Bridges of Madison County

I've read the reviews on here, both positive and negative. I've also read this book, five times now. It is a story of a woman who has given up herself for the benefit of others, a scenario many people, both male and female, can relate to. When it comes to following our dreams, or doing the right thing by our families, our families usually win. The difference is, we are not usually allowed to grieve our loss. We push it down, keep a stiff upper lip and keep moving. This story has been such a popular one, because so many people can identify with the feelings of the main character, Francesca. One reviewer asked, What if the story had been of a male farmer who had an affair with a female photographer, and then goes back to his unsuspecting wife. If he suffered the same agonizing choice, I think it would be just as important and moving as a story. I loved this book. I thought it was much better than the movie. Meryl Streep was Francesca, but Clint Eastwood just didn't seem like Robert Kincaid to me. So read, and imagine Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. You'll love it.

If you're a miserable cynic, you'll hate it. I am not a fiction reader. I am purely a lover of non-fiction. But a friend pleaded with me to read this book. When I finally broke down and picked up the book, I could not put it down. I finished it in about 5 hours. People can say whatever they want about it being contrived romance, but this book puts you inside of what it feels like to be in a very intense romance that some (real) people really experience. I've been there, I know the anguish and intensity of the love this book describes. There really are people who love, speak and act this way. People who don't get this book are bitter and angry that they can not concieve of such intense loving and living. If you love to love, and love an incredible quick read, this book is for you. I wept for a good half hour when I finished this book despite myself. Enjoy! -- A non-fiction loving, non-sap from New Jersey

I loved this book - the romance, sadness, tragedy, Iowa - everything. Yes, it deals with adultery - not the best thing in the world, but your heart just breaks for the lovers. Or at least mine did. And I saw some of the bridges, the countryside and even the house where the movie was made. I could just FEEL the story. And okay, I admit it, I asked where Francesca was buried. Guess the story had me so completely believing that it was real life - but it felt like it was real life! You just want so badly for them to have been together - and happy.

If you have ever been in love - truly in love, this is a book you cannot miss. It shares all the joy, pain and sorrow that only someone who has been there can understand. So far, I have read this book at least three times over the years, and each time, it touches a part of me that it never did before. The movie was equally as good but the wonderful part of a book is that you can envision the characters and the events as you wish. The book makes us look at our own lives, our own fragile memories of that true and eternal love that happens but once in a life time, and of making choices that will sometimes haunt us forever. This book is not as it seems on the surface, about lust in a heated moment of passion; it goes much deeper to the heart. It reminds us we are all subject to human feelings, and that the choices we make in life will always be a part of us. It reminds us that "our moment in the sun" will live on in our hearts forever.