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The Bridge of Clay

231 statements
44 feature instances
0 referencing feature instances

The Bridge of Clay	type	TVTItem
The Bridge of Clay	label	The Bridge of Clay
The Bridge of Clay	page	TheBridgeOfClay
The Bridge of Clay	comment	Bridge of Clay is a 2018 family novel by Australian writer Markus Zusak.Five Dunbar brothers grow up alone in a racing district of an unnamed Australian city. Their mother Penny, a Polish immigrant, has died, and their father Michael has left them. One day, however, the father comes back to ask his sons to help him build a bridge. The second youngest, Clay, agrees, even though other brothers view it as betrayal.
The Bridge of Clay	fetched	2024-02-12T08:04:33Z
The Bridge of Clay	parsed	2024-02-12T08:04:34Z
The Bridge of Clay	processingComment	Dropped link to APortraitOfTheArtistAsAYoungMan: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Bridge of Clay	processingComment	Dropped link to BachelorParty: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Bridge of Clay	processingComment	Dropped link to TheIliad: Not a Feature - ITEM
The Bridge of Clay	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Bridge of Clay / int_11b2e74f	type	An Immigrant's Tale
The Bridge of Clay / int_11b2e74f	comment	An Immigrant's Tale: Penelope Lesciuszko (later Penny Dunbar) emigrates to Australia from communist Poland.
The Bridge of Clay / int_11b2e74f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_11b2e74f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_11b2e74f
The Bridge of Clay / int_133cdcaa	type	Ominous Hair Loss
The Bridge of Clay / int_133cdcaa	comment	Ominous Hair Loss: Penny Dunbar is dying of cancer and undergoing chemo. She starts losing her beautiful blonde hair and in a very poignant scene asks her husband and five sons to cut it very short, because she can't stand losing whole strands of it.
The Bridge of Clay / int_133cdcaa	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_133cdcaa	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_133cdcaa
The Bridge of Clay / int_19209d54	type	Sibling Rivalry
The Bridge of Clay / int_19209d54	comment	Sibling Rivalry: Rory and Henry (the second and the third son, respectively) always fight over everything.
The Bridge of Clay / int_19209d54	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_19209d54	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_19209d54
The Bridge of Clay / int_1badfb3a	type	The Heart
The Bridge of Clay / int_1badfb3a	comment	The Heart: Tommy. The youngest of the brothers, loves animals (and later becomes a social worker). Referred to as the pet collector.
The Bridge of Clay / int_1badfb3a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_1badfb3a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_1badfb3a
The Bridge of Clay / int_20989d05	type	Parents as People
The Bridge of Clay / int_20989d05	comment	Parents as People: Both Michael and Penny have their own lives before and besides their five sons. And while they try really hard to be good parents, they are often overwhelmed.
The Bridge of Clay / int_20989d05	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_20989d05	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_20989d05
The Bridge of Clay / int_289406b1	type	Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher
The Bridge of Clay / int_289406b1	comment	Enthusiastic Newbie Teacher: Claudia is a new literature teacher who was also assigned the role of the school counsellor. While we don't see her much in her lessons, she takes the role of the counsellor (which nobody else wanted) very earnestly and really wants to help Rory and Clay cope with their mother's death and their father's disappearance. With Rory she is helpless, as the only thing he wants is to drop out of school and get some serious jobâ€”but Clay appreciates her very much.
The Bridge of Clay / int_289406b1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_289406b1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_289406b1
The Bridge of Clay / int_28cd01ca	type	Disappeared Dad
The Bridge of Clay / int_28cd01ca	comment	Disappeared Dad: Michael Dunbar to his sons. And Michael's father (he was a firefighter who was killed in a bush fire).
The Bridge of Clay / int_28cd01ca	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_28cd01ca	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_28cd01ca
The Bridge of Clay / int_297ab1b9	type	Parental Abandonment
The Bridge of Clay / int_297ab1b9	comment	Parental Abandonment: The Dunbar brothers have been abandoned by their father.
The Bridge of Clay / int_297ab1b9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_297ab1b9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_297ab1b9
The Bridge of Clay / int_34e1ef45	type	Unnamed Parent
The Bridge of Clay / int_34e1ef45	comment	Unnamed Parent: We nevel learn the names of Penny's mother and Michael's father.
The Bridge of Clay / int_34e1ef45	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_34e1ef45	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_34e1ef45
The Bridge of Clay / int_36ae9f5d	type	Traumatic Haircut
The Bridge of Clay / int_36ae9f5d	comment	Traumatic Haircut: Penny gets one when she starts losing hair due to chemo. She asks her sons and husband to do it.
