Bartley Alexander is an engineer, with a specialism in bridges. He has forged a hugely successful career in America, and has a stunning, almost "trophy" wife, Winifred. But this would be no story. The book sees Alexander torn between this world and another, following a visit to London where he meets an old flame, Hilda who represents a different sort of life - more free and exciting (or is that because it is just different from the norm), and describes his ensuing mid-life crisis. The book has a sudden and shocking ending when a bridge that Alexander is working on collapses, killing him and many of those working on it in the process. But while it could be seen as retribution for Alexander's dilemma, Cather is clear to demonstrate that it is a genuine accident.
But I still enjoyed it, although perhaps not as much as O Pioneers or My Antonia. It's been published in two different green editions by Virago and I borrowed the more recent one from the library.
