Bridge of Clay

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Bridge of Clay is a tender book, set in a world that is anything but. Its enormous ambitions are sustained by heartfelt beliefs, not least in the power of love. This vast novel is a feast of language and irony. Its narrative structure makes demands on the reader but it constantly works through tangled lives to achieve moments of sublime clarity and insight. It is such a compassionate book that it is hard not to fall a bit in love with it yourself. Bridge of Clay shares with Zusak's The Book Thief an underlying sense of the possibility of joy and human dignity even in dehumanising situations. It is driven by no agenda other than a desire to celebrate the ups and downs of flawed mortals. The makes it a breath of fresh air.' Sydney Morning Herald Difficult to locate both in terms of time period and geography, the setting for the story seems to be Zusak’s homeland of Australia, though very little information is given away, which can be frustrating for a reader who wants to fully imagine a visual world for the characters. It is also often hard to tell which period of the narrative we are in at any given point: the segments can be as short as a paragraph or two. They come and go in a flash. Prescription: I can’t seem to recommend this for anyone in the time being. If you want a better story about 5 brothers which is more relatable and has great writing then I recommend Watching Glass Shatter by James Cudney!

so im pretty sure that even an infinite combination of words will spectacularly fail in describing what this story means to me, because it has been nearly 12 hours since i finished reading this and i still am at a loss at how to convey the heartbreaking beauty of this book. One of those monumental books that can draw you across space and time into another family’s experience in the most profound way.” — The Washington PostMarkus Zusak pitches the reader into a ‘terrifically teenaged world’. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images As I could notice, the narration was a problem for many. If you open an English grammar book on morphology and syntax you could use this story as an example. But I’m now convinced it was all part of the author’s evil plan. Warm and heartfelt. . . . This is a tale of love, art and redemption; rowdy and joyous, with flashes of wit and insight, and ultimately moving.” Times of London

So, does it deliver? Yes, in spades. Zusak has crafted a strapping story about love, family, courage, betrayal and guilt...a great novel, rich with meaning, and one that will endure.' Australian Book Review Summary: This is a Hit or miss kind of books (Apparently a miss for me) which had a bad combination of characters, writing and plot. If you start this and feel that you ned to DNF it then I encourage doing so because it is not for everyone and if you enjoy it then good for you :D. The Book Thief was intricate, dense, superbly plotted, and required a great deal of patience - patience that was richly rewarded. For fans of Markus Zusak’s remarkable The Book Thief, it has been a long wait for his newest novel, Bridge of Clay. In fact, Bridge of Clay represents an idea that has been 20 years in the making. That Zusak has spent so long working on the novel is a testament to his determination, as well as his faith that Bridge of Clay is a story worth telling. I love Zusak’s writing for its succinct distillation of the human experience and have been waiting for this release with patient anticipation. While I didn’t know what to expect – particularly as a follow-up to the unexpected global success of The Book Thief– I was prepared to assume that Zusak’s narrative skill would turn any plot into a revelation. I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Although Bridge of Clay has flaws – an inevitability with a work that has taken so long to come to fruition – they feel incidental to a work that is so replete with vulnerability. It is easily one of the most humanistic novels that I’ve read this year – a raw account of the trauma that can accompany both loss and reconciliation.

Bridge of Clay

In a complex narrative that leaps through time and place and across oceans, Zusak paints a vivid portrait of the brothers trying to regain their balance by keeping their family’s story alive.”— Time En esta novela conocemos la historia de 'Clay Dunbar', el silencioso, el chico con demasiado corazón. Uno de cinco hermanos inadaptados, el corredor incansable, imparable, una inmovible fuerza de la naturaleza. Entrenando fuera de cualquier sentido, sin descanso, desconociendo, y de alguna manera consciente, de un fatídico día por llegar. El día de ajustar cuentas.

In fact, the first part of the book is a trundling, elliptical orgasm that strings along a bunch of words about a murderer and a mule and some animals named after characters in The Odyssey. It's initially intriguing, but it wears out its welcome fast when the pretension (not tension) continues to build and it becomes super obvious both who the murderer is and that Zusak is essentially exploring identical themes he already wrote about in - you guessed it - The Book Thief. Na forma, Zusak tem uma escrita peculiar e muito sua, que nem sempre agrada a todos! No conteúdo, as histórias que nos conta, extravasam sentimento, e, essas sim, tocam-nos a quase... quase... todos 😍

Matthew Dunbar – the oldest Dunbar boy, and narrator of the book. As the oldest brother, responsibility to take care of the family fell to him once their father left.

This is the first time in a while that I've actually not finished a book. I should mention that I was one of the few people who liked but didn't love The Book Thief, but I find it hard to believe that Bridge of Clay will be as well-loved as that book. More power to you if you can actually finish and enjoy it. The Book Thief 10 Years Later: Markus Zusak Reflects on His Iconic Novel 14 March 2016". Paste Magazine . Retrieved 28 March 2017.Why does Clay feel strongly about building a bridge? What is the significance of bridge building for him?