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  • The Bridge

  • By: Iain Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (164 ratings)
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The Bridge cover art

The Bridge

By: Iain Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Summary

A man lies in a coma after a near-fatal accident. His body broken, his memory vanished, he finds himself in the surreal world of the bridge - a world free of the usual constraints of time and space, a world where dream and fantasy, past and future, fuse. Who is this man? Where is he? Is he more dead than alive? Or has he never been so alive before?

©1986 Iain Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"An exceptional talent... a totally absorbing read" ( The Times)
"A stunning book. Banks' powerful imagination is joined to a rare ability to be truly funny while exploring a nightmare world" ( Sunday Times)
"Banks turns inward to explore the complex, surreal microcosm of the human mind in a kaleidoscopic novel for sophisticated, literary readers of speculative fiction. Recommended." ( Library Journal)

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What listeners say about The Bridge

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting but thin on plot

Brilliantly read by Peter Kenny (as always), but I spent most of the book waiting for something to happen that didn't.
This is one of those Banks books that basically says "here's some stuff that happened to someone" and for the vast majority of that stuff, you could remove massive chunks out of the book and it would make no difference at all to the overall narrative.
Granted, some of that stuff is interesting, entertaining and without fail well written, but you wouldn't miss anything if it wasn't there.

I have a confused opinion about these stories. The way Banks gets me inside the head of his characters is masterful and the book generated plenty of connection and emotion. But I can't help thinking "I wish there was more to this story"

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

So good that I actually reviewed it... :D

Never reviewed anything before, but this was amazing and I just had to.

Iain banks is by far my favourite auther, and on top of that, this is one of his best books. I wouldn't be so arrogant to say iain banks is the best auther ever just because he's my favourite, but I do struggle to find anyone who compares... He may well be the best, if not one of them.

Everything about his books are are incredible. The way he rights is remarkably captivating, and its so hard to put his books down once you've picked them up. He's incredibly imaginative and intelligent. He writes so well and builds the world around you beautifully. The characters are always interesting and there's always twists and turns that are great and never seem forced or generic. He's truly an original, and genius auther.

This book is amazing, even by banks' standards. It has so many interesting characters and situations, and the book unfolds around them in a way that connects everything perfectly.

Somthing I love about iain banks, is that he's so smart and always finds a way to make his books re-readable and still feel new. There are so many connections, and seeds that grow into revelations and twists later on, so you are bound to miss things the first time, which makes reading the book all the more fun. Much like how the film fight club has a hung mind trip at the end and watching it a second time is a different experience, knowing about the ending.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful

This was totally absorbing from start to finish. I could listen to Ian Banks beautiful prose "til the cows come home". In some of his books, particularly some of the sci-fi ones, I love his writing, even though I don't always get what he's on about. In this case, even though the protagonist's mental wanderings are often entertainingly preposterous, it is easy to decode the apparent nonsense. This is one of those rare books one wishes not to have read yet so that the pleasure is all to come....and for once there is hardly any of the cruelty often marring the enjoyment of the novels.
The narration is superb and the actual story is sublime..
If I could I would award more stars.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best books ever written

I first read the bridge back in the early 90s and it gets better with every reading or listening in this case. Peter Kenny does his usual bang up job especially his take on the barbarian

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

beyond me

tried and tried loved another book I've listened to by him, so looked forward to this but no , just didn't get it .

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not for Me

I listened for around 2 hours on a train journey before I gave up and returned it to Audible. I found myself looking out the window and zoning out, not caring that I'd missed sections of the story.
It didn't captivate me, interest me or draw me in, it just bored me.
Of the 2 hours I heard, I cannot remember anything of what happened in the story, baring his accident at the beginning.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A bridge too far, oh wait, a fridge too far...

The Bridge by Iain Banks. This is a rare example of a book 📓 that I could entirely relate to. As someone who has suffered an 🧠 acquired brain injury (ABI) leaving me bed bound and blind, I was put into a medically induced coma.

I now explore the world through 🎧 audiobooks and this one speaks true to me. The world of The Bridge 🌉 is upside down, where left is right. It is very disorientating, which to some extent makes it hard to follow.

The MC is interestingly written - a psychiatry patient who is stuck and obsessed with the concept of The Bridge itself 🌉. The protagonist dedicates a lot of his time thinking about its construction - as it is a suspension bridge - but he can never seem to find the end of it.

This is because of the medical bracelet that has been placed around his wrist, which seems to track his movements until he actually removes the bracelet & is free. At times, the extremely long sentences Banks uses and the constant stream of non-sensical verbiage seemed excessive.

Despite the challenges the book was narrated beautifully by @PeterKennyVoice. I would like to say a great recommendation from the 🎙️ master of many voices. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 📚 5/5 ⭐️#bookreview

Follow me on Twitter @zennyreadsalot

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

outstanding work of prose.

a Love Story, within a trance like dream. a rare beauty. a Love Story, within a

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A strange and beautiful book.

Definitive Banks. As is true with many of his literary novels it isn't particularly plot driven but there is so much beauty and truth in his characters that that is irrelevant. Elegant, eloquent, poignant and funny in equal measure with a seasoning of typically Banksian oddness and imagination. Banks writes hauntingly well and never better than in this novel. I miss Iain Banks like no other author, the thought that there will never be another Banks book hurts.

And there is no finer reader of Banks than Mt Kenny. He just gets Iain Banks.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

The best Audio book that I have heard. Peter Kennys performance is extraordinary and has really brought a book that I had previously found hard work, to life in an engaging and exciting way.

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