By now I don’t think it is a secret that Markus Zusak is my favourite author, with the amount I talk about how much I love his writing, storytelling and books. The Book Thief is one of my favourite books ever, I love The Messenger…and Bridge of Clay was no exception. Cue me raving about it for the next 10 minutes in this blog post.
(This review is spoiler free).
Book: Bridge of Clay
Author: Markus Zusak
Year published: 2018
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5 stars
I am spectacularly late reading this book. I feel very lucky that my copy of the book is a signed one from the UK Book launch event I got to go to, back when I lived in London (see the photos further below of a much younger & quite starstruck Leyla). I t has taken me from the launch in 2018 until now to read it, for one very simple reason: I was scared I wouldn’t love it as much as I love his other books. How wrong I was, and how moronic of me for waiting for so long to read it. This book was beautiful. But even beautiful doesn’t feel like a strong enough word to describe the book. It was just remarkable in every way. I can honestly say there is not a single thing I didn’t love about this book – something which is actually quite a rarity.
One thing I love about Markus Zusak’s work, is that his books are the sort that force you to slow down, digest them (for want of a better word), and really make you think. About what you’re reading, about the characters, the story, the themes…everything. His work is so meaningful and insightful and profound, and this is so present throughout every page of Bridge of Clay. This is definitely a character book over a plot book – similar to his previous books, so something I expected; and as I said above – it’s a book you’ll definitely want to take your time with when reading, but I think the time is more than worth it – at least it was for the impact and effect it has had on me. Bridge of Clay is yet another example of Zusak beautifully crafting a story with such fantastically written characters who have so much depth and complexity to them.
Through reading this book, it’s taken me on such a journey, and I really grew to love this family so much, that when it came to the end, I was heartbroken – I didn’t want to say goodbye to them! I loved the theme of family being so strong in this book, and that really being what the whole book is about; I loved learning about all the characters in the book as we read more – of both their lives in the present day, and their pasts and upbringings.
Bridge of Clay is a book about family, about learning about yourself, about grief and about resilience. It’s emotional, heartbreaking and I’d even go so far as to say it is a literary masterpiece. It is more evidence that Markus Zusak is one of the finest writers out there; with his unique writing style and narration that cannot be matched – the imagery, the character development, everything. This is storytelling at it’s finest. I firmly believe this book is hugely underrated and I think I could write an entire dissertation on this book, and Zusak’s writing.
But I will just close this off by saying: I cannot urge everyone enough to read this incredible piece of literature. I know for a fact that Bridge of Clay, like all of Markus Zusak’s other works, will be sure to stay with me forever.
One Show at a Time 
Great review! I also loved Zusak’s earlier books and was very excited for Bridge of Clay, which did not disappoint. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading! I’m glad you also liked Bridge of Clay!