A Narrow Bridge

by J.J. Gesher, Janet B. Fattal (Contribution by)

Overview

Shortly after Orthodox Jewish Brooklynite Jacob Fischer puts his young family on a bus to visit relatives, the bus explodes in a stunning act of terrorism. HIs faith shattered, Jacob flees the comforts of his community and disappears. He lands up in a predominantly black town in rural Alabama, where he meets Rosie, the single mother of a young son. Their developing relationship, along with the rekindling of his love of music, precipitate events that will change both their lives. This debut novel is a powerful page-turner that follows a complex man on a journey of salvation after tragedy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938849824
Publisher:	Prospect Park Books
Publication date:	02/14/2017
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	552,677
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

J.J. Gesher is the pen name for co-authors Joyce Gittlin and Janet B. Fattal.Together, Janet and Joyce have completed three feature screenplays and won several prestigious screenwriting awards, including the Geller Prize and the Screenwriting Award at the Austin Film Festival. Their first collaboration was a Lifetime Television movie. A Narrow Bridge is their first novel.

Joyce Gittlin graduated with an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and spent the next 25 years writing and directing television. Among her many credits are Wings, Frasier, and Everybody Loves Raymond. In addition, she has written more than 10 feature films for Disney, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox.

Janet B. Fattal received a masters in Comparative Literature from UCLA and has taught literature and writing at the college level. She has edited several memoirs and written curriculum for high school and college students. Janet shares her passion for literature by leading many book groups, including for the Skirball Cultural Center in L.A., Hadassah, and the Brandeis alumni book club.

Editorial Reviews

09/04/2017
This unfortunate pseudonymous first novel by Joyce Gittlin and Janet B. Fattal is about Jacob Fisher, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn whose life is shattered in a murderous explosion, and Rosie Yarber, a single mom living in Birmingham, Ala., struggling to raise her son while dealing with her jerk of an ex-husband. Through the magic of a paint-by-numbers plot, a traumatized and homeless Jacob ends up on the steps of an Alabama church, “greasy, uncombed, maybe not in his right mind.” Needless to say, the church is Rosie’s, and it is not long before Jacob is being coaxed out of his depression by the musicality of the church, the presence of a child in need of a father figure, and the love of a preternaturally good woman. Aside from the predictability of the plot, the novel suffers from Gersher’s obvious lack of close familiarity with the Orthodox Jewish community, which is painted as monolithic, leading to a profusion of small, off-putting inaccuracies that are not at all remedied by infelicitous prose. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

The book’s plot is stunningly original, offering a main character with deep complexities whose opacity seems understandable… a fast-paced, riveting read… a searingly unique and thought-provoking tale.”
—The Jerusalem Post

"What happens when you lose everything? This radiant debut gets at the dark beating heart of survival, set against a backdrop of differing geography, beliefs, cultures, and races, in prose as intricate as a jazz fugue. Blazingly original and fiercely smart, A Narrow Bridge shows that who we love is really who we are."
— Caroline Leavitt, New York Times–bestselling author of Cruel Beautiful World and Pictures of You

"I couldn't put this book down, beginning by being drawn in by one of the most compelling first lines I have ever read. This multicultural debut is about two very different people, from very diverse circumstances and backgrounds....Ultimately, this is a beautiful examination of human connection and finding a reason to live again after all hope is gone."
— Terry Gilman, owner of Mysterious Galaxy bookstore and a prominent book-event manager

"A Narrow Bridge is a moving story about the intersection between love and loss and an unsentimental exploration of the role of faith in healing. I held my breath until the very last word of this cinematic, compassionate, and compelling debut."
— Michelle Brafman, author of Bertrand Court and Washing the Dead

"A gripping, heartbreaking, ultimately uplifting story of two broken people and the healing power of love. Beautifully drawn, the writing keeps you riveted page after fast-turning page."
—Jeffrey Richman, six-time Emmy-winning executive producer of Modern Family and Frasier

“An enjoyable, optimistic novel about how people — despite cultural, religious and racial differences — can find comfort in each other’s common humanity. It makes for very fine reading.”
—San Diego Jewish World

"A beautifully written, imaginative, and poignant testimony to the power of love and the limits of faith."
— Steven Z. Leder, senior rabbi at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and author of The Extraordinary Nature of Ordinary Things

From the Publisher

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