Each brother has his own personality and the boys find it difficult to continue their lives as a family as they get older. The other brothers are Henry, the second oldest, Rory, the troublemaker, Tommy, the youngest, and Clay, the brother who does his best to build bridges, figuratively and literally, amongst his family members. The fourth Dunbar boy named Clay. I was eager to be among the first to read Bridge of Clay not just because it’s the follow-up to an incredible international smash hit, but because this new book, twelve years in the making, offers an unrivaled glimpse into the life and mind of Zusak himself. Your email address will not be published. Bridge of Clay is nothing like The Book Thief, so let me kill off that dream here and now. Basically anyone who enjoyed The Book Thief (AKA everyone) should really enjoy this book. According to The Institute of Museum and Library Services there are more than…, The presidential memoirs of Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, will be published in two volumes. RECIPE: Blender beetroot brownie by Alice Zaslavsky! The author also revealed how the loss of their parents devastated the brothers and caused emotional trauma that only Clay could alleviate. Bloody right it was. Hi Jenny, yes Bridge of Clay is suitable for teen readers! Fans have been screaming for a new book. Readers might shed some tears though, Bridge of Clay is a highly emotional book. Not much longer to wait! Zusak was never going to spend ten years writing The Book Thief 2: The Page Turns, now was he? 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. McIntyre's Books presents Craig Johnson and actor Bailey Chase will trade words about the latest Longmire mystery NEXT TO LAST STAND (Viking) as literary and cinematic…, “Libraries raised me.” ― Ray Bradbury Welcome September and Library Card Sign-Up Month! Most remarkable of all is Clay – Clay the son, Clay the brother, Clay the romantic, Clay the secret, and Clay the builder of bridges. He primarily wrote about the fourth brother, Clay, a character who built bridges between family members and sought to discover the truth behind his father's disappearance and subsequent death. And that you can all relax. 4. I even finished a version of BRIDGE OF CLAY that I didn’t send off to attempt publication. He carries them where they need to go. He builds a bridge to transcend humanness. I owe them everything. Spanning generations, Bridge of Clay is an Australia family saga, worlds apart from the WWII narrative of The Book Thief. • Bridge of Clay is published by Doubleday. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. “Every artist is different”: Wildlife artist Daryl Dickson on her artistic process. Clay Dunbar - the fourth Dunbar boy, and main protagonist of the book. Markus Zusak makes his long-awaited return with a profoundly heartfelt and inventive novel about a family held together by stories, and a young life caught in the current: a boy in search of greatness, as a cure for a painful past. I HAVE ALREADY ORDERED THIS BOOK AND CANT WAIT TO READ IT! And what a massive, ambitious book it is! 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.”. After their mother's death, their father disappears and leaves the boys on their own. If you would like to pre-order a copy now you can follow this link. Since then he has written, under a pseudonym, a series of very successful novels, interviewed hundreds of writers about their work, appeared at writers’ festivals, on TV (most bizarrely in comedian Luke McGregor’s documentary Luke Warm Sex) and has been featured in prominent newspapers and magazines. The main point of this review is not to retell the story I have just read. Began 13 years ago, Zusak’s latest brilliant tome is the story of five brothers, raised in a world run by their own rules. Twitter Website. Bridge of Clay will be published on the 9th of October. It’s time again for readers to get swept up in a home-grown epic. A family drama, Bridge of Clay begins with five boys – the Dunbar brothers – who are living in a house without adults. Known the world over for his acclaimed 2006 novel, THE BOOK THIEF, Zusak follows his own creative timetable, and he says, “Thirteen years is probably long enough between books, but BRIDGE OF CLAY was never meant to be easy. Before The Beginning: Anna Morgan on change in fiction and in life, No group, no “I do”: Author Christie Tate on the life-changing power of group therapy. The right ideas are usually buried beneath several wrong ideas first – and those wrong ideas can take months, sometimes years to get through – but in that time you accrue what you need for when the right ideas come together. Bridge of Clay offers an incredible portrait of family and loss, with three uniquely devastating romances woven into the plot of this vibrant adventure story. I only know that writing this book has emptied me out – I gave everything of myself, and maybe that’s all I can ask for. But we are booksellers after all and so after we dusted ourselves off, we calmly drew lots and we all accepted the decision of the gods. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Markus Zusak is one of Australia’s most successful exports. The story covers such issues as forgiveness, discovery, and healing. I tried, of course. Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. I hope readers will enjoy spending time with the Dunbar boys, and all their raucous habits—but it’s Clay I feel for most, and his attempt to build that bridge of his, and find a way back home.”, 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. Bridge of Clay is the story of Clay Dunbar and his four brothers, Matthew, Rory, Henry, and Tommy, as they struggle to come to terms with the disappearance — and then sudden reappearance — of their father, in the years that follow the death of their mother. Matthew Dunbar - the oldest Dunbar boy, and narrator of the book. Bridge of Clay is the first book from Markus Zusak since he took the world by storm with The Book Thief. So much happens in this book, and different readers will gravitate to its many different elements. ​Now, as the Director of Books at booktopia.com.au, Australia’s largest online bookseller, he supports Australian writing in all its forms. What did the clothespin symbolize to Clay in Bridge of Clay. Cheers BOOKTOPIA! There’s obviously the literal, physical bridge he builds, but there are several more bridges within that bridge – like the bridge back to his father, to the past (to both tragic and beautiful memories), to his attempt at greatness, to forgiveness of himself…In the end, Clay is building a bridge that both connects him to the people he loves, but also carries him where he needs to go alone. He has done what we all wanted him to do, he has written a book we can get lost in. And Clay is a bridge himself – he’s the bridge of the Dunbar family as a whole. To order a copy for £13.99 (RRP £18.99) go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. The Dunbar boys bring each other up in a house run by their own rules. Everything happened to him. The 2020 Richell Prize winner is announced! There were a lot more failures, too. We were all of us changed through him. There’s a Book for That: Library Card Sign-Up Month! Not long to wait I hope. I find your opinion interesting, but on the second day I got totally different advice from other bloggers, I need to think that thanks for posting. There was also the thought of writing a different project, but there was a problem with that as well – there were no other projects. In the following “Behind the Pages” author interview, Zusak talks about his creative process, the initial ideas that preceded the writing of BRIDGE OF CLAY, the significance of bridge building as a central theme, and what the author hopes will be the key reader takeaway. Mwa Ha Ha Haaar. While still in his twenties, John Purcell opened a second-hand bookshop in Mosman, Sydney, in which he sat for ten years reading, ranting and writing. Booksellers have been growing more and more impatient. ©2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Follow John: After the death of their mother and the disappearance of their father shortly thereafter, the brothers drifted apart, but Matthew chronicled the lives of his siblings and parents. The Dunbar boys are a gaggle of bruised and battered brothers, raising themselves in the wake of tragedy. Readers owe me nothing. For instance, Matthew wrote about his mother coming to Australia as an immigrant when she was a young girl and his father's life of raising five boys. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In the end, this book is made of everything in me – and maybe I want the reader to feel that. This story is told from the point of view of the oldest brother, Matthew. Bridge of Clay is a big, bold Australian family saga in the tradition of Bryce Courtenay, or Colleen McCullough. The Dunbar boys are a gaggle of bruised and battered brothers, raising themselves in the wake of tragedy. He carries them where they need to go. Thank you, great post. Well, it was harder, and definitely longer. Their mother, an immigrant who moved to Australia as a young girl, has passed away. What is the significance of bridge building for him? But one written for a new generation of readers. This new novel has to be the most highly anticipated return to publication in recent times. A PROMISED LAND, First Volume of Barack Obama’s Presidential Memoirs, to be Published Globally on November 17, 2020, by Penguin Random House, PRH Audio Launches “Meet the Voice” Video Series, HAMNET by Maggie O’Farrell Wins the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction, Penguin Random House Launches Book the Vote to Combat Disinformation and Increase Voter Turnout This Election Season, Wade Davis to Talk About His New Book MAGDALENA via BookPassage.com (9/20), Glennon Doyle’s Memoir UNTAMED to be Adapted for TV, DK Launches New Travel Podcast “Where to Go”. His 2005 novel, The Book Thief was, and still is, a major bestseller worldwide – a powerful and ambitious love letter to the written word set against the darkest chapter of modern history. Already a member? Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Bridge of Clay tells of tragedy The youngest was Tommy with Henry and Rory somewhere in between. Bridge of Clay, written by Markus Zusak, is a novel about a family of five brothers, the Dunbars, and their relationships as they search for the reason behind their father's disappearance.