Bridge of Clay is slow to start and scattered at times. Themes of loss, grief, and love reverberate across the generations of an Australian family in this sweeping, poetic novel from Markus Zusak. More tragedy strikes, and Clay and his brothers grapple with guilt, memories, and how to be there for one another no matter what else may come. He slips away emotionally at first, then physically leaves them on their own. When Penny dies, Michael walks out of his children's lives without a word. Each step of the way, characters wonder how they will get through life, given the roadblocks they frequently encounter. The narrative moves back and forth in time, covering the young years of Penny and Michael Dunbar, the boys' parents the missing parents in every generation courtships illnesses family love and fights and a few deeply buried secrets. Though the building of a physical bridge is an essential plot point, the real story is much more about the building of metaphorical bridges between family, friends, and generations. BRIDGE OF CLAY tells the story of the five rough-and-tumble, parentless Dunbar brothers and their struggle to raise themselves, focusing primarily on the life and hardships of the fourth boy, Clay.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |