Bridge of Clay Review

Some books are so powerful that they stay with you forever, haunting: this is one of them.

Bridge of Clay. In the beginning this book was unassuming, a simple, run-of-the-mill story about family. Or so I thought. By the end of this book I was stunned, crying in bed, because this is the most perfectly executed book I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

This is a book about family, about brotherhood, about love, about a typewriter. It is a book about grief, loss and redemption. It is about the Dunbar boys; the bonds they make, the relationships they have, the things they treasure.

When I finished this book, I was drained. I physically couldn't start another book - because what's the point? After reading something so poignant, so perfect, why read anything else again? I picked this book up because I loved The Book Thief, also written by Markus Zusak - this book couldn't be more different, and yet, strangely, it was the same. In the corners of this book loiters death, but leading the charge is life, love and family.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Each time I think about it I feel teary-eyed and shell-shocked. It's a book that defies expectations, it worms its way into your heart and it stays there, haunting. I know this is a book that will never leave me - and that's fine with me.