Markus Zusak is an incredibly gifted writer and reading Bridge of Clay is like watching an absolute master at the top of their game. In Bridge of Clay, Zusak uses words in a way that leaves you breathless, creating a rich, detailed picture of a family and their complex relationships. The back-and-forward storytelling style works to add layer upon layer to this picture of the Dunbar family until they feel so, so real. I've never felt so deeply for fictional characters and I'm so very grateful for the opportunity to read this book. Without any doubt, the best book of the year.

Warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS!
(from my YA-aged daughter)

This is not my first time reading Mark Zusak. The Book Thief, which I have also read, was exceptional. I honestly thought books couldn't get better, and I have to say, Zusak is my favourite author by far.
When I started Bridge of Clay, I was very confused, but pulled through and kept on reading. Here's some advice: it may seem random, but keep reading. You'll love it in the end.

Before I read this, I heard that Bridge of Clay took over a decade to write. I was surprised, and amused. Over ten years for one book? But it turns out that I totally underestimated Bridge of Clay, even after The Book Thief.
This book features five boys, a man, a women and a girl wrapped up in a mad tale of love, hope and tragedy. There are losses in this book too, as well as twists. It is filled with emotion, and surprises.

I never saw it coming. And by it, I mean Carey.

I love everything about this book, the way it flows, how it goes back, forth, back, forth in time. It rewrites itself.
If this book was a picture, it would be beautiful. The clever, backwards plot. The meaningless, yet vital phrases. I love how it all really evolves around Clay. I love how it's all told by Matthew. The Dunbar boys certainly have a story to tell.

But one thing that really stood out was the heartfelt words. Every single one of them.

It took me a long time to read, but Bridge of Clay is one of the best books ever, one where I will reread my favourite moments for a long time. Say what you like, but Bridge of Clay will always shine as original, bright, thrilling and a book you can't put down.

A kind thanks to netgalley for supplying this book.

Bridge of Clay is about masculinity. Five rough-housing blue collar brothers live in a mess of a house with a menagerie of animals. They settle their quarrels with their fists. Their dad has long since abandoned them, following the death of their mother. They are the Dunbar boys.
Women are given short shrift in this book, and are doomed to suffer the most. Men are expected to solve their problems with violence. One day, a broken husk of a man walks into their house on Archer Street. He is their long lost father, and wants their help to build a bridge and bring meaning to his life.
Only one of the brothers, the mysterious Clay, agrees to make the journey to the countryside. Clay is especially tormented and long suffering. Bridge of Clay explores why this is, jumping back and forth between timelines.
For me this was more a book to admire than like. Some of the brothers aren't as well drawn as others. Rory and Tommy are a bit two-dimensional, and I didn't understand why Clay had to have quite so many beatings. The writing style took a lot of getting used to. Nevertheless it was well worth reading, and will appeal to readers of The Book Thief.

Bridge of Clay is the story of five brothers and five animals, told non-chronologically as one of them, Clay, must build a bridge. The Dunbar brothers live, fight, and grieve together, living without parents but with a selection of animals including a mule called Achilles. When their estranged father who disappeared walks back into their house and asks who will help him build a bridge, only Clay accepts. Tied up in Clay's mind is love and sadness, and a burning sense of what happened to his mother. Matthew Dunbar, the responsible one, narrates the story of the brothers and their parents from past to present.

The novel is written in Zusak's memorable style, weaving in ideas of storytelling and repeated motifs and wordplay as well as a lot of Homer references. It is long and perhaps a little confusing at first, but once you've got used to the timeline and characters, it becomes a lot more rewarding. Many of the characters are intriguing and unusual, particularly the boys' mother Penelope and Clay himself, though some of the brothers feel less sketched out than others. The relationships in the book are equally compelling, with a lot left to inference rather than stated. It is a novel to think about, both whilst reading and afterwards (which is unsurprising to anyone who has read Zusak's earlier The Book Thief).

Bridge of Clay is an unusual novel that plays with storytelling and unreliability, but at its heart is about a dysfunctional family and the impact of how they all cope with tragedy. It frequently makes the reader think and keeps ambiguity even through its detail; it's less of a light read and more something to get stuck into.