Scan barcode
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
- 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
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
cosmicsapphic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Alcoholism and Eating disorder
Minor: Animal death
manarnia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I fell in love with the Dunbar boys, but certain parts of the story didn't sit right with me, and I didn't love the order in which the story was told.
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, and Violence
rachelsheplak's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Grief
catherreads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm glad I gave this book a second chance. There was still a lot going on, but I was certainly able to appreciate the writing more, and understood what was happening a lot better. There was still a lot of "boys will be boys" mentality though, and that didn't thrill me.
Overall, it was good, but it wasn't as great as I was hoping a reread would be.
Original review 3/14/19:
“Here is a story told inside out and back to front,” states the blurb written on the inside cover of Bridge of Clay, Markus Zusak’s recent novel.
This was a book that I dearly wanted to love. Zusak’s writing hasn’t failed to enrapture me in the past with its poetic descriptions and tangible and intangible threads woven throughout. He weaves words together in beautiful but broken ways, portraying human situations with sentences and connecting dots with metaphors and symbolism. This book is no exception with its beautiful, heavy words. It depicts a family trying to stay together after a mother’s death and a father’s abandonment. The story unfolds slowly as you’re told their history in flashbacks.
However, there was just too much going on for me to fall in love with this story itself. There are five Dunbar boys. The book focuses on one of them, Clay, and is narrated by another one of them, Matthew. I didn’t understand the choice of narrator or how Clay was going to be the one pulling them all together. There were too many characters, too many animals, and too many threads to keep track of. The typewriter, the dog, the mule, the bridge…they kept being mentioned again and again but they never seemed to have any meaning. Also, this story really is told inside out and back to front, making it more confusing than anything.
Maybe if I ever read this again I’ll have time to sit down and read slowly in order to detect the purpose of all the themes and understand the characters’ motivations. However, this book left me rather disappointed so I don’t think I’ll have the courage to read it again anytime soon.
Graphic: Sexism and Death
Minor: Sexual content
sophieduncan's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness