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sophiebee23's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
This is not an easy read. The first 50 or so pages were hard work and I really couldn't tell if there would be any reward for the effort. I was frustrated not knowing what was going on, I couldn't even work out where it was set and the style was more than a little jarring. Something began to take shape however and there was enough there to keep me reading, and I settled into the writing style more and more. It still took getting a good third of the way in before it really had me hooked.
I'm glad I persevered. It's good to be challenged by a book, to not have everything laid out and linear from the get-go. Reading this is like watching someone else do a jigsaw when you haven't seen the picture they're aiming at, and they put chunks of it together seemingly at random and you can't work out how anything can come out of the mess, but you eventually see something beautiful start to appear and you trust them to see it through.
You have to trust the process of this book. Zusak knows what he's doing. Occasionally I found the writing style just a bit much and some metaphors just didn't land well for me, but for the most part it really is beautifully written. It's worth taking time over it to soak in the atmosphere and really enjoy the writing.
The story itself left me in tears at multiple points - I'm a big book-crier so take that with a pinch of salt - and while I didn't necessarily like all the characters (I'm still not sure what I feel about Matthew) I felt I knew them and understood them, and I adored Clay in particular.
I really enjoyed it and I think it's a book I'll come back to in years to come. If you want an easy beach read, look elsewhere. If you're happy to get stuck in and persevere through that challenging beginning, you'll be rewarded.
I'm glad I persevered. It's good to be challenged by a book, to not have everything laid out and linear from the get-go. Reading this is like watching someone else do a jigsaw when you haven't seen the picture they're aiming at, and they put chunks of it together seemingly at random and you can't work out how anything can come out of the mess, but you eventually see something beautiful start to appear and you trust them to see it through.
You have to trust the process of this book. Zusak knows what he's doing. Occasionally I found the writing style just a bit much and some metaphors just didn't land well for me, but for the most part it really is beautifully written. It's worth taking time over it to soak in the atmosphere and really enjoy the writing.
The story itself left me in tears at multiple points - I'm a big book-crier so take that with a pinch of salt - and while I didn't necessarily like all the characters (I'm still not sure what I feel about Matthew) I felt I knew them and understood them, and I adored Clay in particular.
I really enjoyed it and I think it's a book I'll come back to in years to come. If you want an easy beach read, look elsewhere. If you're happy to get stuck in and persevere through that challenging beginning, you'll be rewarded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer
filipacmiranda's review against another edition
5.0
Para quem, como eu, conheceu Zusak através de A Rapariga Que Roubava Livros, esta história pode requerer algum esforço inicial. Admito que houve momentos em que senti necessidade de pousar o livro. É uma história complexa, cujos acontecimentos vão sendo relatados de forma desordenada. Embora tenha sido uma jornada, foi uma jornada que valeu a pena!
As primeiras páginas de Nada Menos Que Um Milagre largam-nos no seio de uma família constituída por cinco rapazes com menos de 20 anos. Trata-se de um início caótico e confuso, que, a meu ver, será uma representação fiel do que é vivenciar a morte de um dos progenitores, após doença prolongada. Especialmente, enquanto o/a outro/a se vai demitindo da nossa vida e desaparecendo aos poucos.
Escrito sob o ponto de vista de Matthew Dunbar, o mais velho dos cinco irmãos, com recurso a uma linguagem que veicula as emoções de forma clara, mas eloquente, este livro é uma manta de retalhos que, entre o passado e o presente, nos vai dando a conhecer a vida de Clay e dos seus irmãos.
Durante a leitura, houve confusão, houve risos e houve algumas lágrimas... Trata-se de uma história sobre as dores do crescimento. Sobre amor fraterno e amor platónico. Sobre a morte. Mas, acima de tudo, trata-se de uma história sobre a vida e como continuar a viver, quando nada parece abonar a nosso favor.
