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The Bridge Over the River Kwai

by Pierre Boulle, Xan Fielding (Translator)

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 1,703 ratings · 105 reviews

1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. In a prison camp, British POWs are forced into labor. The bridge they build will become a symbol of service and survival to one prisoner, Colonel Nicholson, a proud perfectionist. Pitted against the warden, Colonel Saito, Nicholson will nevertheless, out of a distorted sense of dut...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published August 28th 2007 by Presidio Press (first published 1952)

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Apr 24, 2013 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: military-history

If you just read the book as a novel, it can be an enjoyable read. However, there are some disturbing themes which run through the book. One is man's inhumanity to man. Japan's incredible cruelty to its prisoners, since WW II, has tended to be swept under a rug and hid from the light. It should not be forgotten. As documented in this book and others, the Japanese Army was incredibly brutal to its British prisoners, which included lack of proper food and lack of proper medical care.

Another distur...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Cateline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Three stars for The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle. I liked it, but man 'o man, it annoyed me. A product of it's times (written in 1954), Kwai is both stereotypical and stiff in the telling of a 1942, WWII, Pacific Theatre event.

I suppose most have at least seen or heard of the film starring Alec Guinness and William Holden. The stiff-necked Brit Colonel Nicholson whose pride blinds his patriotism somehow and the attending figures that surround him. Colonol Saito his Japanese count...more Three stars for The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle. I liked it, but man 'o man, it annoyed me. A product of it's times (written in 1954), Kwai is both stereotypical and stiff in the telling of a 1942, WWII, Pacific Theatre event.

I suppose most have at least seen or heard of the film starring Alec Guinness and William Holden. The stiff-necked Brit Colonel Nicholson whose pride blinds his patriotism somehow and the attending figures that surround him. Colonol Saito his Japanese counterpart that is head of that particular POW camp and the bridge that must be built for the Japanese invasion to go as planned.

I'd seen most of the film many years ago, and really Guinness is perfect for the part of Nicholson, breathing a life into the character that is somehow flatter in the book. But I must get back to the book. Sorry. :)

Blind pride. Men following orders. Oppressive jungle temperatures. Partially unprepared insurgents. Boulle really brings out the similarities of nationalities, probably a bit ahead of his time, I think. A quote of the first page of the book kind of sums it up.

"The insuperable gap between East and West that exists in some eyes is perhaps nothing more than an optical illusion. Perhaps it is only the conventional way of expressing a popular opinion based on insufficient evidence and masquerading as a universally recognized statement of fact, for which there is no justification at all, not even the plea that it contains an element of truth. During the last war, "saving face" was perhaps as vitally important to the British as it was to the Japanese. Perhaps it dictated the behavior of the former, without their being aware of it, as forcibly and as fatally as it did of the latter, and no doubt that of every other race in the world.

I like that, in other words, we are all the same underneath the skin, as it were. Nationalism, racism and whatever other "isms" one can think of are essentially superfluous. It is true, and I wish more would realize it. We are creeping up on that thought, but faster, please!(less)

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Jun 30, 2012 Noëlibrarian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Despite the fact that this reviewer could not rid herself of a constant mental repetition of “The Colonel Bogey March” while reading this book, it is a truly engaging, if staggeringly frustrating, tale. Colonel Nicholson, an even-tempered British leader of the old school, will not ever let go the basic tenets of gentlemen’s rules of conduct in war. Colonel Saito, in the other hand, is a mercurial and violent man, given to fits of deadly rage – but is himself a pawn in the plans of his superior o...more

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Jul 27, 2011 James added it

A story set in World War II, of a British unit ordered to surrender to the Japanese, the Japanese who hold them in a work camp, and a second unit of Brits determined to blow up anything they can behind enemy lines.

