A review by jcovey
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

5.0

One of my favorites. The writing occasionally betrays the fact that this was the authors first book, especially in the first third. But the book moves so fast and with such charm that you simply don't have time to dwell on the occasional clumsiness of the prose. The adventure is fast, thrilling, fun, and increasingly inventive but the real pleasure of the book is in the characters. Almost every single character, even the villains, is given surprising depth and humanity. It amazes me how many memorable characters this book can fit into its short length without seeming at all crowded. Simply having these characters would be enough to impress me, but the book manages to give so many of them their own stories full of tragedy and joy and then deliver all of them a beautifully satisfying ending.
The two sequels are equally fun and charming, but neither had the startling emotional resonance of Bridge of Birds.