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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have to admit...even though it was slightly confusing at the start and it doesn’t quite reach the greatness of The Book Thief, this book still made its way into my heart and if anything it made me love the way Markus Zusak writes even more. I would definitely recommend this book if you are wanting something that is light but tinged with sadness and the idea of living through what life throws at you
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow-ee, this book put me through the ringer. The first 90 pages are a bit of a slog and I nearly put it down for good...but I sure am glad that I didn't. I LOVE Zuzak's writing style, always have. But ouch, this one hurt a bit...my heart feels a bit bruised.
A boy with a manic pixie dream girl goes to build a bridge (for some reason???) with his dead beat dad who walked out on his 5 sons after their mother died.
600 pages of pure nothingness.
600 pages of pure nothingness.
I am trying to process what I just read. Like, what exactly happened. I'm not totally sure.
This is not a young adult book. I read it's only marketed here as young adult, compared to every other country where it's adult, because they wanted to stay with the same imprint as The Book Thief. Which I guess I understand but it's so not even close to young adult. It's not super descriptive when it's sensual persay but I just can't imagine trying to even understand what I read any younger than I am now. Ha!
The writing is very poetic to me. Not in a beautiful flowing sense but like a dark, painful-past song. Lyrics, that's the word. The first half of the book, I was really into that. I liked the way many phrases were repetitive and sentimental and mysterious. Chapters ending like "if only he knew what was to come next". But.... It just got to be too much. It's a LONG book and it just continued like that on and on. It was exciting at first. What's gonna come? What's gonna happen? But there had been so much of that all along, that the ending didn't seem as dramatic and heart-wrenching as it was supposed to be.
So. Much. Sentimentality.
There's so much realism about the story and stories within the story. I loved that. The stories of mom and dad and growing up with your siblings. But there's so much that's unrealistic and just plain weird about the narration if I think about it too much. The details and the narrator explaining the things he remembered. I wouldn't think twice about (fyi: made up example) "her dress was yellow and stopped at the knees" but it just seems so much weirder to say something like "i remember her dress was yellow like the sun and the hem touched her scabbed knees". Like?? You know?? Who remembers that kind of stuff? Especially when trying to recall things that happened 11 years ago? It's like the author didn't want me to think it's weird that he was telling me details so he detailed it more.
I still need some clarification about actual events that happened. They are written so poetically and dramatic that I honestly read them over several times to understand and I still don't. For example, the biggest thing that is bothering me... Can someone please tell me what happened on page 512? Specifically, what did Clay do?
OK. SO. GIRL. Why did you rate it as high as a 4?
I adore every character.
I adore each story.
Every little life snippet.
I adore all the love and care put into this book.
How it feels like the actual story of a family.
How so many of the pages and sentences look like this.
I like so many of the things here that even with all the things that bothered me, I still rate it a 4.
I like it. A lot.
(But really. Can someone tell me what happened.)
This is not a young adult book. I read it's only marketed here as young adult, compared to every other country where it's adult, because they wanted to stay with the same imprint as The Book Thief. Which I guess I understand but it's so not even close to young adult. It's not super descriptive when it's sensual persay but I just can't imagine trying to even understand what I read any younger than I am now. Ha!
The writing is very poetic to me. Not in a beautiful flowing sense but like a dark, painful-past song. Lyrics, that's the word. The first half of the book, I was really into that. I liked the way many phrases were repetitive and sentimental and mysterious. Chapters ending like "if only he knew what was to come next". But.... It just got to be too much. It's a LONG book and it just continued like that on and on. It was exciting at first. What's gonna come? What's gonna happen? But there had been so much of that all along, that the ending didn't seem as dramatic and heart-wrenching as it was supposed to be.
So. Much. Sentimentality.
There's so much realism about the story and stories within the story. I loved that. The stories of mom and dad and growing up with your siblings. But there's so much that's unrealistic and just plain weird about the narration if I think about it too much. The details and the narrator explaining the things he remembered. I wouldn't think twice about (fyi: made up example) "her dress was yellow and stopped at the knees" but it just seems so much weirder to say something like "i remember her dress was yellow like the sun and the hem touched her scabbed knees". Like?? You know?? Who remembers that kind of stuff? Especially when trying to recall things that happened 11 years ago? It's like the author didn't want me to think it's weird that he was telling me details so he detailed it more.
I still need some clarification about actual events that happened. They are written so poetically and dramatic that I honestly read them over several times to understand and I still don't. For example, the biggest thing that is bothering me... Can someone please tell me what happened on page 512? Specifically, what did Clay do?
OK. SO. GIRL. Why did you rate it as high as a 4?
I adore every character.
I adore each story.
Every little life snippet.
I adore all the love and care put into this book.
How it feels like the actual story of a family.
How so many of the pages and sentences look like this.
I like so many of the things here that even with all the things that bothered me, I still rate it a 4.
I like it. A lot.
(But really. Can someone tell me what happened.)
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent
Beautifully written, bridge of Clay allows us to experience and understand the life of the fourth son of two spectacular parents. It is so full of life, regrets, love and loss and just encompasses so much raw humanity. Clay will stay with me for a while, and everyone should read this book at least once
A scattered, shattered book about a handful of brothers. As with The Book Thief, tangled threads of foreshadowing weave their way throughout and somehow neatly tie together at the very end. An epic maze that was hard to follow at times, but full of heart.
Reminded me a bit of We the Animals.
(Small quibble: I kept getting caught in the weeds trying to figure out who "he" was. There were 6 "he's" in this family and it would have helped to print a few more proper nouns for clarification's sake.)
Reminded me a bit of We the Animals.
(Small quibble: I kept getting caught in the weeds trying to figure out who "he" was. There were 6 "he's" in this family and it would have helped to print a few more proper nouns for clarification's sake.)
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes