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Title: Bridge of Birds : A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart ISBN: 0-345-32138-3 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 12 April, 1985 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.85 (137 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful!
Comment: I've read this book at least three times in quick succession just in the past few weeks, and I could still go for more! A lovely, enchanting adventure story, filled with tons of hilarious laugh-out-loud bits (learn how to kill your enemies using only a pornographic novel and arsenic!), mysteries to unravel, and tragic legends. Number Ten Ox is a great protagonist, and he and Master Li make an unstoppable team! I can't wait to read their other stories. Too bad that Barry Hughart didn't complete all 7 novels about them...
Rating: 5
Summary: Makes your heart ache that this book is merely fiction
Comment: I still remember reading this book in one sitting, unable to put it down due to not wanting to leave the feeling of wonder it generated. I bought it when it first came out, and read it about 6 times over the space of 2 years. Between that and forcing everyone I know to read it, it had pretty much disintregated, but I had held onto it until my parents lost it in a move. I just bought it again and made my wife read it for the first time, and she's buying copies for her book club to read. Trust me on this. This book is one of those rare places magic lives.
Rating: 3
Summary: Humorous and Entertaining
Comment: _
Reviewed by Randy Farnsworth, author of "A Stand Yet Taken".
This was a very fun book to read. It's not a literary masterpiece with deep meanings that your English Literature professor will ask you to dissect; it's just an enjoyable romp around ancient China with a cast of eccentric characters.
Hughart has a way of mixing fact, history and folklore with his own fiction that produces a very credible tale. He really has a grasp on Chinese culture and traditions. I truly respect a writer that is willing to do so much research prior to penning a manuscript. I think this is very much written for a Western audience. Having a limited background in Sinology myself, I wonder how a Chinese reader would accept this - especially if it is translated into Chinese, which would cause the reader to loose much of the English plays on words.
As for his writing style, there is a great deal of subtle humor along with overt comedic scenes. I found myself laughing out loud at the balloon flatulence scene, as sophomoric as it was. However, some of the writing is so fast-paced that I had to re-read several sections to figure out what had happened.
The story is a bit crude in parts, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger children. The characters seem to have a great fixation with sex. That adds to their eccentricity, but I don't feel it really adds to the story much. But the conclusion of the book is written in a very heartwarming and sensitive way - one of those where you put the book down after the last page, take a deep breath, and thank the author for taking you on a pleasurable journey.
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Title: Eight Skilled Gentlemen by Barry Hughart ISBN: 0385417101 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 December, 1990 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart ISBN: 0385246366 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 01 May, 1988 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori, Book One by Lian Hearn ISBN: 1573222259 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 22 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Initiate Brother Book One by Sean Russell ISBN: 0886774667 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Brilliance of the Moon (Tales of the Otori, Book 3) by Lian Hearn ISBN: 1573222704 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 03 June, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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