Bridge of Clay

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue and Part 1, Chapters 1-12

Part 2, Chapters 13-26

Part 3, Chapters 27-38

Part 4, Chapters 39-50

Part 5, Chapters 51-62

Part 6, Chapters 63-74

Part 7, Chapters 75-88

Part 8, Chapters 89-100 and Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Background

Authorial Context: Markus Zusak

Zusak is a native of Australia and was born in Sydney in 1975, the youngest of four children to Austrian and German parents. He was encouraged to read and write at an early age and specialized in English and education for his college years. Zusak has authored a young adult trilogy and two other young adult novels in addition to Bridge of Clay; however, his novel The Book Thief is occasionally marketed toward adults, and the United States was the only country which published Bridge of Clay as a young adult novel (“Markus Zusak Biography.” Chicago Public Library). Zusak lives in Sydney with his wife and children. Many of his novels feature themes connected to family, loss, forgiveness, and growth.

More than a decade separated the publication of Bridge of Clay and Zusak’s last work, The Book Thief. He had the idea for the book as early as 1998, making it a novel 20 years in the making. He has been very open with his struggle to maintain consistency and voice, as well as his different experiments with swapping characters, narrators, and perspectives. Zusak also noted that following the success of The Book Thief, there was a substantial amount of anxiety that stemmed from publishing another book and worrying about its reception. He spent periods putting the book away to refresh his passion for it (Grochowski, Sara. “A Conversation with Markus Zusak.” Publishers Weekly).

There are several clear parallels between Bridge of Clay and Zusak’s life. The setting is in his home city of Sydney, Australia, and he also grew up with multiple siblings. His parents are the clearest parallel, as both their immigrant status and passion for education are seen in Penelope Dunbar.

Geo-historical Context: Australia and Sydney

Australia is the smallest continent but one of the largest countries on Earth. It was first inhabited by Aboriginal voyagers an estimated 60,000 years before explorers from Southeastern Asia, Portugal, and England landed on its shores. In 1786, the British government began a colonization effort that was highly controversial in that it relied on prisoners from overpopulated incarceration institutions to populate the developing settlements. This practice continued for decades, devastating Indigenous populations as much of the colonial expansion came from the theft of wealth from Aboriginal people. In 1901, Australia became independent but maintained the British monarchy’s status as a symbolic leader (“History of Australia.” Britannica).

While the city in which the novel is set is never named, it can be assumed that the novel takes place in Sydney, New South Wales, as the Sydney Opera House is mentioned toward the story’s end. The population of Sydney is small compared to many United States cities, home to approximately 170,000 people. Of the area classified as Sydney, only one-third of it is noted as urban, with much of its area covered by suburban sprawl. Australia welcomed many refugees from European and Asian countries after World War II, many of whom settled in Sydney (Pringle, John Douglas. “Sydney.” Britannica, 24 Feb. 2023). The suburb the Dunbars live in is never specifically named and is assumed to be fictional.