To do or not to

I wonder if I should add an image of the book cover along with the post I write on a particular book.

I remember a couple of years ago, I was shocked to discover that the same book could have multiple cover designs - what opinion I form of the book could be completely different from other readers all because of a different design. Now come to think of it, it makes sense even to myself to remember what I read long ago.

A good idea. Yes. Considering I am the sole reader of my blog (bit sad actually but I shall wallow in misery some other day) I can do ABSOLUTELY whatever I want! (the only good part)

The Bridges of Madison County – Robert James Waller

I had heard so much about the book and the movie that I was prepared to be disappointed. I was lucky; I didn’t have to worry about such a probability. Of course books get hyped, and movies even more so, but this book manages to scrape through, although, only by the skin of its teeth. I can’t say the same about the movie: I have not seen it.

Can anybody fall in love, deeply and instantly with a stranger? Can it be reciprocated with the same fervour if not more? Can two people feel the bond so strongly that they want to spend the rest of their lives together after having spent just four days with each other? Possible. Probable? I don’t know, considering both of them have already spent a major part of their lives elsewhere, with other people. But that is what remarkable love stories are made of, and Bridges of Madison County is a through and through love story.

Set in Madison County, Iowa, the story is about two such people – Robert Kincaid, a photographer who is working on a NatGeo project, and Francesca Johnson, a house-wife whose life seems to have come to a standstill. They fall in love the moment they set their eyes on each other and later discover they were the meant to be together. However, real life considerations and social obligations are equally strong and the affair remains as a beautiful experience for the rest of their lives.

The book is high on romance and the character Robert Kincaid, if ever there was a man like that, is a memorable one. I am on the fence when it comes to this story – the cynical in me shakes her head – the romance is too fantastic to be believable, yet, there is something charming about how desperate they are to be together and how impossible it all is.

The prose is pretty okay – it does not sweep you off your feet – in some places, it is quite ordinary. It is the story that carries the book upon its shoulder.

I can say I did enjoy the book. I didn’t fall in love with it though.