Life By Kristen

Book Review: The Bridge Ladies

The Bridge Ladies by Betsy Lerner

About the Book: A fifty-year-old Bridge game provides an unexpected way to cross the generational divide between a daughter and her mother. Betsy Lerner takes us on a powerfully personal literary journey, where we learn a little about Bridge and a lot about life.

By turns darkly funny and deeply moving, The Bridge Ladies is the unforgettable story of a hard-won—but never-too-late—bond between mother and daughter.

***

My review: 3 stars.

I’ve never played Bridge and not huge into cards. After reading more about the game, I’m not quite sure I’d enjoy it with its many rules and exceptions to the rules- sort of reminded me of how explaining the various rules of some sports can be confusing to first-time watchers.

Memoirs are one of my favorite genres, and I also enjoy reading about women’s friendships, especially how they change over time, so I knew I would enjoy this book. It’s always fascinating to me to read books that feature a complicated mother-daughter relationship, probably because my own relationship with my mother is so uncomplicated and easy.

For the author, sitting in on her mother’s bridge game and getting to know each of the ladies of the game better helps her piece together some bits of her childhood, teen years, and who she is as a wife and mother today. I was at time frustrated at the author for how she judged her mother and her friends- she was critical of their clothes, of how they socialized ( or didn’t in some cases), what was considered taboo for conversation,and so on. Her point-of-view and opinions definitely clouded some of the recollections, as opposed to if this was a memoir by a completely outside observer.

I appreciated how complex the characters were, though they aren’t characters since they are real people, but I think the author did a great job of giving the reader a full look at the different women of the game, with the exception of her sometimes clouded judgement of her own mother. The author does point out that the game and her understanding of it changed how she viewed her mother, which is maybe the best takeaway from the memoir- things aren’t always what they seem.

As part of the TLC Book Tour of this book, I was provided an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.