A Thousand Country Roads

I just finished reading A Thousand Country Roads by Robert J. Waller. It's intended as an epilogue to the much more famous Bridges of Madison County. This book wouldn't stand well on its own, and Waller admits that. However, it fills in some of the missing pieces in the lives of Francesca Johnson and Robert Kincaid, the lovers who shared four days of ecstasy in 1965 and never saw each other again. Yet they both kept their love alive for the rest of their lives.

Warning: Spoilers ahead

Kincaid is 68 in this novel, in his last year of life, dogged by age and illness and loneliness that has finally caught up to him after a lifetime of wandering. There is a poignant chapter where he returns to Madison County and spends a little time with his memories at Roseman Bridge, just missing Francesca by moments as she makes a pilgrimage there on foot.

Unknown to Kincaid, a child conceived out of wedlock with one of his earlier shortlived relationships is searching him out and finally he comes face to face with both the mother and the son (but not all together at the same time). It gives his rootless life a little more meaning and he looks forward to seeing them all together, but it never actually happens.

Along with Bridges, A Thousand Country Roads tugs at the heart. We can't fault Francesca for sacrificing her dreams in order to nurture her family. We can't fault Robert for his wanderlust, either. All we can do is commiserate with the two of them as they approach the ends of their lives, still longing for what couldn't be. At least, Robert finds out that he is not alone and that he has left a part of him behind.

For fans of The Bridges of Madison County, this is a touching coda.