Synopsis
Basically, it’s about a young girl who wants to commit suicide at a bridge but is stopped by an old woman. 

My Opinion
When I first read the whole story, I read it all in one go as it was a short story. I found it hard to take in. 

Why? It is probably because how the words flowed in so fast and in huge chunks. My mind was like whirling all over trying to process all the words, what they were saying.  It was very hard for me to process everything and rather mind-boggling.

While I was reading (I read it more than once), each time I read I tried to gain a new perspective of the story and analyze it. 

I found the story refreshing at parts. There were very good points and ponders of life raised which makes us really think about life in a new way, but then at some points all the points were rewinding over and over again in their dialog and it left me feeling a bit drained. 

The story was nicely-paced. It wasn’t draggy, the story didn’t drag, but at times I felt the dialog did.

I think the most important part of the story was the dialog. Slowly, the characters reveal more about themselves and what they think. 

I think the dialog was well written. The dialog didn’t contradict the characters and they didn’t say stupid useless things that sometimes dialog of characters have. Also most importantly, the dialog showed the characters’ thoughts and feelings well.

Characterization
However, I didn’t like the characters much. I didn’t hate them or anything. I just didn’t have any feelings for them. I didn’t pity the main character or felt anything for the old woman. Zilch. Nothing. 

So I think that was one of the weakness of the story. The characterization. The main character the young girl about to commit suicide had no real redeeming points, no likable features. She was all full of angst and seemed quite full of herself.

She was sick of life and I felt it from her. However, I did like the way she narrated the story. I like how she noticed detail and how the story flowed easily and naturally. 

If I would analyze her character and how she developed, I would say that not all the young girl’s angst was cleared in the end. She still seemed doubtful and unclear about life, she didn’t seem very hopeful too. But she seemed to have gained a new perspective of life and gained a determination to live again.

That would be how I view her. The other character was the old woman.

The old woman was written in a very mysterious way. The one thing I didn’t like about how was her all-knowing manner and how she liked to make herself elusive. 

She didn’t feel real enough, didn’t feel like a real human.

However, she achieved the effect the writer wanted I felt. The old woman seemed to symbol an alternative to the girl, she showed a new perspective of life and she symbolized wisdom and maturity to me at least. 

The old woman showed a strong side of her, and we feel the similarities between the girl and the old woman. The old woman showed a future vision of the girl, that’s what I felt anyway. 

However, I didn’t like the old woman. Ok, maybe I’m fussy and all, and I just can’t relate to characters on paper. But I just couldn’t put emotions on her, though I felt she was very wise. 

I felt that Shang developed her characters very well. In the sense, I never saw the characters doing contradicting movements and they were true to themselves. I saw how they gain a new perspective of life and developed at the end. 

Plot
I found the story boring at parts, but that’s probably because I’m too young to understand everything and because I don’t like to read heavy stuff. Comedies are more for me. 

However, I did enjoy parts of it. I like the thought-provoking parts, I like to think from the story we gain a new perspective of life like the characters and we are able to see things in a different light. 

I think the story would improve, if it were only 4 chapters. There is a lot of unnecessary dialog and I think everything could be told clearly in 4 chapters. You don’t need long essays to showcase a very small but significant point.

The starting was written very chunky but well, however starting it like that has a good and bad side. The bad side is we know the girl doesn’t jump and all, do we still need to read on? 

Do we still need to read how the old woman persuades her not to jump?

However, the ending was excellent in my opinion. The ending always gives the last impression of the story and I like how she ended it. It makes it very dramatic, but seemed to signify that the story doesn’t end there the way she ended it …

She seemed to say that there would always be another young girl standing on top of the bridge, contemplating suicide. But then there will hopefully always be an old woman telling her  “Stop!”

My Recommendation
I say it’s a story for you if you feel bleak and pessimistic about life. You might then be able to relate to the two characters and feel more hopeful of life and feel that you’re not the only one doubting life. The girl though full of angst, she doesn’t do stupid teenager stuff and has a calm mind. 

The only points I didn’t like were the unnecessary dialog and some neat tying up of the plot. Like why the girl wanted to suicide. It was also kind of hard to believe an old woman could stop the girl from jumping at the last minute, and the kind of rebellious girl actually listening to the woman. 

But I could accept it, as it could mean the girl had doubts and fears of dying. It showed she still had hopes for living perhaps. 

However, if you don’t like serious reads I would say it is not for you. As you would find it boring most probably. 

But I would say it was written well and is a very thought provoking story. I gained some thoughts from the story. Maybe you would too.