The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Set in Peru in the summer of 1714, this novel tells the tale of a group of interrelated people who perish following the collapse of an Inca rope bridge. A Franciscan friar, Brother Juniper, witnesses the accident and sets out to find out more about each victim, seeking answers—cosmic or otherwise—as to why they had to die. In his quest, Brother Juniper spends six years trying to interview as many people that knew the victims as he can, seeking to prove that both their beginning and their end was part of God's plan for each victim. In doing so, he hopes to document empirical evidence of God's Divine Providence. Winner of the 1928 Pulitzer Prize and the bestselling work of fiction that same year, this novel is exploration of the meaning of a person's life beyond their personal choices.