The story glorifies the Western world's technical genius at almost every turn. I am an ardent opponent of the ignorant moral relativist who claims all cultures are equal, and I have been known to engage in civilizational apologetic. Despite this pedigree, even I was turned off by the c...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story takes place during World War I in Siam at a POW camp. The British prisoners are lead by Colonel Nicholson. Nicholson is a very strong personality who is determined the British soldiers will show their superiority over the Japanese in the form of the Japanese commander and guards at the camp. After some negotiation and plain stubbornness and determination, Nicholson and his men set out to build a perfect bridge to demonstrate the superior British civilization. The bridge became a target...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Jillian added it

I don't think the blurb on the back of my copy matched the story inside at all! I was expecting something much more dramatic with more back story to the characters. This was an odd little story, an excellent example of the stupidity of war. I'm sure there must have been some twisted logic behind forcing the prisoners to work harder and longer to build a better bridge for the Japanese, but I must admit my sympathies lay entirely with the destructions company. COMMUNICATION is IMPORTANT people! Wa...more

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May 18, 2009 Joy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookshelf-project

The tag line on my copy of this book reads, "Suspense and Sabotage Behind the Jap Lines". Given this, I shouldn't have been surprised when the leitmotif of the book was the superiority - intellectual, physical, strategical - of western "civilised" culture in contrast to the portrayed barbarism and weakness of the Japanese. Nevertheless, the message began to grate, more from its repetition than its content - and in general I found that the narrative voice kept pulling me out of an otherwise engag...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Danielle Tremblay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, roman-de-guerre

Excellent roman de guerre dont David Lean a réalisé un film en 1957.
(view spoiler)...more

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May 06, 2012 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Both well-written and well-paced, it was an easy read, but it also brought to the fore its examination of a certain type of psychological tension (fixation on a goal/outcome). Fun to read. Some of the more minor actors get a bit lost in the last third of the book (e.g., it starts out as though it were being told from Clipton's POV; however, it's almost as if the author went back and added things back in to make Clipton more present - he doesn't seem sufficiently well-written from the natural nar...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Ben Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book off the shelf of my local library while browsing for something entertaining yet thought provoking to read. I had seen the movie, so I thought the book would be good.

The book is good! It ends quite differently than the movie portrays.
I found it as a sort of comparison between loyalty to legacy and loyalty to country. We all have a desire to create a legacy for ourselves and create a lasting monument showcasing our efforts, capabilities, etc. What happens though when our the p...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Tai Odunsi rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 13, 2013 Jennavier added it

A few years ago I picked up Pierre Boulle's other classic, Planet of the Apes. It was fascinating. I was so impressed with how Mr. Boulle delved into a simple concept. What if evolution isn't forward momentum but an arc? Could humanity revert and be replaced as intelligent life? His spare novel exploring this idea captured my imagination. I couldn't wait to read something else by Boulle.
I'm less enthralled but no less impressed by Bridge. Once again Boulle takes a single concept. This one is wha...more A few years ago I picked up Pierre Boulle's other classic, Planet of the Apes. It was fascinating. I was so impressed with how Mr. Boulle delved into a simple concept. What if evolution isn't forward momentum but an arc? Could humanity revert and be replaced as intelligent life? His spare novel exploring this idea captured my imagination. I couldn't wait to read something else by Boulle.
I'm less enthralled but no less impressed by Bridge. Once again Boulle takes a single concept. This one is what does it mean to save your pride? What is the cost? He features a man who rescues himself and his company from depression by throwing themselves into building a bridge for their Japanese captors. When saboteurs from his own side try to destroy it he must choose between the work of his hands or the country he owes allegiance to. Unlike sci-fi, which has a much less noticeable generational appeal, Bridge suffered for me because I have so little understanding of the motivations of a captive in the jungle. The audience Boulle was writing for had suffered through German occupation and all the other horrors that came to France from World War II. I don't have that background. For me the characters come off as chariactures and their choices are infinitely frustrating. I'm used to heroic depictions of "The Greatest Generation", something that's not going to be seen in Bridge. Instead Boulle wrote an indictment against some of the views he understood but condemned. I'm glad I read about these people, because it helps me understand why something good can be twisted by time and circumstances into something else.
One last thing bothered me. Boulle's representation of the Japanese is pretty awful. Having grown up in a culture where Japanese influence is not just known but celebrated, Boulle's scathing commentary on Japan is hard to swallow. Yet it feels unfair to fault him. After all, he was a POW of Japanese war camps, known for their cruelty. For him they would always be the enemy.
In the end I don't feel like I can star rate this. I learned a lot from reading Bridge Over the River Kwai. I think I'm going to leave it at that.(less)

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Apr 28, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, made-into-movies

I always feel odd rating a classic, as it is so far beyond my power to comment on, whether for good or for evil. I both loved the book and hated it, and now that I've gotten all the way through it, I will have to process and then read it again to try to get my mind around it.

