Chapbook Review: Bridge & Tunnel (& Tunnel & Bridge)

Bridge & Tunnel (& Tunnel & Bridge)
By Joshua Cohen
The Cupboard Pamphlet
Vol. 6, 2010

As a displaced urbanite living in the subs, I related well to Joshua Cohen's collection Bridge & Tunnel (& Tunnel & Bridge) (The Cupboard, Volume 6, 2010). The theme here is a writer making good use of the "lost" time spent getting from-here-to-there via public transport. Cohen instructs this book contains, "12 Stories, to be read as they were written--on the bridge, in the tunnel, in the bus, on the train."

While only some of the stories involve actual commuting, most do have a sense of movement built into them. We see bits of people's lives as they make their way through the crowded world that is New York City. Think of the quick glimpses we get of our fellow travelers, or of the pedestrians we see through our window as we pass them by.

One of my favorites is "Mark the Sun," the title of which is a reference to tracking sunrise and sunset by following the shadow on a sundial. The "Shadow" is a wealthy dilettante who finances the bad art projects of women he wants to sleep with. His "Sun" is Mark, "a victim of that syndrome of an extra chromosome," whose role in an avant-garde performance piece requires him to run across the stage while dressed in white Spandex and yellow streamers.

"Slush" is a like the rejection letter from Hell, part form letter ("...we wish you all the best in securing otherwise alternate, et cetera"); part writer's self-doubt ("We suggest you stop trying to be someone you're not"); part disapproving mother ("The person you should have been should be married by now and have a real job").

These stories are fun to read, like seeing the approaching city from the top of a bridge. However, not everything about the city is bright lights and friendly street vendors. As any commuter can attest, it can get very dark when passing through a tunnel.

"Exchange" follows a different kind of well-dressed Wall Street predator, as he gives a family of Asian tourists directions designed to take them to a lawless part of the City.
In "La Pared," an artist hires a Mexican immigrant to keep repainting a gallery wall over and over, never telling him that he is actually part of the exhibit. There are all kinds of questions being asked here: Who is really the artist? When does art become exploitation? What is your nanny/maid/gardener really thinking while they work? Go ahead; keep sipping that little plastic cup of wine.

While a few of the stories are longer than traditional flash (an oxymoron?), they are perfect for a bus ride across the GWB or through the Lincoln Tunnel. Others are just long enough to read between subway stops. And just in case you're wondering what it's like to write "in transit," Cohen points out that, "A lowercase 'a' is the most difficult letter to form while writing by hand on moving train." Consider yourself warned.

Just an aside: This is my second Cupboard Pamphlet read, so far (see Katie Baker's interview of Caia Hagel, author of Acts of Kindness and Excellence in Times Tables), and I've been quite impressed.

About the Author

Rich Grohowski graduated from Kutztown University with degrees in English and Geography, two things for which no one wants to pay you money. So, naturally, he's hoping to hit the big bucks in flash fiction. Along with recently finishing his Teaching Certification at Immaculata University, he is an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) candidate at Rosemont College. His non-fiction writing about food, culture, real estate, and interesting personal histories (pretty much anything, really) has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and even a couple of books.

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