Discovering Markus Zusak
- sekrigsman
- Aug 19, 2021
- 2 min read
One of my favorite books in the WWII genre, or any other, is Markus Zusak’s ‘The Book Thief’. Beautifully written and in particular, hauntingly narrated, it is a book that nestles in your heart so you find yourself, years later, still thinking on it. It was also the gateway novel to now, one of my favorite authors (Australian or otherwise). I was so pleased to spend an hour recently listening to my relative interview him on his podcast. I felt the thrill of ‘one degree of separation’ with an author I so admire.
If you have a spare hour (in my case, waiting for my car to be serviced was just about perfect!), have a listen:
In my time as a book reviewer for our local paper, I picked up another of Zusak’s books. It is a slower, longer ride than the Book Thief, but worth the journey.
Bridge of Clay: A review of the novel by Markus Zusak
Australian novelist Zusak returns to his roots with the hypnotizing novel, Bridge of Clay. After receiving renown the world over for The Book Thief, Bridge of Clay emerges from the dusty, parched streets of Sydney as a love song to the hard-fought, calloused lives of the working class. Abandoned by their father after the death of their mother, the five Dunbar boys are left to do life on their own. Their history is chronicled by the oldest brother Matthew, but the story itself belongs to the forth brother, Clay. Intertwined with the immigrant past of their beloved mother, Penny, and the “Murderer”, their father Michael, the Dunbar family is flung apart and held together through life’s ordinary and extraordinary events. Zusak uses language like an artists brush as he paints their world in the sun drenched, thirsty landscape of outer Sydney. With poetry of lofty heights and soul crushing pain, the Dunbar family finds hope and wholeness through the betrayal and loyalty of Clay, and the bridge he builds and becomes to save them.
Commentaires