This is such a unique story; I remember reading it in high school. It made a profound impression on me at that time and I've wanted to read it again. This is one of those stories that should be read every so often; as we experience more life, we see different things in the book. This is Thornton Wilder's second published work, released in 1927 to wide acclaim. Later, it won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature (a wonderful choice).

It is the story of 5 people who fall from an Inca rope bridge in Peru in 1714. Father Juniper, a monk near the bridge at the time of the accident, decides to investigate the lives to see if it were the result of chance or God's divine plan. He recounts the five lives up until the time of each one's death. However, to me, the real story was what happened to the people who were related/involved/closest to the victims.

Father Juniper had the worst result; he was burned at the stake, along with his 'heretical writing' of those people's lives. But the beauty of this story is love. It didn't matter if people's lives were the result of chance or God's divine plan. It is the love shared that makes life tolerable and worth the experience. I think that is profound. The author didn't tell the reader, he let the reader glean that for him/herself. That is why the book is so great. He brings each of us to the 'aha' moment.

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