Bridge of Clay

What if [b:The Outsiders|231804|The Outsiders|S.E. Hinton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442129426l/231804._SY75_.jpg|1426690], but four times as long and ten times as slow? I started it because I liked both Zusak's other books, and I love nonlinear storytelling. I was into it for a chunk in the middle, mostly Michael's and Penny's backstories. I finished it because I wanted to know what the "big secret" was and the writing style meant I couldn't just flip to the end. I do not recommend you do the same, if you are wondering whether you should finish it. I can imagine people who would call this book "achingly beautiful," and if you are one of them, you will know right away.

For me, it was show more eye-rolling-ly over-written romanticizing of a bunch of boys who never learned how to just. talk. to. each. other. This is a type of family that exists, absolutely, but I do not need to read a 550-page book of ponderous one-sentence paragraphs and overwrought references to The Iliad and The Odyssey whose ultimate conclusion seems to be that the most beautiful way to be a boy is to shove your tragedies deep inside you and deal with them only through violence, punishingly hard labor, and women who exist only to patiently wait for you to get your shit together. UGH. show less

The Dunbar boys are the survivors of a broken family. Their mother Penelope died slowly and painfully, and their father Michael abandoned them in his grief. They have carried on, sticking together and adding a number of pets and friends to their ensemble, but now their father Michael is back and wants to reconnect. It's up to Clay, the most empathetic of the brothers, to find a way to bring them all together -- to build a bridge, both literally and figuratively.

Markus Zusak is wonderful at writing about the powerful ties between family members, the strange rituals that keep them connected, and the pain that comes from losing the ones close to you. The story of Penelope and Michael, their lives before they met, their romance, their show more family, and then the horror of Penelope's seemingly endless decline and death are absolutely heartbreaking. The brothers are rambunctious, foul-mouthed, annoying, and yet also devotedly loyal and supportive in their own ways. The allusions to the stories that have shaped their parents' lives -- for Penelope, the Odyssey; for Michael, the Quarryman -- are well-done. It's a deeply moving family saga.

The problem that I had was with the parallel story of Carey and her horse racing. There was just too much horse-racing, and not in a way that really made you feel why Carey was so interested in a rather strange career choice for a teenage girl. It was mostly talk about how she knew all the cup winners and how everyone was so impressed with her obsession with horse racing, and I thought it got a little repetitive and took away from the story of the Dunbars a bit.

Altogether, however, this was a moving read about grief and family devotion. show less

This is the kind of book that's impossible to rate. I have very complicated feelings about it. More than I've had for any other book.

If this had been written by anyone else, I would have abandoned it about 50 pages in. The writing style and pacing takes a long time to get used to—for me, it was almost 200 pages. You're jumping back and forth between several time periods constantly and without warning, and sometimes the prose felt a tad overdone. This is a book that expects a lot of work from its readers, which can sometimes pay off in a big way, but I don't think this book was made better by its confusing construction.

Some of the flashbacks, backstories—whatever you want to call them—felt unnecessary to me, as well. I don't think show more the book would have suffered much by leaving most of Carey's backstory out, especially toward the end. This is a book about the Dunbar boys; we don't need to know all of Carey's jockey history.

A couple big mistakes, in my opinion, that, again, if this were written by anyone else, would have ruined the book for me.

But when Markus Zusak does something well, he does it phenomenally.

I'm talking about the Dunbar brothers and their relationships with each other, and with their parents—especially their mom. Every section with Penny in it was just beautiful. The writing, the stories, the way these characters grew with one another—that's where this book gets all its depth. It's what made the "present" storyline all the more satisfying, and it's the reason Zusak had me crying at the end.

I don't think I've ever been this critical of a book I gave 4 stars to, but that just goes to show how good the good stuff is. Despite its flaws, this book touched me. I'm also relieved I'm done with it. show less

A young man types out the stories of his family; of four rambunctious brothers, a divorced father & an exiled mother.

The self-regarding style Zusak adopted made sense in the novel, idiosyncratic, broken, jumping back & forth. But it did annoyingly slow down my reading, until three quarters through when I was reluctantly charmed and won over by it.

