Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Another exceptional book by Richard Russo, and another insightful look at small town America.

Also interesting from a craft standpoint. It's the story of a trio of friends - two boys and a girl. Their interaction comes to a climax in their senior year of High School, but the novel begins when they are 60. The portion of the story that occurs when they are 60 serves as a narrative wrapper around the rest of the story, which follows the two boys from childhood through High School, and the girl from about age thirteen on.

The parents play an important part as well, and the behavior of the children is foreshadowed by that of their parents. The 60 year old characters again have their behavior echoed by their own children.

Third person is used for all the characters except one. that one is used as the central character of the book, and his story is told in first person. He is also a slightly unreliable narrator, in that a lot of the story that he relates is contradicted by other characters. This adds an extra dimension to the storytelling.

There are plenty of echos in the novel, from the bridges that are in the title to the repeated character traits of the parents and children. Richard Russo's insight into human character is what makes the novel an outstanding read.