It can be hard to follow up one of the most beloved books of all-time.
Now, 13 years later, Zusak is finally publishing another book.
No pressure, right?
Credit: Elena Seibert; Random House Children’s Books
Clay, at least, agrees to join him.
Yet what truly stands out aboutBridge of Clayis the intensity of the prose the potency of the heartbreak.
This was more than a decade in the making and a true test for its author.
I lost belief in myself for a long time, Zusak reveals.
But Zusak knew it to be his next project afterThe Book Thief.
When you start with that mentality, you immediately put pressure on yourself.
That pressure lasted for two decades.
Initially, for instance,Bridge of Claywas framed by the narration of the Dunbar boys old neighbor.
[Its] narrated by death; you know everyone dies; [over] 500 pages?
He believes this book demands more of his reader than anything hes written before.
Even more consciously thanThe Book Thief, I was making the world of this family, he explains.
Its a slower build.
The details are more intricate.
Nuggets dropped or questions asked in the first hundred or so pages pay off in the books back half.
I just wanted to ask the reader to do a bit more work in that way, Zusak says.
In that way, perhaps, the experience of readingBridge of Claymay appropriately mirror Zusaks experience of writing it.
I hope so, anyway.
I might still be in the glow of the fact that its actually written, he says.
Its done the book I was at war with for such a long time.
The real jobs been done.
Bridge of Clayis nowavailable for purchase.
Below, listen to an exclusive clip of Zusak reading from theofficial audiobook.
