Why is this book a classic?

Sappy, sappy, sappy. These are the three words I would use to describe this book. It is the story of a man who is assigned to a small town in Iowa to photograph its famous covered bridges. While in the town, he meets a farmer's wife, an Italian woman the farmer met during the war, who is looking for an escape from her pedestrian life.

The book is the story of their forbidden love, but it never really caught my interest. The writing is just not that memorable. It tries to paint a picture with words instead of concretely telling the story. Problem is, if it concretely told the story, the book would only be about ten pages long.

I know my view of this book may not be a popular one. In fact, that is why I read it, because it is such a well-known story. I would have to say I was disappointed that it didn't live up to all of the hype. Thankfully, it is a short book.