#31 in Short stories
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- 32
- Pages
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Our view
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is a short, haunting Civil War story whose effect lingers long after its few pages. Ambrose Bierce, himself a veteran of that war, abandons straight chronology to follow his protagonist’s inner experience, an early instance of stream of consciousness. Some readers remember above all its vivid sensory detail and eerie, dreamlike mood. Read it in one sitting, without looking anything up first.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is an 1890 short story by American writer and American Civil War veteran Ambrose Bierce, described as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature". It was originally published by the San Francisco Examiner on July 13, 1890, and was first collected in Bierce's book Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891). Bierce's abandonment of strict linear narration in favor of the internal mind of the protagonist is an early example of the stream-of-consciousness narrative mode.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.8 across 85 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 36% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Short stories average of 7.8. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.5 | 16 | 19% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 69 | 81% |
Frequently asked
How long is An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge?
It has 32 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Short stories.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Short stories — with scores between 7.3 and 8.2, closest to this book.
