Book Review- The Bridge on the River Kwai

I watched the movie a long time ago and remembered very little about and I certainly didn't remember loving it. However, for my Back to the Classics challenge there was a "classic about war" category and seeing this book on the shelf, I thought I'd try it out. Before I read it I imagined it being a heavily historical boring war book. Oh my was I wrong!

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads: 1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. In a prison camp, British POWs are forced into labor. The bridge they build will become a symbol of service and survival to one prisoner, Colonel Nicholson, a proud perfectionist. Pitted against the warden, Colonel Saito, Nicholson will nevertheless, out of a distorted sense of duty, aid his enemy. While on the outside, as the Allies race to destroy the bridge, Nicholson must decide which will be the first casualty: his patriotism or his pride.

From the very beginning, The Bridge on the River Kwai was making me smile with it's satirical wit. All of the characters impressed me with how well they were developed so quickly and it was easy to understand each decision they made. It always kept me engaged and I skimmed through it in just two days. There were a lot of great themes of duty, loyalty and pride mixed in throughout this story but for me mainly it was an adventure novel.
I would highly recommend it as a fun and exciting read that still delivers some history and food for thought. :)

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