Reviews

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

elaryen's review

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Terry Pratchett meets Ancient Cina. And I always had Po before my eyes when the book talked about Ten Ox

timinbc's review

5.0

This book is in my all-time top five. I have bought three extra copies to give to friends.
It's an adventure, a romance, a mystery, a history book, and a comedy all in one.

Its two main characters are as good as any I've ever read.

And every once in a while, you get the feeling that the narrator is looking out at you and winking. It's funny and clever, and you feel smarter for having read it. It pokes fun at human foibles by having the hero take advantage of them time after time.

If you've ever taken a chance on a book just because someone said it was good, do it for this one.

The good news: There are two other books set in the same world.
The bad news: There are only two.

storyjuiceman's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

bubbledncr's review

5.0

Very good book. An easy read, loved the tone and the personality of the characters. Funny, but also emotional, and you can't predict where the story is going to go next.

rintare's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual assault

mynameisjeff's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

coris's review

4.0

There are two sides to this story.  One is the whimsical fable, the story and MCs romping along and everything coming right at the end.  The other is the heavy male gaze, and how every empowered woman is a bitch to be taken down, and unempowered women are prizes for the men to be won.  

Yes, written in the Eighties, but still.  I'd recommend it as a product of its time, rather than as a timeless classic, which with just a little more enlightenment, it really could have been.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, Sexism, and Torture

ghempel's review

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

metalphoenix's review

4.0

I'm really glad I stuck with this story until the end, because that was a pretty wonderful wrap up to a well-crafted story. Things tie together in the way any good mystery should, and was made even better due to its fantastical elements. The book started off with a bit of a slapstick humor vibe that was not initially very easy for me to get into, but as the story progressed and more of the mystery began to be revealed, it shifted nicely into an interesting tale of mysticism and fantasy.

I was a little put off by some of the unnecessary descriptive violence (such as

Spoiler

Henpecked Ho brutally murdering the Ancestress and her daughters, or the Shirt of Iron

) in what otherwise felt like a children's fable: i.e. a story about saving the pure hearts of children, true love, and the almost comically exaggerated greed and cruelty of an evil man. I don't mind violence in stories where I'm expecting it, but it just seemed out of place here at times.

All in all, this was a great Quest story, and a fun read.

dandelionsteph's review

I flipped to a random page and immediately encountered an extraneous passage of sexual content.