“Bridge of Birds” by Barry Hughart

“Bridge of Birds” is the first story in the “Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox” by Barry Hughart.  This was the book that Patrick Rothfuss raved about on his blog when he promoted the Humble Bundle sale I spoke of in a previous blog post.  To be honest, it took me a while to get into the story, but I think that was because I am unfamiliar with Chinese customs and mythology.

This is the story of a simple peasant boy from a small village in China who went on an adventure to save the children of his village.  He lived in the village of Ku-fu in the valley of Cho, and their main industry was silk manufacturing.  Every year, during the harvest, they have a specific set of rituals to ensure prosperity.  However, on this particular year, the harvest was going so well, until it completely and utterly failed.  And every child between the ages of 8 and 13 also fell terribly ill.  Number Ten Ox, so named because his birth order and strength, was sent to the local city to hire a wise man to cure the children.  The only one who bothered to listen to his story was Li Kao.  His surname is Li and his personal name is Kao, and there is a slight flaw in his character.

Li Kao turns out to be a degenerate and and drunk, but he is also brilliant.  He quickly figures out the cause of the illness, the two village wealthy men poisoned the leaves that the silk moths ate.  And he soon figured out that the only way to cure the children was to find the Great Root of Power.  The most powerful of Ginseng roots, which is owned by the evil Duke of Chi’n. Thus begins Number Ten Oxes adventure of a lifetime.  They uncover secrets and mysteries and legends.  Number Ten Ox falls madly in love with a plain looking girl with a heart of gold.  Or rather, a heart of Jade and Pearls.

I will tell you I was genuinely surprised at the final plot twist.  I knew everything would wrap up in a neat bow, because that was the shape of the story.  But the how of it was truly alluring.  I am already beginning the next story of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, “The Story of the Stone,” and I expect it to be equally enthralling.  This is why: the very things that made “Bridge of Birds” so hard to get into are what made it so wonderful.  It was refreshing to read something so completely different than what I am used to.