To Make a Bridge

It is an opera, serious, but also full of joy and life and, at times humour. The book (without sacrificing any of the major pieces or losing the thread of the themes of family and food) borrows its structure from opera. It has an overture, two major acts or portions, separated by a very moving intermezzo, and finished off with a finale.

There are tragic notes, of course (no opera is complete without them) but also notes of exuberance. To Make a Bridge has arias, duets, choruses — everything that makes it worth reading and watching.