I spent most of the book struggling to understand what I was reading. I couldn't connect with the characters, especially Nicholson--I spent the first part of the book beating my head against the wall trying to understand wh...more I always feel odd rating a classic, as it is so far beyond my power to comment on, whether for good or for evil. I both loved the book and hated it, and now that I've gotten all the way through it, I will have to process and then read it again to try to get my mind around it.

I spent most of the book struggling to understand what I was reading. I couldn't connect with the characters, especially Nicholson--I spent the first part of the book beating my head against the wall trying to understand what he was doing and why. Finally I did some research into British army customs and regulations of the time, which helped me out. I kept going "But the first duty of an officer is to escape! This is aid and comfort to the enemy! How is this not treason?", until I manage to grasp that at the time, the first duty of an officer was to secure the lives of his men. I couldn't get around the extremely paternal attitude of the officers toward the enlisted men, until I realized that I was approaching the situation as a modern American, and wasn't taking into account the still class-based structure of the British army of the time, when the officers were still gentry and the enlisted men were still commoners, by and large. Eventually I was able to accept that I was reading something of a very different time and place, and instead of stumbling over the racism and paternalism, I had to just accept it for what it was and move on. The book is, as they say, what it is.

I saw the movie first, and I had no idea how much they'd changed the ending. I was shocked at the end, although having pondered it, I think that the book's ending is more true to the characters than the 11th-hour redemption of the movie. I was surprised that, for such an action and suspense heavy plot, that much of the action took place in narrative form, of characters telling other characters what happened instead of following it in "real time," so to speak. That disturbed the flow of the story for me, taking me out of the moment. I'm assuming that that was a style choice on the part of the author, although I have no idea why. I feel that the true application of the novel would not be in military history classes, but rather in psychology and sociology classes, to study the impact of stress and the mind's extraordinary abilities to take care of itself, and the level of cognitive dissonance we're all capable of to justify our actions with our deeply held beliefs and just keep going. How knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow, and Pierre Boulle, know. (less)

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Jul 17, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: military

I decided to finally read this "classic" after a trip to Bangkok late last year. My colleague and I took a day trip to (and, indeed, walked across) the Bridge Over the River Kwai and visited the nearby military cemetery (which is attractive, well organized and maintained, and, well, moving), and the extremely informative museum. (OK, we rode elephants too, but that's not relevant.) Of course, all of this merely reinforces that this popular book is a work of FICTION, as was the movie. One of the...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. So I came to the book with great expectations. This, however, is one of the few instances where I found the movie to be more intertaining than the book. The story was good, actually more believable than the movie, but not nearly as ingaging as the movie. There are two major difference between the movie and book:
William Holden's character is not in the book, and the ending is very different (I won't give it away).
I was slightly disappointed.

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Nov 21, 2012 Eyehavenofilter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having seen the movie I thought it best to do " due diligence " and read the book. I was richly rewarded in so many ways. The written word just allows so much more to flow through the readers mind, in their own personal reference, to the past.
This is such a classic, in its rich portrayal of such diverse characters, in a unique and complicated plot, and a wonderful sense of loyalty to country. It is exciting to read, inspiring to experience, and impossible to forget.

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Dec 01, 2011 Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: rwr

This book was certainly an interesting read. The first few pages were a bit of a turn off as it started a little slow, but I, being the determined reader that I am, kept going hoping that it would be a good book. I was not mistaken. The plight of the main character Nicholson and his men throughout the book is very conflicted and a very interesting situation. I was especially taken aback by the main character's persistence in the beginning of the book when the group is first put in a Japanese lab...more

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Mar 17, 2013 RØB rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: in-my-permanent-collection

A pretty good page-turner! A more exciting adventure novel than I thought it was going to be. I'm looking forward to watching the movie again for the first time in many years (I'm pretty sure the movie has a different ending, and I know it does a few things differently with the plot of the explosives team). I blew through the book in a little over 24 hours. Lots of dated references to Anglo-Saxon/Western superiority (and perhaps worse, Japanese/Eastern primitivity and inferiority) that seemed un...more

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May 13, 2012 Paul Parsons rated it 4 of 5 stars

Written in 1954 with the point of view of a British stiff upper lip, this tale is still pertinent and a testament to the human spirit in desperate times. What I found poignant to our present political climate was the mindset of POW Col Nicholson becoming so vested in the bridge construction in order to give strength to his men, that he was unable to let go when the time came. Will we as a country be able to let go of false hope and deal with the issues?

