The only thing worse than not liking a book is knowing you are probably in the minority with that opinion. I'm left with a feeling of what did I miss? The plot is good but I just could never get into the writing style. I'll go sit in my corner alone now while everyone else has an amazing reading experience. This just wasn't the right book for me but I do hope others enjoy it. Clay’s decision to join his father is seen by the rest of the family as an unforgivable betrayal, while the building of the bridge is subject to delays, which along with digressions account for much of the book’s length: “What the hell was he waiting for? When would they start building? Was this bridge procrastination?” It seems clear, however, that the actual construction project is secondary to Zusak’s elaboration of an overarching metaphor; as the bridge not only reconnects a broken family, but also provides a link to the loss of the boys’ mother, Penelope, to cancer. I read The Book Thief and it was great so I wanted to read this one. The language was so bad it ruined it. Not needed. Ruined the story. 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 Post In March 2016, Zusak talked about his unfinished novel Bridge of Clay. He stated that the book was 90% finished but that, "... I'm a completely different person than the person who wrote The Book Thief. And this is also the scary thing—I'm a different person to the one who started Bridge of Clay eight, nine years ago ... I've got to get it done this year, or else I'll probably finally have to set it aside." [8]

I'm writing a book called Bridge of Clay—about a boy building a bridge and wanting it to be perfect. He wants to achieve greatness with this bridge, and the question is whether it will survive when the river floods. That's all I can say about it for now—not out of secrecy, but you just don't know what direction a book is going to take, no matter how well you've planned. But while in other books you could have read the book in one sitting - with some effort -, here the journey of the Dunbar boys is also the journey of the reader, who has to convince himself to keep going at least five times only in the first half.

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! Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide. Get started Close 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 Beautifully written and thought-provoking, Bridge of Clay will tug at your heartstrings; and at the essential core of the novel is the delightfully uplifting message that life tends to find a way to make things right in the end.” — New York Journal of Books

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. Romance, love, dating feature heavily. Boys discuss women's bodies and looks; they pass around a Playboy magazine. Some kissing and sex, but none of it described graphically -- it's more referenced than shown. Early on, our father was called to the schools, and he was the perfect post-war charlatan: well-dressed, clean-shaven. In control. We’re coping, he’d said, and principals nodded, teachers were fooled; they could never quite see the abyss in him. It was hidden beneath his clothes. He wasn’t like so many men, who set themselves free with drink, or outbursts or abuse. No, for him it was easier to withdraw; he was there but never there. He sat in the empty garage, with a glass he never drank from. We called him in for dinner, and even Houdini would have been impressed. It was a slow and steady vanishing act. He left us like that, in increments.” 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.Publishers Weekly commented that Zusak builds tension skilfully by his use of foreshadowing and symbolism, which exposes the secrets of the story. They also praised his use of historical scope to create a "sensitively rendered tale of loss, grief, and guilt's manifestations". [10] Though praising the book for its symbolic weight, The Washington Post points out that the work is burdened by its two decades of rewriting and revising, claiming the story to be 'extravagantly over-engineered'. [4] The Guardian finds that much like his previous novel The Book Thief, Death plays a major part of this work—noting that 'death steals the show'. Noting that his use of colors often leads to "theatrical illumination", and that this work, unlike his former is "affirmatively full of life". [5] As we learn of life before the five Dunbar boys were born; of Michael’s early life, and Penny’s as well, we get to know their individual likes and dislikes; their hopes for the future. It was Penny who said she’d like five children, but Michael who said, let them not all be boys! A captivating book with a mighty, fearless heart, BRIDGE OF CLAY is filled with characters to believe in and care about … achingly moving, delightfully funny, and thoroughly uplifting.”—M. L. Stedman, bestselling author of The Light Between Oceans Working with Zusak throughout the creation of BRIDGE OF CLAY was his editor, Erin Clarke, who says, “Markus is one of the kindest and most generous people I know. He’s also meticulous at his craft, which despite the struggles that caused over the past decade, ultimately rewarded not only him but me, as his editor, and I hope and believe, his readers.” 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.

The story jumps around in time however the authors phrasing at the start of each new chapter makes it easy to tell exactly where you are in time. Do you have any coping mechanisms or things you like to do to take your mind off your troubles? Such as running, painting, writing, or other hobbies? In front of me, there’s the old TW. Beyond it, a scratchy wooden tableland. There are mismatched salt and pepper shakers, and a company of stubborn toast crumbs. The light from the hall is yellow, the light in here is white. I sit and think and hit here. I punch and punch away. Writing is always difficult, but easier with something to say: Let me tell you about our brother. The fourth Dunbar boy named Clay. Everything happened to him. We were all of us changed through him.”

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I have a customer that comes into work every Thursday. His name is Doug and we bonded over Markus Zusak and over the last eight months we've become really great friends. I lent him copy of this book to read and he left little notes throughout it and it's a copy I will treasure forever. And soon we're going to go and meet Markus Zusak at a book event and we're so excited. These books have changed my life and they've also introduced wonderful people to me too. Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. 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. The Wall Street Journal reviewer Meghan Cox Gurdon captured its essence, saying “In words that seem to ache with emotion, or perhaps, more aptly, with the suppression of it, Mr. Zusak moves us in and out of time.” Bridge of Clay was released in the United States and Australia on 9 October 2018, [2] and in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2018. [3] Plot [ edit ]

A novel of love, crime, magic, fate and coming of age, set in Brisbane's violent working class suburban fringe - from one of Australia's most exciting new writers. Late in the night, fourteen-year-old Sam Watson steps onto a quiet overpass, climbs over the rail and looks down at the road far below.It's a character driven book. Before you know it, you start to feel and care for this family. It's very different than what I grew up in, so it took me some time to adjust to the dynamics of a 5 brothers, big family. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading about them and felt for them. Greer Walsh wishes she were one person...unfortunately, with her large breasts, she feels like she’s actually three. But what lingers longest in memory is this… Bridge of Clay is masterful in its capacity to move even the hardest of hearts, on not just one moment, but many that arise in this epic tale of normal people swimming against the flood of life. A standout for me was that of the immigrant experience, closely followed by the innate bond between animals and humans (even brothers).