Synopses & Reviews
In this auspicious literary crime debut, an inexperienced homicide detective struggles amid the lawlessness of a post-WWII Eastern European city.
It's August, 1948, three years after the Russians "liberated" this small nation from German Occupation. But the Red Army still patrols the capital's rubble-strewn streets, and the ideals of the Revolution are but memories. Twenty-two-year-old Detective Emil Brod, an eager young man who spent the war working on a fishing boat in Finland, finally gets his chance to serve his country, investigating murder for the People's Militia.
The victim in Emil's first case is a state songwriter, but the evidence seems to point toward a political motive. He would like to investigate further, but even in his naivete, he realizes that the police academy never prepared him for this peculiar post-war environment, in which his colleagues are suspicious or silent, where lawlessness and corruption are the rules of the city, and in which he's still expected to investigate a murder. He is truly on his own in this new, dangerous world.
The Bridge of Sighs launches a unique series of crime novels featuring a dynamic cast of characters in an ever-evolving landscape, the politically volatile terrain of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century. The Bridge of Sighs is a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.
Review
"Perhaps the novel's weakest element is the amorphous Brod, though his appeal grows as the story progresses. One looks forward to Brod's developing into a fully realized character in future books in the series." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Time, place, and cast are all richly evoked in a well-written, often gripping debut." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[A] stunning and unique look at life and crime in a Soviet satellite nation." Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times
Review
"Steinhauer spins out his story in clean and simple prose that gleam with authenticity and captures a uniquely East European spirit....[G]ripping, subversive..." Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune
Review
"Bleak and uncompromising, this powerful novel grips from beginning to end." Susana Yager, Sunday Telegraph
Review
"[A] wonderfully taut tale...This is a series I will follow with eagerness." Paul Skenazy, Washington Post
Synopsis
In this auspicious literary crime debut from New York Times bestselling author of The Tourist, an inexperienced homicide detective struggles amid the lawlessness of a post-WWII Eastern European city.
It's August, 1948, three years after the Russians liberated this small nation from German Occupation. But the Red Army still patrols the capital's rubble-strewn streets, and the ideals of the Revolution are but memories. Twenty-two-year-old Detective Emil Brod, an eager young man who spent the war working on a fishing boat in Finland, finally gets his chance to serve his country, investigating murder for the People's Militia.
The victim in Emil's first case is a state songwriter, but the evidence seems to point toward a political motive. He would like to investigate further, but even in his naivete, he realizes that the police academy never prepared him for this peculiar post-war environment, in which his colleagues are suspicious or silent, where lawlessness and corruption are the rules of the city, and in which he's still expected to investigate a murder. He is truly on his own in this new, dangerous world.
The Bridge of Sighs launches a unique series of crime novels featuring a dynamic cast of characters in an ever-evolving landscape, the politically volatile terrain of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century.
The Bridge of Sighs is a 2004 Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel.
Synopsis
In this auspicious literary crime debut, an inexperienced homicide detective struggles amid the lawlessness of a post-WWII Eastern European city.
It's August, 1948, three years after the Russians "liberated" this small nation from German Occupation. But the Red Army still patrols the capital's rubble-strewn streets, and the ideals of the Revolution are but memories. Twenty-two-year-old Detective Emil Brod, an eager young man who spent the war working on a fishing boat in Finland, finally gets his chance to serve his country, investigating murder for the People's Militia.
The victim in Emil's first case is a state songwriter, but the evidence seems to point toward a political motive. He would like to investigate further, but even in his naivete, he realizes that the police academy never prepared him for this peculiar post-war environment, in which his colleagues are suspicious or silent, where lawlessness and corruption are the rules of the city, and in which he's still expected to investigate a murder. He is truly on his own in this new, dangerous world.
The Bridge of Sighs launches a unique series of crime novels featuring a dynamic cast of characters in an ever-evolving landscape, the politically volatile terrain of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century.
About the Author
Olen Steinhauers widely acclaimed Eastern European crime series, which he was inspired to write while on a Fulbright fellowship, is a two-time Edgar Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Anthony, the Macavity, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the Barry awards. The series includes
36 Yalta Boulevard, The Confession, Liberation Movements, and
Victory Square. Steinhauer is also the author of the bestselling Milo Weaver series, including
The Nearest Exit and
The Tourist. Raised in Virginia, Steinhauer lives with his family in Budapest, Hungary.
Reading Group Guide
This Reading Group Guide refers to Olen Steinhauer's first three books:
The Bridge of Sighs,
The Confession, and
36 Yalta Boulevard.
1. Discuss the concept of right and wrong in Olen Steinhauers Eastern Europe. Consider how each main character defines right and wrong, and how those definitions change over the course of each novel, and the series.
2. Explore how Olen Steinhauer plays with the conventions of the genre in each book, i.e., following the form of a police procedural in The Bridge of Sighs, a psychological thriller in The Confession, a spy novel in 36 Yalta Boulevard. Are his heroes—Emil Brod, Ferenc Kolyeszar, and Brano Sev—traditional crime novel heroes? Why or why not?
3. How does setting contribute to the success of the books as crime novels? How do the realities of life at each time—political, economic, social—change the nature (or difficulty) of a policemans job? Consider the question for each book in the series.
4. Contrast Emils youth in The Bridge of Sighs with Branos experience in 36 Yalta Boulevard. How does Emils naïveté and Branos world-weariness influence the course of their investigations? How are Emils youth and Branos experience related to the countrys politics at that particular time? How do their respective ages shed light on their respective times?
5. What does Lena represent for Emil in The Bridge of Sighs? What about Vera and Magda for Ferenc in The Confession and Djana for Brano in 36 Yalta Boulevard? Compare and contrast the womens roles in each novel.
6. In The Confession, do you believe that Ferenc has done something wrong in helping Svetla Woznica to escape? Or in causing the death of Malik Woznica? Is Ferenc to blame, and should he have been punished? How would Brano Sev answer these questions?
7. How does the Afterword in The Confession change your feeling about the novel, if at all? How does it change the story to know that Ferenc is its author? Learning what happened to Ferenc in the years after the events took place, are you surprised?
8. In 36 Yalta Boulevard, how do Branos feelings about family influence his actions? About his father in particular? Do his feelings affect him more than he admits? What about Emil, in The Bridge of Sighs—how are his feelings about his family similar or different from Branos? How have his grandparents and their experiences influenced him?
9. Brano Sev is a secondary character in The Bridge of Sighs and The Confession, but the main viewpoint character in 36 Yalta Boulevard. How does the readers opinion of him change from book to book? Does the more intimate viewpoint in 36 Yalta Boulevard increase the readers sympathy for Brano or simply intensify her distrust of him?
10. Why does Brano return to the capital at the end of 36 Yalta Boulevard? Is it the right thing to do?
11. How do the various characters pay for their loyalty—or disloyalty—to the government? How does the governments power change over the course of the three novels? How do the characters expectations about their country change?
12. Over the course of the three novels, how surprised have you been about the turns taken in the lives of the recurring characters?
13. To what extent are the criminal acts in Steinhauers novels influenced by the politics—by turns either the revolution, or the government? When the party protects Malik Woznica, is the party to blame? When an innocent man is sent to the camps for a decade, who is to blame for his acts of revenge? How much do the politics cloud the question of justice?
14. The relationships between colleagues in the Peoples Militia play an important role in Steinhauers novels. Examine the ways in which they trust each other, and the ways in which they betray each other. How do the dynamics of the group change from book to book? How are their relationships altered by the injury or death of one the departments members, as happens several times?