Read in 2025 - 5: Bridge of Clay

Bridge of Clay

Markus Zusak

The first book I've read by this author was my 2nd read of this year, "I Am The Messenger". The post with my review is here. 

Again, this one was lent to me by a friend who I more or less regularly swap books with. And again, this one is set in Australia and has a young man at its center. But that's where the similarity ends.

In "Bridge of Clay", the reader is told the story of five brothers who are left to fend for themselves when, after their mother has died of cancer, their father one day simply leaves. The oldest is in his late teens by then and already working, the youngest still of elementary school age.

Each of the boys is unique and matters to the story, but focus is on Clay, who was closest to both their Mum and Dad. The narrator is the oldest brother, and he jumps back and forth between the past, the not-so-distant past, and the present.

In the past, we meet his parents when they were children. They both grew up with just one parent, but apart from that, their lives were very different: Michael was raised in Australia, married a local girl and seemingly had his life mapped out until she, more ambitious than her husband, left him.

Penelope grew up with her father, a serious man who taught her to play the piano at a professional level. Their homeland was in the Eastern bloc, and he wanted a better, free life for his daughter, sending her away even though it broke his heart.

The immigrant young woman and the recently divorced young man met, fell in love, married and went on to have five children - the boys who end up living on their own, sharing the house with a collection of pets with classical Greek names like Agamemnon and Telemachus.

Years after he left, one day completely out of the blue, their father returns... Why he left, why he returns and what happens next is something I won't go into here, because if you haven't read the book, you will want to find out for yourself.

The story is very touching in parts, but there were times at the start when I was close to putting it away; I didn't like some of the scenes were the boys beat each other up in spite of loving each other a lot and always sticking up for each other in the end. Apparently, it's all part of "boys being boys", but I could have done without all that.

Also, there is a lot about horse racing in this book, sometimes overly detailed, and not all of it is necessary for the story (in my opinion). The author took about 10 years to write this book, and maybe that explains some of the lengthier bits.

Still, the story is good; sad, and funny at the same time. Unusual, for sure, as is the writing style which I was by now familiar with from The Messenger.

By the way, I have found out that The Messenger was turned into an Australian TV series, with some changes made from the book, but the author apparently still being happy with it. If I find it on Netflix or Apple TV, I am certainly going to watch it.