As primeiras páginas de Nada Menos Que Um Milagre largam-nos no seio de uma família constituída por cinco rapazes com menos de 20 anos. Trata-se de um início caótico e confuso, que, a meu ver, será uma representação fiel do que é vivenciar a morte de um dos progenitores, após doença prolongada. Especialmente, enquanto o/a outro/a se vai demitindo da nossa vida e desaparecendo aos poucos.
Escrito sob o ponto de vista de Matthew Dunbar, o mais velho dos cinco irmãos, com recurso a uma linguagem que veicula as emoções de forma clara, mas eloquente, este livro é uma manta de retalhos que, entre o passado e o presente, nos vai dando a conhecer a vida de Clay e dos seus irmãos.
Durante a leitura, houve confusão, houve risos e houve algumas lágrimas... Trata-se de uma história sobre as dores do crescimento. Sobre amor fraterno e amor platónico. Sobre a morte. Mas, acima de tudo, trata-se de uma história sobre a vida e como continuar a viver, quando nada parece abonar a nosso favor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Cursing, and Bullying
iiisabelle's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
Moderate: Death and Bullying
corvicore's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The boomerang storytelling got a little infuriating at times but overall it slaps
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Cursing, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness
jessie_roz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent
jfield351's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I read this book as part of the dymocks challenge, this was the dymocks book of the month july 2018. i don’t think i would have read it otherwise. i feel like maybe i was too unintelligent to enjoy this book, as some parts i understood that i hadn’t really grasped what was going on. it wasn’t a bad book but it wasn’t my favourite. it was slow paced and felt like i was watching a movie. it’s definitely the opposite of what i usually enjoy reading, which is fast paced fantasy. but i liked how there were about 4 or 5 different time periods, my favourite was the reflection of the mother growing up. it was a sad book and really showed the full life of many of these people. by halfway i felt like i was a dunbar boy, because it was written in such a way that i could see them all around me and know their personalities. i was a bit confused about the bridge thing, why the father left and what happened to the mother but i eventually understood. this book had a calming effect on me. Read 17 to 19 jan.
edit: it was better in hindsight than when reading it. Looking back i did enjoy the book and giving it only 2 stars seems harsh because i’ve realised it was a beautiful story so i’m going to move it up just a tiny bit to 2.25.
edit: it was better in hindsight than when reading it. Looking back i did enjoy the book and giving it only 2 stars seems harsh because i’ve realised it was a beautiful story so i’m going to move it up just a tiny bit to 2.25.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Cancer, and Death
averagemark's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I picked up this book because I liked the works of Marcus Zusak in the past, and I was not disappointed by this. The story follows 5 boys living on their own, the killer and the memory of their mother.
If you’re a fan of action packed fantasy, then this book is not for you. It has a slower pace and deals with everyday problems of a broken family. Like in real life, there isn’t a definite end to the story, but at the end of the book, you feel like you’re part of this big family. You’ve lived through their tragedies, you’ve coped with them, and you’ve grown, and in my opinion that’s the best part of this all.
Some might also find the book challenging because of the way it is written: one chapter takes place in the past, and one in the future. Although, with such writing, it would normally be harder to keep up with the story, The Bridge of Clay avoided that fate. Coming back to the past a lot makes sense for a grieving family, and as readers it’s interesting to put a story together piece by piece.
The characters all have a distinct personality, influenced by their past. For me, one of the worst things an author can do, is provide the readers with questions, and not answer all of them by the end, here it is thankfully not the case. All the mysteries laid out before us in the beginning of the book, eventually make sense.
If I had to sum my review up, this is not a very action packed book, at first, you’ll need to to get into reading it, but by the end, the characters, the journey you took with them, will make all of the inconveniences worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, and Grief
rlinnyc's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
jesslemreads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Death
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As much as I love Zusak, this book just wouldn't end. The main plot was confusing and the B plot was out of order and dragged on about details that didn't matter. Maybe it's a good read to someone else, but it wore me down to finish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Suicide attempt, and Vomit