Bridge of Clay - Another Astounding Novel from the Creator of The Book Thief

I, for one, was thrilled to hear that Markus Zusak was writing another novel to come in October of this year. I counted down the days and went to my local Barnes and Noble as soon as I could to pick up a copy (I was lucky enough to find a signed copy in the hodgepodge of the display table as well). With the book finally in my possession, it ironically took me a little bit of time to get into this novel. Some may argue that the beginning seems confusing and is difficult to pass through into the rest of the rapidly unfolding plot. But I believe that within a few chapters, the book will have you captured, if not in a slight stupor trying to figure out exactly what is going on and who the introduced characters really are. Needless to say, Zusak is a master at short and sweet syntax, grabbing his readers with little description and leaving them with a whole lot of questions that they must continue to read to have answered; I think that's actually my favorite component of his writing style. This novel's characters, most commonly referred to as simply "the Dunbar boys," are versatile and raw, from the rambunctious Rory and Henry, animal-loving Tommy, responsible Matthew, and complicated artist Clay. The book is written from the point of view of the oldest brother, Matthew, on a typewriter that used to belong to a grandmother they never met. He writes of the history of their parents and the second youngest brother, Clay. The grief and abandonment the band of brothers experienced, Clay's brief romance with the jockey-in-training across the street, and the building of a symbolic bridge made of the devotion and very soul of Clay accelerate this plot into waters the reader may never have expected. Chock-full of outstanding imagery, dialogue, and heartbreaking scenarios, this story allows the reader to look in on the perspective of a family ravaged by the loss of a mother by death, the deprivation of a father by grief, and their strength to continue living with what they've got. The story primarily circles around Clay, the uniqueness of his spirit, and his need to find himself while still remembering his brothers, the human forms of his true home. The reappearance of their father, "the Murderer," who left soon after his wife passed proves to make everything even more complicated, but allows Clay to begin work on building not only a bridge, (which is so much more than a mere piece of construction) but his relationship with his father. I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is a story of strength, redemption, self-discovery, and family history, all simply explained by a brother attempting to understand his own family and inspiring little brother.  

My Favorite Quotes from this Novel:

"In the beginning there was one Murderer, one mule and one boy, but this isn't the beginning, it's before it, it's me, and I'm Matthew, and here I am, in the kitchen, in the night---the old river mouth of light---and I'm punching and punching away."

"Once, in the tide of Dunbar past, there was a many-named woman, and what a woman she was."

"The bridge will be made of you."

"We dreamed in our rooms and slept. We were boys but also miraculous: We lay there, living and breathing-- For that was the night he'd killed us. He'd murdered us all in our beds."

"A Dunbar boy could do many things, but he should always be sure to come home."

---