Book Review: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

Book: Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Genre: YA Contemporary
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

It was a bit scary going into this book, after all the waiting and building up and fangirling all these years. And I must admit, it took me a few pages/chapters to get the hang of reading the MZ style again. But it really didn't take long and then I felt the same amazement that I always have. Like HOW DOES HE DO THIS?

So the story is about a family of five boys... the Dunbar boys. Clay is the 4th one down. It's about their mom and dad. It's about how they become a family, how they love, live.. and die. It's about their pets! It's about horse racing, and running and Greek mythology, and painting and sculpting, and even a little about bridge building.

The story jumps all over the place in time. We start with the Dunbar boys after the "bad stuff" happens and they are on their own, then it flashes back to first their mom and how she came to live in Australia, and then their dad and how he grew up and fell in love, but not with their mom at first. And then, we learn how they get together and start their family.

In between those flashbacks, we learn about how their dad, who has fled, comes back and asks the boys for help on a bridge... Clay is the only one who takes him up on it. So then we start the bridge building.

Then we begin flashing back to how Clay got to know Carey, the girl he loves, and all about her background.  And sometimes we learn the story once, and then flashback to the same story and learn it again in more detail.

I loved it. It can be a bit of a whiplashing way to tell a story, but I wasn't bothered. And it was awesome to see all the pieces and parts come together in the end.

AND DANG IT! Why does he have to write such gut wrenching tear jerking scenes? Yeah. It's in this one just like in The Book Thief. So be warned.

Also be warned, this is not a gentle read. These Dunbar boys are wild and reckless. They swear like crazy and beat each other up constantly. But the love is also overflowing and that's what this book is all about. How they come together in the face of the crap that life has given them and survive.

I fell like he writes nearly in verse, even though it's a narrative and not a verse book. The words and descriptions are so poetic it hurts sometimes. And the use of personification is as prevalent as ever. It makes scenes come alive like nothing I've ever read. I feel like this stuff just flows out of him, but I have sense learned that he truly agonizes over every word. Somehow that makes me appreciate it all the more.

It was worth the wait and a joy to read. And now... do we go to hoping for another book? Or savor this one for awhile? I say... savor!

Did you read it yet? What did you think?