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  • Bridge of Clay

  • By: Markus Zusak
  • Narrated by: Markus Zusak
  • Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (489 ratings)

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Bridge of Clay cover art

Bridge of Clay

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

From the author of the number one New York Times best-selling novel The Book Thief.

Let me tell you about our brother.
The fourth Dunbar boy named Clay.
Everything happened to him.
We were all of us changed through him.

The Dunbar boys bring each other up in a house run by their own rules. A family of ramshackle tragedy - their mother is dead, their father has fled - they love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world. 

It is Clay, the quiet one, who will build a bridge - for his family, for his past, for his sins. He's building a bridge to transcend humanness. To survive.

A miracle and nothing less.

Markus Zusak makes his long-awaited return with a profoundly heartfelt and inventive novel about a family held together by stories and a young life caught in the current: a boy in search of greatness as a cure for a painful past. 

©2018 Markus Zusak (P)2018 Macmillan Australia Audio

Critic Reviews

"An amazing talent in Australian literature." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Exquisitely written multigenerational family saga.... With heft and historical scope, Zusak creates a sensitively rendered tale of loss, grief, and guilt's manifestations." (Publishers Weekly

"An evocative, compassionate and exquisitely composed coming-of-age story about family, love, tragedy and forgiveness. Zusak's prose is distinct: astute, witty, exquisitely rhythmic, and utterly engrossing. The deliberateness of his sentences, down to the punctuation is something to savour...a profoundly moving and engaging meditation on innocence and the pliable ties that bind family together in a quintessentially Australian setting." (Australian Books+Publishing Magazine)

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What listeners say about Bridge of Clay

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

couldn't finish it

This book tries too hard and makes for a difficult and uninspiring story. the Author reading the story made it dreary to listen to and I just couldn't finish the book

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding

A totally different style of writing to what I am used to, but presented with love and passion by the author, makes a great read.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I love this book!

I listen in the car on my 1.5 hour each way commute. I found myself eager to get up each morning to listen...eager for my usually dreaded commute!

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4 people found this helpful

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

How can a writer write a book after ‘The Bbok Theif’

With ‘Bridge of Clay’

Just finished this deep, heart filled and distinctly Australian work and yes, there are tears falling. There is so much to relate to in this work. The love, loss, the family bonds and the exquisite pain of loss and blankets of grief. And there is joy and hope ...always ...in this family, there wonder and respect and so much more...and it’s all built of Clay
Thank you Markus Zusac for telling

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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To offset my husband’s terrible review

My husband wrote a terrible review of this book. Everything he hated about it I loved. Especially I loved the rhythmic sentence structures - which were often more like a piece of art and a subtle poem rather than prose. The author read this book himself - his matter of fact, calm rendition exaggerated the beauty of the words. The story was passionate and loving and one of family love, loss and sadness. Highly recommended. P.S. from the "husband". The only problem with this review is it completely overwrote the one which I wrote and I still stick by my poor review! The worm turns?

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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So boring that I ended up returning the book

Both the story and the narration was uninspiring. Maybe the story did get good as it progressed but it so failed to engage me even slightly that after half an hour or so, I couldn’t face listening to any more!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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An emotional roller coaster

It takes a little time to get used to the constant backwards and forwards of the story but once you’re hooked it’s easier going A story full of pain and gut wrenching moments and one that will stay with you for a long time.I loved it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator

The narrator was so bad i couldn’t listen to it. I even tried it on 1.25 speed but it was unbearable. Shame because was potentially a good listen- think I will try just reading the book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A Beautiful Story

So beautifully told. Authentic and masterful writing. I have walked with the characters and sat in the kitchen and they will linger around the edges of my life for a long time.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

I loved the narration but mostly the love. Especially the freckles and the mule! Oh to be loved like that!!

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1 person found this helpful

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.