The One-Way Bridge: A Novel

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Description

Cathie Pelletier draws readers back to the beloved town of Mattagash, a seemingly quiet New England outpost in Maine. Yet Mattagash is anything but tranquil. While its citizens bicker publicly over small-town theft or their neighbors' offensive mailboxes, they privately struggle through deeper life issues: scandal, loss, failed ambitions, and the scars of war. Amazing pre-publication blurbs from Wally Lamb, Fannie Flagg, Richard Russo and others Pelletier is the winner of the New England Booksellers Award for Fiction and 2006 Paterson Prize for Fiction Author has strong bookseller connections, and the book has received enthusiastic pre-pub blurbs from indies

Reviews

"It's hilarious. If you go to Maine, you'll love it." - Danvers reads
"Pelletier writes about each of the characters' lives with a mixture of humor and gravity." - Bangor Daily News
"The author has a lyrical, almost musical way of describing things at times which is entirely enjoyable and a great credit to her writing ability. The descriptions were so rich and detailed, but not unnecessarily so that it was easy to picture each and everything described within." - Novels Escape
"The novel brings the Mattagash story into the current era. " - Portland Press Herald
"The novel is quirky and delightfully eccentric with some truly comedic moments. " - BookN Around
"This is a lovely Southern small town story set in the North. By that I mean it has the usual ingredients of the small town, character driven Southern story where all the people are a bit quirky and have those hidden little family secrets that often slowly eek out into the story as a mystery or event takes place." - Dew on the Kudzu
"What really stood out in this story for me were the characters. They literally jump off the page. You feel like you know these people. Sharing their joyful moments, sometimes painful memories, their dreams, expectations, losses... This was the first novel I've read by Cathie Pelletier but it certainly won't be my last." - My Real Life Reviews
This particular tale of two men coming to loggerheads on a one-way bridge isn't peculiar; it hums softly with authenticity and sincerity.
""Pelletier's long-awaited addition to the tragicomic annals of fictional Mattagash, Maine, [The "One-Way Bridge" is] a welcome return for the author." " - Kirkus
"Pelletier expertly jumps about her large cast, showing their external peculiarities and revealing their inner lives piece by piece until their actions shift from strange to unavoidable... Pelletier's fans and readers fond of quirky small town tales will enjoy the ride." - Publishers Weekly
"I loved [The "One-Way Bridge"]...[Pelletier's] characters, with all of their flaws and synchronicities, are all believable and lovable. I've looked forward to a new book by Cathie for some time and she hasn't disappointed with this one. " - Susan Porter, Maine Coast Book Shop
"Cathie does a wonderful job of capturing [her characters'] moods and loves and losses, and yearnings...Her writing is lovely and so descriptive" - Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books

Author Bio

Cathie Pelletier is the award-winning author of nine novels. Her third novel, The Weight of Winter, won the New England Booksellers Award, and her last, Running the Bulls, won the 2006 Paterson Prize for Fiction. Her original screenplay, The Luna Christmas, has been optioned by actor Donald Sutherland. After many years, she has returned to Allagash, Maine, and the homestead where she was born.