiles everything into a volume, which is later burned except for one copy that sits neglected in the library at the University of San Marco.
In the remaining three books, we are introduced to the five travellers: Marquesa Montemayor, Pepita, Estaban, Uncle Pio, and Jaime. Amazingly, the lives of all five intertwine in a seemingly random series of events, creating a sense of oneness, a sense of "it could have been me."
In the end, no conclusions are drawn. Rightly so. How ambitious Wilder would be to take on such a conclusion. Yet, we ask are ourselves the very same question today. A hurricane dislodges thousands from their homes and their lives. A terrorist kills thousands of innocence children, mothers and fathers for an idea, a belief. Good things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people. How could God let these things happen.
Wilder said that he was posing a question: "Is there a direction and meaning in lives beyond the individual's own will?" According to Wilder, he intentionally left this question unanswered. "We can only pose the question correctly and clearly, and have faith one will ask the question in the right way."
Well said, Mr. Wilder. Well said.
Up next, March by Geraldine Brooks, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Until then... Happy reading.
