Jenny (Reading Envy)'s Reviews > Bridge of Birds

This was the February pick for the Sword and Laser, and I'm glad I read it. It feels more like a translation of a Chinese mythological tale than a novel written by a guy named Barry in 1984. That's a good thing, in my opinion. It has a lot of the humor found in bizarre characters and nonsensical cultural practices (because of an emperor's whim or fetishization, I am not saying that the Chinese are nonsensical) that I have seen in a lot of *actual* Chinese literature, and Japanese too. The fantasy elements are rampant in mythological beings, some characters who seem to live forever, and situations/people who don't quite follow the laws of nature.

The two main characters become Master Li and Ten Number Ox. Li has been consulted to cure the children from his village who are comatose after a silkworm incident, and they go on a quest for a legendary root. Master Li is quite a character, and always seems to know just enough to pull them into crazy adventures and out. Perhaps that is just his slight flaw?

Much of the story has beautiful imagery, and that adds to a pleasant and quick read.