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rhonaea 's review for:
Bridge of Clay
by Markus Zusak
The five Dunbar brothers are living a wild existence following the death of their mother and abandonment by their father. The story is narrated by the eldest brother - left unnamed mainly, but Matthew, the oldest and responsible brother. Three brothers feature in minor but quite distinct roles, Clay, the fourth brother taking the main focus.
The second story is of Penelope, the boy’s mother and her refugee journey, her passion for music and stories (in particular Greek myths) and her romance with the boy’s father. The father, Michael Dunbar, is referred to as the Murderer. The irony is he figuratively murdered the family when he abandoned them, as a result of his failure to assist his dying wife to a swifter death. Instead, Clay takes over.
The third story is of Clay’s romance with Carey, a jockey.
The fourth story is Clay’s determination to help his father to build a physical, potentially also a metaphorical, bridge.
Other stories include Matthew’s developing interest in his brother’s family liaison teacher, the menagerie of animals the family, and the training which Clay is involved in (never explained fully, perhaps another metaphor).
The overriding message is how a dysfunctional family on the margins survives and excels at deep, abiding brotherly love.
The prose is extraordinary. That kept me rapt, while I wrestled with the more obscure parts of the narrative. Many times I set the book down to re read when I was less tired. It really is like peering in to a mixture of oil and water and not making sense of what you see, but being entranced by the colours you see.
For long periods I disliked the book. I didn’t particularly like The Book Thief. And then, I found myself wanting to start reading it all over again.
Bridge of Clay is a real ‘sleeper’ of a book, it lies in a mysterious, obscure manner and then the story snaps with you, the reader, totally inside it.
The second story is of Penelope, the boy’s mother and her refugee journey, her passion for music and stories (in particular Greek myths) and her romance with the boy’s father. The father, Michael Dunbar, is referred to as the Murderer. The irony is he figuratively murdered the family when he abandoned them, as a result of his failure to assist his dying wife to a swifter death. Instead, Clay takes over.
The third story is of Clay’s romance with Carey, a jockey.
The fourth story is Clay’s determination to help his father to build a physical, potentially also a metaphorical, bridge.
Other stories include Matthew’s developing interest in his brother’s family liaison teacher, the menagerie of animals the family, and the training which Clay is involved in (never explained fully, perhaps another metaphor).
The overriding message is how a dysfunctional family on the margins survives and excels at deep, abiding brotherly love.
The prose is extraordinary. That kept me rapt, while I wrestled with the more obscure parts of the narrative. Many times I set the book down to re read when I was less tired. It really is like peering in to a mixture of oil and water and not making sense of what you see, but being entranced by the colours you see.
For long periods I disliked the book. I didn’t particularly like The Book Thief. And then, I found myself wanting to start reading it all over again.
Bridge of Clay is a real ‘sleeper’ of a book, it lies in a mysterious, obscure manner and then the story snaps with you, the reader, totally inside it.