The Bridge: Synopsis
The Bridge: Synopsis
In 1970, Antonello is 22 years old and recently married. He has been working on the Westgate Bridge for almost 2 years and loves his job. Like many of his workmates, Antonello is proud of the bridge. He believes it is going to be more spectacular than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, that it is going to bring the city together and that they, the bridge builders, will be remembered for years to come. On the 15th October 1970 the Westgate Bridge collapses during construction and thirty-five men are killed.
In 2009, Jo is a 18 year old high school student. She goes to a friend’s birthday party with her best friend Ashleigh (Antonello’s granddaughter). They drink too much and on the way home, the car spins out of control and hits an embankment under the Westgate Bridge. Ashleigh dies on impact and Jo is charged with culpable driving.
Sarah is a 22 year old law student in 1995, when her old school friend Ada, jumps off the Westgate Bridge. Though she has been witness to Ada’s anxieties, to her struggle with depression for many years, her friend’s death has a lasting impact. In 2009, she is working as a legal aid lawyer and is allocated Jo’s case. …show more content…
The first part of the novel is Antonello’s story, the story of migration, of falling in love, of surviving Victoria’s worst industrial accident. The second part of the novel charts the impact of Ashleigh’s death on Jo and her mother Mandy, and on Ashleigh’s family. We follow Jo as she struggles with guilt and grief, and as she questions her right to live in the aftermath of the accident. The months between the accident and the court case become unbearable and for a while she leaves the city and changes her identity, but she can’t escape herself or her memories of Ashleigh and the
In 1970, Antonello is 22 years old and recently married. He has been working on the Westgate Bridge for almost 2 years and loves his job. Like many of his workmates, Antonello is proud of the bridge. He believes it is going to be more spectacular than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, that it is going to bring the city together and that they, the bridge builders, will be remembered for years to come. On the 15th October 1970 the Westgate Bridge collapses during construction and thirty-five men are killed.
In 2009, Jo is a 18 year old high school student. She goes to a friend’s birthday party with her best friend Ashleigh (Antonello’s granddaughter). They drink too much and on the way home, the car spins out of control and hits an embankment under the Westgate Bridge. Ashleigh dies on impact and Jo is charged with culpable driving.
Sarah is a 22 year old law student in 1995, when her old school friend Ada, jumps off the Westgate Bridge. Though she has been witness to Ada’s anxieties, to her struggle with depression for many years, her friend’s death has a lasting impact. In 2009, she is working as a legal aid lawyer and is allocated Jo’s case. …show more content…
The first part of the novel is Antonello’s story, the story of migration, of falling in love, of surviving Victoria’s worst industrial accident. The second part of the novel charts the impact of Ashleigh’s death on Jo and her mother Mandy, and on Ashleigh’s family. We follow Jo as she struggles with guilt and grief, and as she questions her right to live in the aftermath of the accident. The months between the accident and the court case become unbearable and for a while she leaves the city and changes her identity, but she can’t escape herself or her memories of Ashleigh and the