Bridge deals most centrally with the question of suicide, issues of violence, and mental illness. In 2010 (the most recent year for which data are available), 38,364 suicides were reported in the U.S., making suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Most people who die by suicide have a mental or emotional disorder. The most common underlying disorder is depression, 30% to 70% of suicide victims suffer from major depression or bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder (Mental Health America).
Regional: Bridge is set in San Francisco, where the main character works at a law firm. Author Robert Thomas has strong ties to Northern California, specifically the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bridge is comparable to other lyrical, obsessive short fictions that confront life-and-death issues: Paul Harding’s Tinkers, Marguerite Duras’ The Lover, Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams, or Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, in the tradition that goes back to Dostoyevsky’s Notes From the Underground.
On the cusp of fiction and poetry, Bridge is comparable to such works as Calvino’s Imaginary Cities, Michael Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, and Colm Tóibín’s Testament of Mary.
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