The Bridge of Clay / int_36ae9f5d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_36ae9f5d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_36ae9f5d
The Bridge of Clay / int_3946634e	type	The Smart Guy
The Bridge of Clay / int_3946634e	comment	The Smart Guy: Clay. Intelligent, masters bridge-building just by reading several books, loves stories. Referred to as the smiler.
The Bridge of Clay / int_3946634e	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Bridge of Clay / int_4b9a9cef	type	Children Do the Housework
The Bridge of Clay / int_4b9a9cef	comment	Children Do the Housework: The Dunbar brothers basically raise themselves, which also means that they need to do all the household chores themselves.
The Bridge of Clay / int_4b9a9cef	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_4b9a9cef	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_4b9a9cef
The Bridge of Clay / int_4e3dee88	type	Their First Time
The Bridge of Clay / int_4e3dee88	comment	Their First Time: Shown with Abby and Matthew. Basically, she was the driving force, invited him to her place and guided him. Which later comes up as one of her complaints when she decides to leave him. And then there is Clay and Carey's first time, fully spontaneous after they've been together for a long time. Tragically, it is also their last time, as the girl dies on the very next morning as an indirect consequence of their love-making.
The Bridge of Clay / int_4e3dee88	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Bridge of Clay / int_500ecfb7	type	The Big Guy
The Bridge of Clay / int_500ecfb7	comment	The Big Guy: Rory. Although physically not bigger than his brothers, he loves brawling, is suspended several times and finally drops out of school at the earliest possible moment. Referred to as the human ball and chain.
The Bridge of Clay / int_500ecfb7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_500ecfb7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_500ecfb7
The Bridge of Clay / int_541094dc	type	School Is for Losers
The Bridge of Clay / int_541094dc	comment	School Is for Losers: Rory's attitude. He does everything to get suspended, is finally expelled (much to his rejoicing) and immediately goes to work.
The Bridge of Clay / int_541094dc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_541094dc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_541094dc
The Bridge of Clay / int_59af9477	type	Delinquents
The Bridge of Clay / int_59af9477	comment	Delinquents: Penny is offered a teaching job at Hyperno High, mostly because she was the only student-teacher who did not run away. And she gets individual remedial classes with the worst of them.
The Bridge of Clay / int_59af9477	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_59af9477	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Bridge of Clay / int_60b21fa3	type	The Lancer
The Bridge of Clay / int_60b21fa3	comment	The Lancer: Henry, smart, sarcastic, from a very young age involved in money-making schemes. Referred to as the money maker.
The Bridge of Clay / int_60b21fa3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_60b21fa3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_60b21fa3
The Bridge of Clay / int_60e49895	type	The Leader
The Bridge of Clay / int_60e49895	comment	The Leader: Matthew, the oldest, looking after the rest of his brothers. Within the book referred to as the breadwinner, the reliable one.
The Bridge of Clay / int_60e49895	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_60e49895	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_60e49895
The Bridge of Clay / int_65bc92fc	type	Four-Temperament Ensemble
The Bridge of Clay / int_65bc92fc	comment	Four-Temperament Ensemble: Matthew is eclectic — reasonable, responsible, not prone to any outbursts; Henry sanguine — most cheerful of the family, talkative and very good at haggling; Rory choleric — hard-working (that is, once he is expelled from school and gets "real" work), rude, loves drinking and brawling; Clay melancholic — introverted, emotional, talks very little; and Tommy phlegmatic — thoughtful, sympathetic and compassionate.
The Bridge of Clay / int_65bc92fc	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_65bc92fc	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_65bc92fc
The Bridge of Clay / int_66dfe36a	type	Missing Mom
The Bridge of Clay / int_66dfe36a	comment	Missing Mom: Penelope's mother died in childbirth.
The Bridge of Clay / int_66dfe36a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_66dfe36a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_66dfe36a
The Bridge of Clay / int_69681e01	type	Big Brother Instinct
The Bridge of Clay / int_69681e01	comment	Big Brother Instinct: Matthew towards his younger brothers, especially the two youngest, Clay and Tommy.
The Bridge of Clay / int_69681e01	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_69681e01	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_69681e01
The Bridge of Clay / int_6b35bdff	type	Serious Business
The Bridge of Clay / int_6b35bdff	comment	Serious Business: Horse Racing for Carey Novac, who is an apprentice jockey (and a daughter and sister of jockeys).
