Within the pages, we see the circumstance and happenstance and hope and tragedy that make a family.īridge of Clay is narrated by the oldest Dunbar boy, Matthew, who’s telling the story of a pivotal time in their lives and the history that came before it eleven years later at age 31. To understand the tragedy of Clay’s past and the breadth of his future, the novel dives deep into the history of Dunbar past– to a girl named Penelope escaping communist Russia and a boy named Michael who’s madly in love with his high school sweetheart.

But Clay’s story isn’t the only one to be told. And so begins a journey back and forth between his father and his brothers, between a project he’s strangely obsessed with and the jockey girl who’s fascinated him since their first meeting, between complicated and simple. None of his boys want to help Michael Dunbar or even speak with him… except Clay. When the father who abandoned them years ago returns to Archer Street and asks his sons to help him build a bridge, it’s a mea culpa of sorts.

Quiet and curious and sensitive, Clay has always stood out. But it’s the fourth brother, Clay, who the story is really about. The youngest, Tommy, is a friendly animal lover coming into his own. Rory is the uproarious one who drinks and jokes a little too much. Matthew is the eldest and the proxy parent, though at twenty, he’s not exactly an expert. It’s hard to forget a pack of five parentless boys raising each other up. Over by Archer Street in Sydney’s racing quarter, everyone knows the Dunbar boys. THE BOOK THIEF author Markus Zusak returns with a riveting story of family, hope, and heartbreak!

Markus zusak bridge of clay review