64 pages • 2 hours read
Markus ZusakA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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.
By Markus Zusak
Books & Literature
View Collection
Brothers & Sisters
View Collection
Daughters & Sons
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Fathers
View Collection
Forgiveness
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Guilt
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Loyalty & Betrayal
View Collection
Marriage
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Mothers
View Collection
Order & Chaos
View Collection
Realistic Fiction (High School)
View Collection
The Best of "Best Book" Lists
View Collection
The Past
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection