Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61401 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Best-selling author Richard Bach explores the meaning of fate and soul mates in this modern-day fairy tale based on his real-life relationship with actor Leslie Parrish. "This is a story about a knight who was dying, and the princess who saved his life", Bach writes in his opening greeting. "It's a story about beauty and beasts and spells and fortresses, about death-powers that seem and life-powers that are". Yes, it is all that, and more. On the earthly plane this is about the riveting love affair between two fully human people who are willing to explore time travel and other dimensions together even as they grapple with the earthly struggles of intimacy, commitment, smothering and whose turn it is to cook. Their love affair and happy ending inspired many enthusiastic fans. Years later, some of these fans were devastated to discover that this match made in heaven didn't manage to stick (the couple are no longer together). Bach explains that lovers don't have to stay married forever in order to be lifetime soul mates. Read this as a lesson about love's enchantments and possibilities, but don't count on this book to keep you and your mate on the bridge across forever. --Gail Hudson

Review
"This is a story about a knight who was dying, and the princess who saved his life." In other words: this is a story - a long story - about a rich-and-famous writer (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions) who was having a lousy time as an immature playboy, and the smart, beautiful ex-actress who forced him to grow up a little. Circa 1976, even with the sudden wealth of super-best-sellerdom, barnstormer/author Bach is having no luck in his search for his soulmate, "the one most dear, perfect woman for me." Many women - and a promiscuous lifestyle - seem the only answer: "My perfect woman is partly the flash and intellect of this friend, she's partly the heart-racing beauty of that one," etc. But Bach isn't really happy with this. ("Whatever happened. . . to the airplane pilot from the fields of the Midwest?") And then he meets wondrous Leslie Parrish, one-time minor actress (though Bach refers to her as "Mary Moviestar") and coolly professional film/TV-producer. At first Leslie is just a "beautiful sister," offering chess, music, professional advice, and quasi-therapy. (Richard learns to overcome macho-ness and cry.) Then, after an auto-hypnotic epiphany - "I AM! YOU ARE! AND LOVE: IS ALL: THAT MATTERS!" - Richard and Leslie become lovers. They call each other "wookie." Happy ending? Not yet. Because Richard is terrified of commitment, terrified when Leslie speaks of "love," unwilling to give up his impossible fantasy of a perfect-woman. (No, Leslie's not quite perfect: she's scared of flying.) He almost loses Leslie because of his neurotic defenses - until he wakes up, hearing his mind-voice: "RICHARD! it screamed. . . You're here, you arrogant bastard, to learn about LOVE!" So Richard promises to open up; Leslie promises to overcome flight-fear; they marry, fight the government on ecological issues, battle the IRS. . . and achieve astral-travel, in out-of-body flights for two: "Then we were above the trees. . . Like student pilots on our first solo, we moved slowly together." Those who went for Bach's mystic uplift in the short, fairy-tale packets of his two best-sellers may not all appreciate it here - in numbingly verbose form, romanticizing a humdrum case-history. But count on a sizable audience nonetheless - from the ranks of faithful admirers and insatiable celebrity-watchers. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Makes you think!!
I was wanting a book to read when my friend asked me if I had read this book - I hadn't!! He said it's his fave book so I thought if it's the best book he has ever read then it really is worth reading so I bought it.
It took me a long time to read, I kept putting it down and coming back to it now and then so it wasn't a page turner in the sense of a book that you can get lost in.
This book really makes you think about things and I mean really think about things. I think that's what took me so long to get into it and read it. It just makes you think about things in ways that they probably haven't done before.
I came away looking at things in life in such a different way so even if it takes you a while to read this book from the start to finish it will truly be worth it.

Definitely worth a read
On first impressions it could be considered a slow starter with no clear direction. However this is merely lowering you into the thought process and world of Richard Bach, it quickly becomes fascinating and compelling, the ideas and philosophies that are formulated by the author during this largely relatable tale seems to construct clear parallels to that of your own life.

The story almost becomes void in the sense that it's more a context of a largely 'spiritual' journey, for use of a better word, into ones self.
I would recommend this book to anybody, as the style of writing and ideas are universal and can easily be understood, enjoyed and learnt by all that will lend some time, enjoy!

Amazingly involving read.
'The Bridge Across Forever' follows on from Richard Bach's other book 'Illusions, or the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah' However, it is not necessary to have read this book to understand the Bridge Across Forever.
An amazingly simple yet amazingly complex book of love, hope and fear in the modern day. Not a slushy romance book, but a classic and sharp edged novel where you can completely loose yourself in the characters. There were times when I actually found myself shouting at the characters in the book as I read because I got so involved!
I definitely recommend this book to both romance lovers and those who love a good story.