Title: Bridge of Clay
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: DoubleDay
Page Count: 464
Publication Date: 2018
Category/Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family, Adult Fiction
Good Reads Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.80)
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.0)
The breathtaking story of five brothers who bring each other up in a world run by their own rules. As the Dunbar boys love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world, they discover the moving secret behind their father’s disappearance.
At the center of the Dunbar family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge—for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle.
The question is, how far is Clay willing to go? And how much can he overcome?
I’m sitting with my thoughts on this one long after I finished reading it. There is just so much to unpack and so many personal, sentimental treasures what were unearthed to get reacquainted with.
It is a history of a family presented like a patchwork quilt, backstories and characters woven together and mended to make one complete and perfect masterpiece at the end.
This book demands to be felt and as the pages slip passed there is no way to avoid being wrapped up in the affairs and the raw emotions of the various characters.
“He was caught somewhere, in the current–of destroying everything he had, to become all he needed to be”
It is a book about relationships and about love, tragedy and loss, heartache and forgiveness, and of course…. family and the the unwavering and unbreakable bond between brothers.
Markus Zusak tells a remarkable tale here, the bridge of the title being both physical and symbolical. And one can’t help but to think the entire time, about each of those bridges built, crossed, burned and mended in our own lives.
It takes about 50 pages to get into the book. Suddenly we’re thrown into it not knowing who is who, and what’s going on. But, be patient, the payoff is well worth it.
Highly recommend this book to those who the slow burn, the spellbinding and beautiful, a poignant tale of family love.