The Bridge of Clay / int_6b35bdff	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_6b35bdff	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_6b35bdff
The Bridge of Clay / int_6d892421	type	Teacher/Student Romance
The Bridge of Clay / int_6d892421	comment	Teacher/Student Romance: Or rather teacher and a former student/student's brother.
The Bridge of Clay / int_6d892421	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_6d892421	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_6d892421
The Bridge of Clay / int_71bc0919	type	Burn Baby Burn
The Bridge of Clay / int_71bc0919	comment	Burn Baby Burn: Dunbar brothers finally burn their parents' mattress that's been left on an abandoned field behind their house — and which is connected with Clay's tragic love.
The Bridge of Clay / int_71bc0919	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_71bc0919	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_71bc0919
The Bridge of Clay / int_7464705c	type	Arc Words
The Bridge of Clay / int_7464705c	comment	Arc Words: A lot, especially connected with water, such as "in the tide of Dunbar past", "on the waters still to come" and "spoils of freedom".
The Bridge of Clay / int_7464705c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_7464705c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_7464705c
The Bridge of Clay / int_863fac26	type	Jerk Jock
The Bridge of Clay / int_863fac26	comment	Jerk Jock: Juvenile boxer Jimmy Hartnell, who decides to bully Matthew Dunbar because of his piano lessons (to his mind, a boy who plays the piano, even forced by his mother, must be gay).
The Bridge of Clay / int_863fac26	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_863fac26	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_863fac26
The Bridge of Clay / int_99f7cf50	type	High-School Hustler
The Bridge of Clay / int_99f7cf50	comment	High-School Hustler: Henry. Smart, sarcastic, easy-going, always looking for a way to make some money. He uses Clay's training routine to collect bets from other teenagers.
The Bridge of Clay / int_99f7cf50	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_99f7cf50	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_99f7cf50
The Bridge of Clay / int_9f4513a7	type	Unusual Pets for Unusual People
The Bridge of Clay / int_9f4513a7	comment	Unusual Pets for Unusual People: Dunbars are not a typical family and their pets include: a cat, a dog, a goldfish, a pigeon and a mule. Named Hector, Rosy, Agamemnon, Telemachus and Achilles.
The Bridge of Clay / int_9f4513a7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_9f4513a7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_9f4513a7
The Bridge of Clay / int_a2dc61eb	type	How Dad Met Mom
The Bridge of Clay / int_a2dc61eb	comment	How Dad Met Mom: An important part of Dunbars' Back Story, involving a piano, a shop owner with atrocious handwriting and three incompetent piano men.
The Bridge of Clay / int_a2dc61eb	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_a2dc61eb	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_a2dc61eb
The Bridge of Clay / int_a4905771	type	Double-Meaning Title
The Bridge of Clay / int_a4905771	comment	Double-Meaning Title: As the author himself explains in the foreword, "clay" means material, as well as one of the brothers (Clay is short for Clayton).
The Bridge of Clay / int_a4905771	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_a4905771	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_a4905771
The Bridge of Clay / int_a49ec033	type	Married Too Young
The Bridge of Clay / int_a49ec033	comment	Married Too Young: Michael Dunbar gets married to his teenage love Abbey Hanley while they are still at university. She soon comes to regret it.
The Bridge of Clay / int_a49ec033	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_a49ec033	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_a49ec033
The Bridge of Clay / int_a56e3cba	type	Language Barrier
The Bridge of Clay / int_a56e3cba	comment	Language Barrier: Penny at first mangles English and speaks with a very heavy Polish accent.
The Bridge of Clay / int_a56e3cba	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_a56e3cba	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_a56e3cba
The Bridge of Clay / int_a939d96a	type	Adults Are Useless
The Bridge of Clay / int_a939d96a	comment	Adults Are Useless: Following Penny's death, Michael is becoming more and more absent, finally leaving them, and other adults, like school counselor, are pretty much clueless. And their elderly neighbour, Mrs Chilman, while she comes in from time to time to patch them up, basically believes teenagers are quite competent on their own, as in her times boys of similar age would be sent to fight in World War II.
The Bridge of Clay / int_a939d96a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_a939d96a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_a939d96a
The Bridge of Clay / int_b3d5845d	type	Getting Suspended Is Awesome
The Bridge of Clay / int_b3d5845d	comment	Getting Suspended Is Awesome: Rory hates school with all his heart and does things like throwing grapes at a teacher to get suspended. While suspended, he goes with Matthew to work, which he likes very much â€” and when Rory finally gets expelled, he promptly finds a job and is finally happy.
