Bridge of Clay

By: Markus Zusak

Narrated by: Markus Zusak

The unforgettable New York Times best-selling family saga from Markus Zusak, the storyteller who gave us the extraordinary best seller The Book Thief, lauded by the New York Times as "the kind of book that can be life-changing."

Named one of the best books of the year by Entertainment Weekly and The Wall Street Journal.

"One of those monumental books that can draw you across space and time into another family’s experience in the most profound way." (The Washington Post)

"Mystical and loaded with heart, it's another gorgeous tearjerker from a rising master of them." (Entertainment Weekly)

"Devastating, demanding and deeply moving." (Wall Street Journal)

The breathtaking story of five brothers who bring each other up in a world run by their own rules. 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.

At the center of the Dunbar family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge - for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle.

The question is, how far is Clay willing to go? And how much can he overcome?

Written in powerfully inventive language and bursting with heart, Bridge of Clay is signature Zusak.

©2018 Markus Zusak (P)2018 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"In a complex narrative that leaps through time and place and across oceans, Zusak paints a vivid portrait of the brothers trying to regain their balance by keeping their family’s story alive." (Time)

“A captivating book with a mighty, fearless heart, Bridge of Clay is filled with characters to believe in and care about...achingly moving, delightfully funny, and thoroughly uplifting.” (M. L. Stedman, best-selling author of The Light Between Oceans)

“If The Book Thief was a novel that allowed Death to steal the show...[its] brilliantly illuminated follow-up is affirmatively full of life.” (The Guardian)

Overwhelming sadness

Zusak’s lyrical writing evokes strong emotions. This book made me smile now and then, but the emotion for me throughout the book was overwhelming sadness. Some reviewers have said they thought Zusak narrated the book in a monotone. I think he was giving a poetry reading to the rhythm of the metronome that features in the story. I didn’t have any trouble following the jumps in the story from past to present and character to character, but there could have been a bit less of that in some places without losing the impact.

Zigzag story line

If one Dunbar chooses to hide the full story of what happened from another, okay. But why hide basic story elements from the reader in the hope it would all fall into order 534 pages on? It was too much work trying to follow the action across various locales and time periods. And that's a shame, because the writing is at times near-poetic.

Compelling, heartwrenching tale

Great family saga. The narrator's voice and delivery are perfect for the setting and story.

I still think about this book

I wasn't expecting a love story, but found several. This is one of my new favorites.

Loved it all

Great story of siblings and love and all the pain and joy that they encompass. Loved that the author read as it should have been told.

Audio and writing style meant a lot of repeats but

I loved it. I loved that it required thinking on my part to get what was going on. Markus paints with words for sure.

Loved this book

I was absolutley captivated by Bridge of Clay. A must read but bring your tissues!

Heartbreakingly perfect in every way.

This book quickly became an all time favourite and the audio version by the author is just brilliant.

Bridge of Clay

Narration was outstanding and storyline wonderful . Looking forward to more of his books. A great listen, for sure

Beautiful story told by its brilliant author.

Brilliant, beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, inspiring. Incredible use of words and imagery. The author reads his own work like it’s flowing from his soul. Laughed out loud and cried more than once.