The Bridges of Madison County fantasy in which a virile stranger materializes in the kitchen of a quiet housewife and takes her into his arms." The book debuted on the "New York Times" bestseller list in August 1992 and slowly climbed to number 1, and remained on the list for over three years (164 consecutive weeks), through October 8, 1995. "The Bridges of Madison County" was made into a 1995 film of the same name, adapted by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Eastwood and Meryl Streep. "The Bridges of Madison County" was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical with music and
The Bridges of Madison County found the novella's prose comparable to that of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1970) by Richard Bach. "The Independent" Nicolette Jones found the novella reminiscent of the books published by Mills & Boon while Owen Gleiberman found it more similar to an anecdote than a regular narrative. "Orlando Sentinel" "Publishers Weekly" found "The Bridges of Madison County" "Quietly powerful and thoroughly credible". L.S. Klepp of "Entertainment Weekly" called "Bridges" "a short, poignant story, moving precisely because it has the ragged edges of reality". Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised the novella's "compelling" story for "elevating to a spiritual level the common