"In the past few years, Americans have discovered that the mixing of races and nationalities along the Rio Grande--the border between Mexico and the United States--can create fascinating cultural situations. In Romo's debut, the river has turned red and smells of mulberries. Tom Brokaw broadcasts bulletins, David Letterman makes jokes, and thousands of people come to a bridge to ogle. . . . The lives of the 13 women in Romo's text unfold like verbal snapshots through third-person narratives. . . . Highly recommended."—Library Journal
“Touches of eccentricity and humor enliven (Romo’s) debut effort, an engaging cross between a novel and a story collection.”—Publishers Weekly
"The book is beautifully written and haunting in its understated and intense feeling."—New Mexico Magazine
"Romo treats his women well. Each is finely portrayed, fully explained, lovingly rendered."—Tucson Weekly
"Author Ito Romo. . .has written a novel which illuminates as well as entertains."—Southwest BookViews
". . . Romo's imaginative concept manifested through effective use of magic realism succeeds in telling a complete story. The images he has created haunt the reader."—Review of Texas Books
“ El Puente/The Bridge established (Romo) as a writer with a knack for evoking the mythic inner dramas of borderlands people.”—Texas Monthly
