This Bridge Called My Back by Cherrie Moraga
Published 1981 · 286 pages · 242,512 words · about 22 hours at an average pace · Anthology, Essays & Criticism, Feminist Literature, Nonfiction
How hard is This Bridge Called My Back to read?
This Bridge Called My Back scores 60 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 78 out of 100
- The text employs a rich, often technical vocabulary, featuring specialized jargon from security, technology, and urban subcultures (e.g., 'nanopore Swiss respirator,' 'ptichka,' 'FluoroRimz,' 'amphalang,' 'telepresence,' 'caseless ammunition'). It also uses evocative, precise descriptors like 'hepatic corona,' 'sueded white,' and 'ragged hiliscape,' elevating it beyond standard literary fiction. The blend of specific technical terms and unique descriptive language places it above 'Moby-Dick' but below the dense allusions of 'Ulysses'.
- Sentence structure: 75 out of 100
- Sentences are frequently long and complex, often employing multiple clauses, extensive descriptive phrases, and a flowing, almost stream-of-consciousness style that demands sustained attention. The narrative often shifts perspective and detail within a single sentence or paragraph, creating a dense reading experience. While not reaching the extreme hypotaxis of Henry James or the unpunctuated monologues of 'Ulysses', the sustained length and internal complexity are significantly higher than '2666'.
- Abstraction: 68 out of 100
- The narrative is primarily grounded in concrete events and character experiences, but frequently interweaves philosophical observations, social commentary, and reflections on perception and reality. Concepts like the 'integrity of the material's passage through time,' the 'big empty,' and the 'interface' between different social classes elevate the text beyond simple narrative. This blend of the concrete and the abstract is more pronounced than '2666' but less pervasive than 'Gravity's Rainbow'.
- Information density: 82 out of 100
- The text is packed with concepts, details, and sensory information, requiring high reader attention to track multiple plotlines, character backstories, and the intricate, often dystopian world-building. Descriptions of technology, urban decay, and character psychology are layered densely, with minimal exposition. This high concentration of novel information and rapid introduction of concepts places it closer to 'War and Peace' or '2666' in its demands on the reader.
- Narrative indirection: 75 out of 100
- The narrative frequently shifts between multiple perspectives (Rydell, Chevette, Yamazaki) without explicit markers, requiring readers to infer the current viewpoint. Flashbacks are interwoven with present events, and the meaning of technological concepts and past incidents (like the Pooky Bear killings) is often implied rather than directly explained, demanding active reader construction of meaning. This approach is more demanding than a novel like 'The Great Gatsby' (65) due to its structural fragmentation.
- Symbolic density: 70 out of 100
- The text is rich with objects and places carrying meaning beyond their literal function. The Bridge itself is a central symbol of adaptation, decay, and counter-culture, explicitly referred to as a 'Thomasson' by Yamazaki. The 'VL glasses' symbolize information, perception, and power, while corporate names like 'IntenSecure' and 'Republic of Desire' carry inherent thematic weight. This level of symbolic integration is higher than 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (45) but less pervasive than 'Moby-Dick' (90).
- Ironic distance: 72 out of 100
- A strong sense of authorial detachment and dry, cynical humor pervades the narrative. Characters' naive perceptions (e.g., Rydell's understanding of policing from 'Cops in Trouble') are often undercut by grim realities, creating a gap between what is said and what is implied. The juxtaposition of high-tech jargon with mundane or absurd situations, such as the 'Nightmare Folk Art' shop's offerings, generates constant ironic tension, similar to 'The Great Gatsby' (70) but with a more biting edge.
- Resolution withholding: 78 out of 100
- The excerpt ends mid-action, leaving the immediate fates of Rydell and Chevette uncertain as they escape Orlovsky, and the ultimate resolution of the stolen glasses and the larger conspiracy entirely open. The fates of supporting characters like Skinner and Yamazaki are also left ambiguous. This resistance to closure is more pronounced than 'The Great Gatsby' (60), as major plotlines remain actively unresolved, pushing it closer to the ambiguity found in 'Crying of Lot 49' (75).
- Structural complexity: 80 out of 100
- The narrative employs multiple, interweaving storylines and perspectives that shift frequently and abruptly, often within chapters. Extensive flashbacks are integrated into the present action, creating a non-linear chronology. The dense, fragmented descriptions and rapid scene changes, combined with the intricate world-building, demand significant effort from the reader to maintain coherence. This is considerably more complex than 'Midnight's Children' (68) due to less explicit signposting of shifts.
How This Bridge Called My Back is regarded
This Bridge Called My Back holds a literary regard score of 87 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.