Preview
  • Bridge of Clay

  • By: Markus Zusak
  • Narrated by: Markus Zusak
  • Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (798 ratings)

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Bridge of Clay

By: Markus Zusak
Narrated by: Markus Zusak
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Publisher's summary

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)

Editorial Review

Open the door at 18 Archer Street

As soon as I heard there was a new book on the way from Markus Zusak (it's been 13 years since The Book Thief), I added it to my wish list. Now that I’ve listened, I don’t think there’s any way I could prepare you for what to expect. Bridge of Clay is both an epic "ka-pow of boys and blood and beasts" and an intimate story that made me feel like Zusak, who also narrates the book, was reciting it to me personally as we road-tripped around Australia. I could go on about the Dunbar boys and the mule who wanders into the kitchen and the old, buried typewriter… but all you really need to know is that a master storyteller is back—and he’s brought tragedy and humor with him. —Heather S., Audible Editor

What listeners say about Bridge of Clay

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling, heartwrenching tale

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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I still think about this book

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreakingly perfect in every way.

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Bridge of Clay

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

My Grandson, a young man with wisdom beyond his years, told me I had to read this book. I love listening so the Audible version became my first encounter. Moving, touching and meaningful are a few words I would ascribe to this work. Truth be told I can not put into words how deeply I have been touched by the genius of Mr. Zusak. From my Grandson to me, three generations attest to the endurance of love of family “Bridge of Clay” spans that gap and creates an everlasting bond between generations.

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4 people found this helpful