The Bridge of Clay / int_b3d5845d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_b3d5845d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_b3d5845d
The Bridge of Clay / int_b6cc7fc0	type	Dysfunctional Family
The Bridge of Clay / int_b6cc7fc0	comment	Dysfunctional Family: The Dunbars. Their mother has died, their father has left them and they are left to fend on their own, even if Matthew is barely 18 at that time.
The Bridge of Clay / int_b6cc7fc0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_b6cc7fc0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_b6cc7fc0
The Bridge of Clay / int_bad6069c	type	Imposed Handicap Training
The Bridge of Clay / int_bad6069c	comment	Imposed Handicap Training: Clay's a sprinter and his training routine is running up the stairs of an apartment block. With his younger brother Tommy on his back. And with his older brother Henry shouting abuse at him.
The Bridge of Clay / int_bad6069c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_bad6069c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_bad6069c
The Bridge of Clay / int_bec0417c	type	Happily Married
The Bridge of Clay / int_bec0417c	comment	Happily Married: Michael and Penny Dunbar. That is, until Penny dies. Later, Matthew and Claudia (even though they wait 11 years to actually get married).
The Bridge of Clay / int_bec0417c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_bec0417c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_bec0417c
The Bridge of Clay / int_c4e3afda	type	Mum Looks Like a Sister
The Bridge of Clay / int_c4e3afda	comment	Mum Looks Like a Sister: After getting a short haircut, Penny looks just like one of Dunbar boys.
The Bridge of Clay / int_c4e3afda	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_c4e3afda	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_c4e3afda
The Bridge of Clay / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
The Bridge of Clay / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: Names and phrases from The Iliad and The Odyssey appear on almost every page. Justified, as Penny (short for Penelope) Dunbar used to read them to her sons. Several films, including Bachelor Party, Gallipoli and Chariots of Fire all play an important role in the plot. Several chapter titles are direct or indirect shout-outs: Portrait of a killer as a middle-aged man, Birthday Girl, Death in the afternoon, The Big Sleep, Love in the time of chaos, The Burning Bed.
The Bridge of Clay / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_c75df49a
The Bridge of Clay / int_d66cd0e6	type	Training from Hell
The Bridge of Clay / int_d66cd0e6	comment	Training from Hell: Clay's running practice is brutal - running up the stairs in a tower block, with his younger brother on his back.
The Bridge of Clay / int_d66cd0e6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_d66cd0e6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_d66cd0e6
The Bridge of Clay / int_ea08e9	type	The Team
The Bridge of Clay / int_ea08e9	comment	The Team: Five Dunbar brothers together. Growing up on their own, they solve their problems together. The Leader: Matthew, the oldest, looking after the rest of his brothers. Within the book referred to as the breadwinner, the reliable one. The Lancer: Henry, smart, sarcastic, from a very young age involved in money-making schemes. Referred to as the money maker. The Big Guy: Rory. Although physically not bigger than his brothers, he loves brawling, is suspended several times and finally drops out of school at the earliest possible moment. Referred to as the human ball and chain. The Smart Guy: Clay. Intelligent, masters bridge-building just by reading several books, loves stories. Referred to as the smiler. The Heart: Tommy. The youngest of the brothers, loves animals (and later becomes a social worker). Referred to as the pet collector.
The Bridge of Clay / int_ea08e9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_ea08e9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_ea08e9
The Bridge of Clay / int_f12d9d83	type	Promotion to Parent
The Bridge of Clay / int_f12d9d83	comment	Promotion to Parent: When Penny dies and Michael leaves his sons, the oldes, Matthew, becomes the head of the family.
The Bridge of Clay / int_f12d9d83	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_f12d9d83	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_f12d9d83
The Bridge of Clay / int_f4bd7b24	type	Dustbin School
The Bridge of Clay / int_f4bd7b24	comment	Dustbin School: Hyperno High, the worst school in the city, where Penny gets her teaching job.
The Bridge of Clay / int_f4bd7b24	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_f4bd7b24	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_f4bd7b24
The Bridge of Clay / int_name	type	ItemName
The Bridge of Clay / int_name	comment
The Bridge of Clay / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
The Bridge of Clay / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Bridge of Clay	hasFeature	The Bridge of Clay / int_name
The Bridge of Clay / int_name	itemName	The Bridge of Clay

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