Author Marcus Zusak Reveals Process Behind "Bridge Of Clay"

Thirteen years after the release of his internationally bestselling novel, The Book Thief, author Marcus Zusak has emerged with a novel he describes as his most personal yet. Bridge of Clay tells the story of five brothers living alone together after their mother's death and their father's abandonment. The fourth brother dreams of achieving greatness through building a bridge. As the nonlinear plot jumps through time, the many pieces of the boys' lives are revealed. Zusak says the first spark of inspiration for the novel came to him more than 20 years ago while walking around Sydney, Australia. He began imagining a boy by the name of Clayton crafting a bridge. "It was always about that idea of this kid that wanted to build this beautiful thing," Zusak says. He rewrote multiple manuscripts over the course of 20 years before settling on its finalized version. At times, he halted the novel completely while laboring over the details. Zusak edited the book so meticulously he knew all of the