Readers Place

About the Book

Two brothers, Arthur and Jake, are the sons of a local farmer in the mid-1930s, when life is tough and another world war is looming. Arthur is reticent, solid, dutiful, set to inherit the farm and his father s character; Jake is younger, attractive, mercurial and dangerous to know. A young woman, Laura, comes into the community and tips the fragile balance of sibling rivalry over the edge And then there is Ian, son of the local doctor, much younger, thoughtful, idealistic, and far too sure that he knows the difference between right and wrong. By now it is the Fifties, and the world has changed a little, but not enough. The stories of these two generations in the small town of Struan and its harsh rural hinterland are tragically interlocked, linked by fate and community but separated by a war which devours its young men and whose unimaginable horror reaches right into the heart of this remote corner of an empire. Lawson has an astonishing ability to turn the ratchet of tension slowly and delicately, building to a shocking climax. Taut with apprehension, surprising the reader with moments of tenderness and humour, The Other Side of the Bridge is a compelling, humane and vividly evoked novel with an irresistible emotional undertow.

Starting Points for Discussion

• Throughout the book Ian is trying to decide what career path to follow – do you think Ian really wanted to become a doctor and follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps? Did he make the right decision?

• Each character is very fully portrayed, which do you like best and for what reason? Is Jake at all likeable? Do you think he is a product of the way he was brought up? Are their any similarities between Jake and Arthur’s relationship with their mother and father and Ian’s with his own parents?

• Are there many differences between Struan in 1930s and Struan in 1950s? Has the community changed much in this time? How does the setting affect each of the characters – are there any similarities between those who want to leave and those who want to stay?

• The sibling rivalry between Arthur and Jake comes to a head at many points in the book – do you think Arthur could have helped Jake more on the bridge? Who ends up paying the most for the accident?

• Is it fate that it was Carter who Jake ran into at the end of the novel? There were many tragedies for the Dunn family throughout the novel, which do you think was the most significant?

• How were Jake and Arthur affected by the way they were brought up? Was Jake pampered too much by his mother? Do you think he had a better life than Arthur?

• Was Laura in love with Arthur before Jake and with whom do you think her heart really lay? What do you think attracted her to Jake?

• The Second World War impacts on the community of Struan through the loss of Luntz children and the two German soldiers that stay with the Dunn’s. Did Arthur really want to go to war? How does the loss of his group of friends affect Arthur?

• There are many complicated relationships in the novel, Laura with Arthur and Jake, Arthur and Jake, Ian with his father and mother – is Ian’s friendship with Pete the most honest? Why do you think he chooses not to keep in touch with his mother?

• What do you think of the ending? Does the novel have a satisfying conclusion?

Other Books by Mary Lawson

• 

  Crow Lake

  Crow Lake is that rare find, a first novel so quietly assured, so compelling,…

  Reading Guide

• 

  The Other Side of the Bridge…

  Two brothers, Arthur and Jake, are the sons of a local farmer in the mid-1930s,…

  Reading Guide

Suggested Further Reading

• The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox ~ Maggie O’Farrell
• Be Near Me ~ Andrew O’Hagan
• The Perfect Man ~ Naeem Murr
• Digging to America ~ Anne Tyler
• If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things ~ Jon McGregor