Bridge of Clay

Michael approaches his sons for help building a bridge on his property. Of the five boys, Clay is the only one who joins him in this endeavor, and the two build the bridge by hand over the course of months. The bridge itself is a piece of art, cementing Clay as an artist; however, the bridge is also the symbol of reconciliation, a request and gift of forgiveness stemming from a place of familial love. The bridge gives Clay the chance to get to know his father again, which in turn allows him to tell his brothers about Michael. This shift from rage to curiosity builds so that the boys one day visit the bridge and their father, reconnecting after years of abandonment and hurt. They play football in the shadow of the bridge, engaging in familial bonding under the supervision of their own symbolic reconciliation.

The bridge, to Clay, is also a memorial to the people he has lost. Part of the reason for joining his father is that he continues to mourn Penelope and struggles with how much he misses her. The act of building the bridge is very physical, an extension of Clay’s earlier acts of self-harm that he enacts in a state of grief. He pushes himself to the extreme to give his family reconciliation to honor Penelope’s memory. After Carey dies, he doubles down on these efforts, working for 120 days until the bridge is complete. It thus stands as an immortal testament to the women he has loved; proof of his survival and undying love for them.

The Dunbar boys have varying levels of education, much of which is driven by their grief and difficulty finding their way in life. One constant throughout their childhood and adulthood, however, is the enjoyment of reading. Clay and Matthew in particular love books, a love that eventually connects Matthew to Claudia. There are three repeated books that come up across the novel: The Odyssey, The Iliad, and the fictional book The Quarryman. These books serve to connect the Dunbar boys to their parents and their family history. The Greek texts were brought to Australia by Penelope and instilled in the boys a love of strength and adventure. They read the books to comfort each other, reminding themselves that people can be heroes. The Quarryman, however, serves to connect Clay to his father before his father’s return. Because Clay is the novel’s storyteller, he shows an interest in his parents that goes beyond what his brothers feel. He and Carey read The Quarryman to gain an understanding of Michael, especially the version of Michael that existed before he met Penelope. It shows that Clay has not rejected his father the way his brothers have and instead is open to reconciliation.