What is the secret so guarded on Brigden Road? Here is the semi-autobiographical journey of a Dutch immigrant family in Pasadena, as seen through the eyes of a quiet, lonely, poetic highschool girl who struggles to deal with the cloud cast over their lives by the manic-depressive illness of the father. She is tall, smart, skinny, sweet, shy, with a passel of long red hair that sometimes makes people turn in the street. But you know the drill, you’ve heard it before... There is always trouble in paradise--isn’t there? On Brigden Road is a story of strength and sorrow, a journey, awakening, a poem... It is a love story of home. If you like immigrant stories... If you like books set in the late-sixties, early-seventies, about strong smart teenaged girls... If you like books about the vital, but sometimes complex and troubled connections of family... If you like books about the resilience of young people in facing troubled worlds... You will like this book.
You must be logged in to post a review.
Please log in
1
Person Reviewed This Item
By vincevj
Feb 12, 2011
It is my distinct pleasure to assume the I am the character Martin in the book "On Brigden Road". I think I can make this claim because my sister is Bernadette, the author, who portrays the internal struggles of an immigrant family trying to fit into the fabric of American life. She captures well the intentions of a father who comes to America to make his big dreams available to his children. In his mind he has provided an opportunity for his kids to one day become brilliant scientists and virtuoso classical musicians. But he struggles immensely, and never really succeeds, in fitting into the American way of life. Even his aspirations for his children seem a bit out of sync in a country that seems driven by elements of pop culture. He is European through and through. In the end it is up his six children, caught between two cultures, to navigate through the tricky maze of living a dream "American style".
