A Bridge with a View: A Romantic Novel Set in Portugal - Softcover

Mulas Caballero, Alberto

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798333221575

Publisher: Independently published, 2024

Synopsis

"Because we all live in fear, most keep it quiet, everyone suffers from it, few speak of it, some transcend it."

A Bridge with a View is a romantic novel set in Portugal that follows the emotional and physical journey of a somewhat confused young Spanish boy who goes on a student exchange program.

• Plot

In 2008, Paul Newman died; in 2009, Michael Jackson passed away. In between these two events, something far less significant was happening: Lucas's student exchange program.

A Bridge with a View narrates, almost in diary form, the story of a young man who decides that spending a year abroad is the best use of his time. Since then, whenever Lucas tells his close ones what he plans to do, they almost always react with surprise. "Knowing you, you'll end up sleeping under a bridge," they predict. That says a lot about him. Without initiative but with a lot of trepidation, our protagonist will face the biggest challenge in his 21 years of existence: fending for himself (mostly) and living on his own.
In an environment where everyone he knows seems to have fled, yet he hasn't managed to escape, Lucas will attempt the perhaps somewhat ambitious mission of conceiving that exact moment when life truly begins.

• About the Novel

Dive into A Bridge with a View and experience the most comprehensive Erasmus student exchange journey through a story that begins as a young adult self-discovery book about and evolves into a romantic novel in its second half with some moments of eroticism becoming an asian woman white man romance book. Told in the first person, this coming-of-age tale details and entertainingly unfolds the intricacies of this scholarship, the stages some students go through, and what it means for most who have applied for it and lived in another country, touching on some aspects of travel narratives.

However, unlike other books focused on this theme, A Bridge with a View finds more human and personal nooks thanks to the protagonist's voice, the need for empathy, and the search for understanding among people to coexist harmoniously. Each experience is different, although much of what is felt is common. Not everyone faces the exaltation of friendship in the same way, nor feels the same about loss when they believe it is total versus when it is indefinite or temporary, even though the closest relationships also die kilometers away.

A Bridge with a View is a novel that takes place in Coimbra (Portugal) and stands out by transporting us to a university environment. A exchange student book filled with people from different origins and cultures who do not know each other, where interaction is always necessary, with the Erasmus scholarship driving the story, but not its center (like other books about living abroad).

Insecurities, prejudices, clichés, expectations, friendship, behaviors in groups and alone, or love are questioned through the protagonist's reflections and his viewpoint, full of mistakes, some successes, and a multitude of events and concerns. Do we have a role assigned in our relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships? Are all these contradictions what truly define us?

The idea of developing this erotic romance novel around the 2008/2009 academic year comes from it being, for many, the period marking the start of new ways of communicating and a new digital era. Witnessing the last days of MSN Messenger, just before the arrival of WhatsApp and the proliferation of smartphones, which were not yet widespread. Spotify appeared for the first time, Skype was around but rarely used, and Google Chrome was launched, back when all our information couldn't yet fit on our phones and the financial crisis began.

About this title

About the Author

An economist by training, his obsession with music and cinema led him to develop his vocation for writing in the face of his fears and excess of shyness, with reviews of films and albums for different online media.
 
However, it was above all thanks to the good acceptance of his personal blog, Muros de absinthe, and the interest generated by his musical lists, with which he gained enough self-confidence to take this step.

From the Back Cover

"A deeply emotional and reflective work, full of introspection and authenticity. It manages to capture the essence of youth, love and loss in a very special way. The way the writer narrates the protagonist's experiences, his personal growth, and the complex interpersonal relationships he forges during his time abroad is moving and genuine."
- Azahara

"Written with great sensitivity, sincerity and, at certain moments, touches of humor, the book makes us immerse ourselves in the life of the protagonist and empathize with everything he experiences, and with an ending that leaves a very good taste in your mouth."
- Ewigkeit

"It is true that at first it was a little slow for me because I got lost with so many characters and I also the protagonist didn't enjoy at the beginning, but soon things changed and then I started to enjoy reading a lot and I couldn't stop reading."
- Anabel

"The characters, especially the protagonist, are well painted, little by little, as it should be, with twists and turns through their actions and through their words and introspections (curiously, since it is the most difficult in my opinion). Perhaps other points of view, from colleagues and friends, would have enriched it. His soliloquies are pertinent, sometimes abundant and cumulative but generally credible both in content and language."
- Elías

"Beautiful. It is a good novel."
- Andrea

From the Inside Flap

Dive into A Bridge with a View and experience the most complete student exchange adventure with a story that starts as a young adult self-discovery book in its first half and evolves into a romantic novel in its second part.

Told in the first person, this book about the Erasmus experience details and entertains with all the intricacies of the scholarship, the stages some students go through, and what it means for most who have applied and lived in another country, touching on aspects of travel narrative.

As a book about living abroad among exchange students and set in Portugal, insecurities, prejudices, clichés, expectations, friendship, behaviors in groups and alone, or love are questioned through the protagonist's reflections and his viewpoint, full of mistakes, some successes, and a multitude of events and concerns.

Do we have a role assigned in our relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships? Are all these contradictions what truly define us?

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798333221575
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 452