What I Am Reading - A Bridge of Birds...

Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was

Barry Hughart

278 pages, read it in paperback.

Barry Hughart is currently 78 years old and resides in Illinois.  He first fell in love with the orient while serving in the military during the wake of the Korean War.  There really is not that much listed on this fellow but he is adequately educated and even ran a book store for a few years.  I stumbled upon this in my suggested reading on Goodreads and the high ratings and colorful reviews told me to give it a swing.  From what I gather, this is the first in a series of three and while Hughart had planned on writing seven total, a dispute with publishers and some sort of internal issue with the publishing business means we won’t be seeing anymore but the three.  Shame, as this was a fun read and currently only thing Hughart is attributed to, aside from some script writing on shows I have never heard of.

A Bridge of Birds follows the adventures of Number Ten Ox (he's the tenth son and incredibly strong) and Master Li (who has a slight flaw in his character) as they attempt to save Number Ten Ox's village children from a inexplicable plague that has learned to count.  Number Ten Ox is enlisted to travel to Peking to search for a wise man to help them find a cure.  After all of the other wise men refuse employment for such a meager sum, Number Ten Ox finds a sign depicting a half opened eye.  This leads to the gainful employment of Master Li, who has a slight flaw in his character.  Upon returning to the village Master Li is able to ascertain the a cure for the plague and accompanied with Number Ten Ox they set out immediately for a legendary ginseng plant.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reading the other two in the set.  At times it moved to fast but when it did it was for the best.  I loved Master Li, and the slight flaw in his character, it made for some funny moments.  The encounters are fun and they are all tied together nicely.  If you are looking for a quick read that blends storytelling with Chines mythology I would highly recommend it.