SALT LAKE CITY — When you’re Markus Zusak, the best-selling and award-winning author whose previous megahit was translated into more than 30 languages and adapted into a major studio film, writing the next book is no easy task.
“‘The Book Thief’ is why it took me so long to write (‘Bridge of Clay’),” said Zusak, who visits Rowland Hall in Salt Lake City on Oct. 20, during a recent interview. “With the success of a book, the door opens wide that lets a lot of opportunities in, but other things come in that make you question if you can do it again.”
While Zusak has authored six books, it was his 2005 historical novel, “The Book Thief,” that brought him international fame. In the 13 years between “The Book Thief” and his latest, “Bridge of Clay,” (Penguin Random House, 544 pages) the Australian author pushed through his insecurities and pushed himself as a writer.
“The one thing I’ve wanted to do is not write the same book twice,” Zusak said. “I want to write books that I’m not quite capable of writing, that are better than me, to try to do something that’s just out of reach. So it took a lot of belief in myself to write this book.”
Even if he didn’t feel quite ready to write it, Zusak thought his idea for “Bridge of Clay” was his best idea yet. It started with a boy and a bridge. From there, it grew into a book about five brothers who live in a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and how they cope with the secrets of their past and what those secrets mean for their future. The story centers on one of those brothers, Clay Dunbar, who's constructing a bridge that will hopefully survive when the river floods.
“I wanted to write a whole world of the character, both internal and the world that turns around him, something that felt big in that way but at the same time intimate,” he said. “So you’re trying to do all these things and it’s an elusive thing to hold.”
While stewing over this latest book, Zusak spent his days thinking about Clay and his bridge, and accruing the little bits that become important to the story.
“You don’t understand how important these details are until they sit on top of the previous detail and there’s another on top of that and it all starts coming together,” he said.
And in this phase, which Zusak called “meticulous planning,” he realized what he needed to discover to write the book: He needed to fully understand Clay.
“Clay’s a character who wants to make one beautiful perfect thing,” Zusak said, “and in understanding his world you understand why he needs to do that.
“It felt right because Clay is building a bridge, and the writing is also a bridge between the writing of Clay’s story and the ending of it,” he continued.
The more Zusak dug into the Dunbar brothers' story, and especially Clay's, he realized one's past is always there — in his characters and in him, as a writer and a man.
“That’s how we live. We take everything that’s happened before us with us,” Zusak said. “We all exist because of a certain set of circumstances and small miracles. And I’m loathe to use the word journey, but we’re all traveling somewhere and we’re taking a whole lot of stuff with us.”
Since its release 13 years ago, “The Book Thief” has topped many book clubs' and individuals' favorite book lists. It stayed on The New York Times' best-seller list for more than 500 weeks, and the film version, staring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, grossed over $76 million worldwide. If those fans and readers wonder whether “Bridge of Clay” could find their way into their hearts as its predecessor did, Zusak said this:
“What I do know is that ‘The Book Thief’ meant everything to me, and ‘Bridge of Clay’ means probably even more to me than that.”
If you go …
What: Markus Zusak “Bridge of Clay” reading and book signing
When: Saturday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m.
Where: Larimer Auditorium, Rowland Hall, 843 Lincoln St.
How much: $27.90. General admission ticket includes one autographed copy of “Bridge of Clay.”
Web: kingsenglish.com