Technicolor, or Black and White?

It’s wind- up time after a typical, barely-time-to-breathe Stay at Home Mom (SAHM) day.  Cooking, packing lunches, picking up after the family, chauffeuring, kissing away imaginary boo boos (and giving credence to crocodile tears), mopping up clumsy spills and impossible messes, phew!…  making sure that homework’s done, and piano practice is at least  given a shot – ‘Three Blind Mice’ on the piano is halfheartedly attempted .  All this has to be achieved within a fairly short span of time, as we have a three-hour window at best.  After that, it only becomes more and more of a struggle. For,  as it gets later and later in the evening, their attention spans and energy levels start to dwindle (not to mention mine).

It’s  9:00 PM, the kids are in bed, the husband is tapping away at his computer, ostensibly adding the finishing touches on a presentation. (I can bet he’s reading showbiz gossip). And here I am at last, eager to savor a few precious minutes of ‘me-time’. For the time being, no one’s yelling for me, or at me. I can hear the soft snores of my two boys, reassuring me that they are sound asleep. I snuggle into my soft paisley print jaipuri razai, enjoying its light, cottony coziness. As I start to read my favorite novel The Bridges of Madison County for the umpteenth time, I feel mellow and content. I realize that Bridges… has become the literary equivalent of ‘comfort food’ for me.

The novel has as its hero, a handsome rugged wandering photographer, Thomas Kincaid. The heroine is Francesca Johansson, who came to America as an Italian war bride. She has a typical Midwestern country town existence, with a husband who runs the family farm, and solid, good kids who help their parents out with the  farm chores.  Francesca has a busy, full life. Yet she is lonely. Even after decades of marriage and living in this close-knit rural Iowa town, she feels like an outsider. Her sensibilities are different, and her tastes more evolved than these simple, hardworking townspeople. On her arrival there from Italy, as the young Mrs Johnsson, they welcomed here and accepted her as one of them. Still, she doesn’t really fit in here. She leads a content life, but her soul is still hungry.
Recently. during a Google search, I discovered that The Bridges of Madison County is the best-selling hardcover novel of all time. It is also one of the best-selling novels of the 20th century, having sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. To think that such an innocuous-looking, petite-sized first novel could have such a huge impact on readers all over the world!

It has been translated into thirty-four languages and has enjoyed numerous print runs.The book was made into an equally beautiful and successful motion picture by the same name. The acclaimed and incredibly handsome actor- director Clint Eastwood, directed as well as essayed the role of Robert Kincaid, the male lead. The equally talented, exquisite, and graceful and Meryl Streep made Francesca’s character come to life. Like the book, the movie version got a stupendous response from the public, and many reviewers felt that it had far surpassed the novel. Some felt that while the novel had been ‘a self-congratulatory overkill’ by author James Waller, the movie was subtle, and surprisingly decent in spite of its plot. Streep and Eastwood both manage to not only ‘become’ the characters, they play them in such a way that the viewer can actually feel the magic of their love, and the intensity of their yearning for one another. The actors lend their own dignity and charm, and something beyond it, to the characters they are portraying on screen. The movie has an unhurried pace, and an almost European flavor. It is sepia-toned, warm, and subtle. Still, as someone who has devoted many an afternoon to perusing her well-worn copy of the novel, and has watched the film at least half a dozen times, I would suggest that one first read the book, and then see the film. For me, the movie was almost a hundred percent true to the images my mind had conjured up while reading the novel. Another fact that came to light thanks to Google (seriously, what would a Google-less existence be like?)  is that Clint Eastwood, besides being Director and lead actor, also produced the film and composed it’s wonderful music!

So, for all those who want to imbue their existence with a dollop of passion and romance, ‘no strings attached’, grab a mug of hot chocolate, and a copy of  Bridges… followed by a big bowl of popcorn, and the DVD. 

And oh, if you’re a ‘sniffler’ for old-world romance, don’t forget the box of tissues!