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Sep 07, 2012 Jason Tutterrow rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have wanted to read this book since I saw it on the shelf. I am such a huge fan of the classic film, and I was intrigued about the character of Colonel Nicholson. In the movie, he has an awakening of conscience, because he realizes that he has helped the enemy (Japanese army) gain a stronghold for transportation usage. In the book. It doesn't come off as cleanly. This book is such a searing look into the damaged psyche that war and duty can bring to a proud soldier.

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Aug 28, 2011 Kris rated it 5 of 5 stars

A fantastic story! Great description of WWII British colonel's rigid code of honor as exemplified by having British prisoners build a bridge for the Japanese to the best of their abilities; of special ops team devoted to blowing up the bridge; and the conflict that ensues. Great story. Great one-sentence paragraph describing the colonel's pride in the bridge in chapter 23, page 211 of my copy.)

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May 12, 2010 Ice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel

1954, spellbinding epic WWII novel about the furtility and insanity of war, viewed through the psychological confrontations between a willfull Britich colonel prisoner-of-war and the equal willful Jabanese colonelwho is head of the camp. With pride, loyalty, traditon, heroism all brouth into question, this is a story that resonates withsuspense, irony and utterly unforgetable characters.

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Nov 28, 2012 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club-books

Wow! this book surprised me. I didn't expect to get so drawn in. I found that it was a really quick read which didn't really get exciting till the end, but once you get there..ooooh buddy! You don't realize how much the characters are growing on you throughout this relatively slow section of the book since there wasn't really any one character that I liked, but the outcome of the book was so expected and so unexpected at the same time that it carried a very forceful impact.

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Aug 14, 2012 Ika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is quite personal to me. One of my ancestors died building this bridge. In Bahasa Melayu, it is called as Landasan Keretapi Maut (The Railway of Death).

If you're into history, colonial books, do read this. The movie (adapted from the book, not vice versa)won Best Picture and 6 other Oscar awards. I don't have to say anything anymore.

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Aug 15, 2011 Balázs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Flexibility can never be appreciated enough, be prepared for the n+1th twist. War is ruthless and sacrifices are necessary (or are they indeed?) - reading the book gives one a great amount of ammunition for thinking about. The Bridge can be a symbol of how much humans are 'capable' - the relativistic answer depends on the angle you look at the bridge from.

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Aug 26, 2012 Charlie rated it 3 of 5 stars

A very entertaining read. The passages describing the young commando's state of mind as he is waiting to detonate the bridge are very memorable. However, this may be one of the rare instances where the movie is actually better than the book (although I wonder what the motivation was in changing the movie title from the book, I somewhat prefer the book title).

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Mar 02, 2009 Rebecca Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Historians, Anyone

Shelves: challange-09, historical-fiction

I was surprised at how much I loved this novel. I am a fan of the second World War, but usually a European campaign fan. This was an excellent novel, though, fast paced and thoughtful.

I was glad to not be overtaken by too much description or military terms which would have lost my interest too quickly. However, I believe anyone may be able to read this novel.

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Feb 19, 2013 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had trouble with my enjoyment of this book for most of it, as the characterization of the British and Japanese are stereotypes bordering on caricature. But in the end it winds up in a more satisfactory place, and the suppositions the narrative has built all along come falling apart.

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Jan 13, 2011 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book in high school. I was going through some sort of WW2 phase as it was the same time I read King Rat (excellent) and The Knights of Bushido (horrific pictures). I enjoyed it although to be fair it was a little too 'boy' for me. I can't help needing some kind of romance...

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Sep 26, 2011 Lane rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'd seen the movie years and years ago and reading the Lizard Cage made me want to stay in the discomforting Asian WWII prisoner genre for awhile longer. Go figure. But I enjoyed The Bridge very much. I love lit about Brits and thought that the Colonel epidemized the stereotypical British officer that is obsessed with form and propriety to the complete loss of rational perspective. Still, it was painful reading the last few pages, knowing what was coming, knowing yet not believing that it was po...more

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About Pierre Boulle

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Pierre Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French novelist best known for two works, The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) and Planet of the Apes (1963) that were both made into award-winning films.

Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore, when he was captu...more

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E = mc2, Histoires charitables, Contes de l'absurde, Quia absurdum

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