Just finished, and I feel wrung out, and think this novel of inarticulate love and loss will stay with me for a long time.

In a suburb of Sydney, the five Dunbar brothers (Matthew, Rory, Henry, Clay, and Tommy) are living together on their own after their mother dies of cancer and their father abandons them. Years later, their father appears out of the blue to seek their help in building a bridge. Of the five, Clay is the only brother to accept the invitation. Thus, Clay becomes a human bridge, of sorts, between the other brothers and their father.

Eldest brother, Matthew, tells the family’s history in dual timelines. The first takes place in the distant past. As a young woman, their mother migrated from Poland to Australia, where she met their father, who was previously married and divorced. The other takes place more recently, starting with the show more reappearance of their father, whom Matthew refers to as “the murderer.” The brothers’ many activities are integrated into the narrative – long distance running, fighting, horse racing, 1980s films, collecting pets with names from their mother’s beloved literature.

It is a book about loss, grief, forgiveness. Momentum is maintained by wondering what happened to make this father abandon his children shortly after their mother dies. The characters are well drawn, including the pets. The writing is elegant. Though there are significant tragic elements, it is also a story of hope. show less

It's time to catch my breath a bit. I just finished this book, and I feel like I'm lost at sea. I read it because I enjoyed The Book Thief so much, but I came to fall in love with this one even more than the lovely The Book Thief. At first I wasn't sure about the novel. For the first 70 pages or so, I was having difficulty following because the book slips between different times, places and people so much that it's hard to get a handle on it. But the fabulous 5 Dunbar boys is the glue that holds the book together. This is a love story between Michael Dunbar and his beautiful refugee wife Penelope. It's a story about their lives before they met, and a story about after they met and the wonderful family they raised. It's a story about a show more ramshackle, tumultuous family of 5 strapping boys. The family lives in the hot grassland of the Australian countryside. The family lives hard, loves hard and fights hard, and little Penelope is the glue that holds them all together. When she gets sick and "sets about the process of dying", the family members each take it in their own way. The father retreats into himself and disappears. Matthew the oldest, steps up and becomes the man of the house. Rory argues, swears, drinks and fights, proving he's the toughest guy out there. Henry becomes a teenage entrepreneur. Tommy, the youngest, relies on his menagerie of animals to help him cope. But Clay, the fourth boy, the one with "fire in his eyes", runs away from himself and others, and trains and races, and fights and reflects, and sits up on the roof of their house contemplating the world around him. Clay is the one with the weight of the world on his slim shoulders. Clay is the one who builds a bridge almost single-handedly in order to help keep his demons at bay, and Clay is the one who meets a girl called Carrey and falls in love. Like in The Book Thief, Death plays a part in this novel as well, and it's Clay who tries to tame him and keep him away from the rest of his family. I could go on and on about this book, but instead I ask you to read it. Read it with an open mind and open heart and you will not be disappointed. This is the best book that I've read in a long long time. And I may have to go read some Homer again too. There's a lot of Odysseus and the Iliad in this book. There is even Achilles the mule. Thank you Markus for writing this perfect novel. show less

It all starts with the Dunbar boys: Matthew, Rory, Henry, Clayton & Thomas. "A family of ramshackle tragedy". It is a tragic and beautiful story about a family that I grew to love more than anyone should love a group of fictional characters. But let me tell you what expect. This is not an easy read. It is not something you can casually and comfortably read. It is a bit of hard work, especially in the beginning when you won't know what is going on. The writing will challenge you. It is often fragmented and sometimes almost poetic. It will force you to concentrate and you'll find yourself re-reading sentences to make sure you got it right. It is not at all linear. Downright patchy! However you do get used to the style and I grew to love show more it. I really can't imagine it being written any other way without diminishing the effect of the narrative. The relationships in this book touched me deeply, both the romantic relationships and the connection between the Dunbar brothers. I think it is probably my favourite book of the year and a real labour of love from the author. I feel like he must have left a little piece of himself in the pages. If you have the patience and time to do right by this book, I would highly recommend it. show less