‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ by Mary Lawson       (2006) – 294 pages

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It can happen. Two brothers with the same mother and the same father can be very different from each other. It probably happens more often than we like to think.

Two opposite brothers – Arthur and Jake Dunn – living on a farm in northern Ontario, Canada are the basis for Mary Lawson’s compelling novel ‘The Other Side of the Bridge’. Arthur, the older brother, follows in his farmer father’s footsteps. He works on the dairy farm all day long and enjoys it. His parents appreciate all the work he does for the farm. Arthur has little use for school or anything else.

His younger brother Jake had a difficult birth, and their mother had a complicated pregnancy. Jake has always been his mother’s favorite. Jake avoids farm work as much as possible, and his mother sides with him and believes his excuses. Jake is a much better student at school than Arthur ever was. Jake is also better looking, and girls are attracted to him. Whereas Arthur is very much honest, dull, and a straight shooter, Jake will tell lies when it is to his own advantage.

“Jake’s lies were far more convincing than the truth.”

The arrangement of the story in ‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ is quite unique. There are two strands to the story. One strand takes place in the 1930s when the two brothers are still boys. The other strand takes place twenty years later, in the 1950s, when their father has died, and Arthur is now running the farm. This second strand to the story is told from the perspective of the town doctor’s son, Ian Christopherson, who has come to work on Arthur’s farm. Ian is also from a difficult family situation as his mother has left him and his father to be with another man.

‘The Other Side of the Bridge’ was very affecting for me. The intensity of the drama here is at a Shakespearean level. Yes, modern stories, if told the right way, can be that dramatic. Author Mary Lawson is a writer whose novels I trust to create a compelling story. The only problem is now I must read all of her novels.

Grade :   A