Bridge of Birds

My full review can be found at SFF Book Review.

I had a lot of trouble finding into this book. My suspicion is that it is much more accessible for people with any knowledge of ancient Chinese mythology. Since my knowledge was limited to a movie adaptation of “Journey to the West” I am sure I missed at least half the tongue-in-cheek references to other tales and legends.

But even without knowing anything about Chinese mythology, this can be enjoyed purely for the fun. Master Li, a wise man with a slight flaw in his character, and Number Ten Ox, travel around China, meet a delightful group of people, solve mysteries, break curses, and get almost killed more than once. Despite the slimness of this novel, there were edge-of-your-seat momentso f action, little moments of depth and many, many quotable bits.

Once I knew what kind of story I had stumbled into, I could thorougly enjoy it. I laughed, I was shocked, and I tried guessing along with Master Li. A highly recommended, wonderfully fresh fantasy novel (despite its publication in 1985) that should be enjoyed by any fantasy fan who likes fun.

8/10 - Excellent

This year I have read many books so far, discovering some truly excellent ones. Seriously, it seems like a pretty good year for reading to me. Bridge of Birds was one of my absolute favourites, though, so grab a drink and prepare for the gushing that is about to happen here. It's not going to be graceful and it's probably not too valuable to anyone who reads it.
I don't really mind.

Number Ten Ox is a nice person living in ancient China, a young man who is not particularly brilliant, but is a generally good one. An orphan, but not really a damaged, poor sod. In his village a mysterious illness makes every child between the age of 8 and 13 to end up in a come, heading straight to death and of course someone like Number Ten Ox can't just let that happen, so he goes to find a wise man to help him cure the children.
He ends up with Master Li, who is wise for sure and really cunning, but a bit of a senior troublemaker. The two of them have to go through everything to save the children and uncover many mysteries and help strangers, some of them dead for centuries already.

The whole thing reads like the most charming, witty, entertaining folk story for real, it doesn't just sound like that. It has life, it truly shines as a hearty tale of hilarious heroes and some sort of a positive, wise outlook on life. It just made me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, okay? Don't judge me, but this thing was what I needed. You know, sweater weather and all that.
But really, Mr. Hughart managed to create something that feels alive, like a story you could imagine people telling each other, maybe piece by piece, then forming one coherent story, like the mysteries the characters solve, that also formed one big thing that wraps up nicely.

Now the setting is ancient China, which, again, was solved with triumphs of storytelling. You DO feel like the prose takes you to a whole different era and place and it absolutely (thankfully) lacks any form of signifier of being created in the 80's. No, you won't think of that time, you will feel like you are actually getting something much older.
At the same time the “Chinese feel” doesn't distance it from you. At least I never felt like I couldn't follow because of the cultural differences. It just felt... right. Like it was some sort of a universally enjoyable story with values for everyone, really. Timeless, I say.

The character all started out as these typical, slightly over the top fairy tale people, as it is customary in stories like this. But then the author did these things when somehow they managed to rise above that. Some moments were generally touching, not gonna lie, I even cried once or twice.
For a book that was so incredibly hilarious, it had really deep moment of true emotion and beautiful scenes.

It's really hard to write anything else. You have to experience this book. I'm kind of baffled by it not being all that known; this is the kind of treat that deserves to be out there, accessible for everyone and receiving more love. I guess another book I will try to make people read?

Now go and track down your copy (it will be an adventure of its own, Chinese wise man not included)!

There must be a slight flaw in my character because I couldn't put this book down. Li Kao and Number Ten Ox are right up there with the greatest of mythical heroes. More wine please.