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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book for Everyone, June 7, 2005
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart is a work of sheer outlandish fiction. It is a beast of a book at 652 pages long and is not for the faint of literary heart, but once you finish the book, you realize how much you really loved it and wanted more. This book fulfill the axiom of "you don't know what you have until it is gone".
The use of cliffhangers made this plot of coming of age a truly fast and addictive read. In the book, a country boy named Number Ten Ox from the village of Ku Fu must embark on a journey across China with the sage Master Li, who has a slight flaw in his character, to save the children of Ox's village from a terrible affliction. On the way they meet up with any number of foul and despicable villains and foil them with a devilishly clever series of tricks concocted by Master Li and inflicted by Ox. A great example is their sales pitch of a goat that can defecate gold while eating nothing but garbage, but what the buyer doesn't hear is this description. " The servant brought up the rear dragging a cart filled with garbage and cheap copper disks covered in gold leaf with a goat tethered to it."
I found the book unique because of the characters. Characters often recur and appear in different roles each time. Several villains, after being tricked by the dynamic duo see the error of their ways and come back into the story as supporting protagonists. However, the role of protagonist is slightly blurred, and this gives the book its strange appeal. It is hard to distinguish which characters are right. The villains are seen through the eyes of Ox and Master Li, but some of the tricks of these two are just as dastardly as the plots of the villains. However, with the fate of the children in their hands, Ox and Master Li seem to have Right on their side, and that makes you care. The moral ambiguity in the book reflects life and I believe that Hughart was trying to apply this story to real life. As with real life, there is nor a clear sense of Right and Wrong when it comes to some issues.
This is a beautifully written book in the sense of pure, rich description. "Master Li and I dazzled the eyes in tunics of sea-green silk that were secured by silver girdles with borders of jade. The jeweled pendants that dangled from our fine tasseled hats tinkled in the breeze, and we languidly waved gold-spattered Szech'uen fans." Also, the story construction leaves the reader interested and, often, wanting more and more. The author uses cliffhangers, such as this one, to help the book along. Ox and Master Li cause a disturbance in a resort town owned by a powerful duke and they have been sentenced to death in a labyrinth flooded by the tides. "Slim dark shapes were sliding across the dark floor like snakes. It was water, and the tide was coming in" There is a distinct uncertainty about how it is going to turn out for our heroes and the reader wants to find out more. The author also keeps the story moving with humor as when Ox meets the beautiful Lotus Flower and falls instantly and implacably in love with her. "'My surname is Lu and my personal name is Yu, but I am not to be confused with the eminent author of The Classic of Tea, and everyone calls me Number Ten Ox,' I moaned. She laughed softly and she said, 'I shall call you Boopsie.'"
You can tell by the above description and quotes from the book that the characters were not exactly designed by a Chinese author. Barry Hughart was born in the Midwest and was raised in Arizona. He did serve a tour of duty in Japan, and, interestingly, he developed a love affair with China from his experiences there. However, the critics seem to agree with me. They say that it should not be missed and are " a witty and original romp" and an "Oriental bouillabaisse of adventure and mystery". The critics and I seem to be in agreement that this is the perfect book for those who thirst for adventure, but need it mixed with some humor and fantasy to drink a whole glass. In other words, if you are an avid fantasy fan, a fan of Oriental literature, or just someone who likes a well written, funny book, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox is truly the book for you
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wickedly sly and unexpectedly moving, December 13, 2008
For years "Bridge of Birds," the first book in the chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, was my Christmas gift of choice. I must have purchased at least three dozens copies for friends over the years. When the entire Chronicles was published together about ten years ago, I happily bought the edition to have a hard cover copy of all three stories in one place, even though I still had each of the original books separately. Simply put these books are hilariously funny, heart-achingly moving, and superbly and beautifully written.
The Chronicles consist of three books based on folkloric Chinese ghost stories. In Bridge of Birds we meet the two main characters. Number Ten Ox is a strapping young man from a peasant village in which all the children between the ages of eight and thirteen have fallen into a coma-like stupor. He travels to Peking with the collected savings of the village to find a wise man who can figure out how a plague can learn to count. Unfortunately, or so it seems, his village is a poor one, and all he can afford is Master Li, a 100+year-old, alcoholic sage with, as he describes it, a slight flaw in his character. The two set off on an adventure that takes them all over China and brings them into contact with such wonderful characters as Miser Chen, Doctor Death, Pawnbroker Fang, Ma the Grub, One-Eyed Wong, the Ancestress, Henpecked Ho, Cut-Off-Their-Balls Wong and Lotus Cloud.
Bridge of Birds is at once a clever mystery, a beautiful love story, and a wickedly funny farce in which the same crazy and wonderful characters keep popping up in amusing new situations. Barry Hughart has taken some of the most popular myths and stories of our time and anachronistically transported them back to a fantastical ancient China to create a simply delightful book. Think of a dungeon and dragons game for intelligent and well-read adults. It not only makes me laugh out loud every time I read it, its exploration of the true meaning of love and generosity also makes me cry.
The next two books in the series, The Story of the Stone and Eight Skilled Gentlemen aren't as strong as Bridge of Birds, but they are still wonderful and playful explorations of Chinese mythology and any book that contains characters like Number Ten Ox and Master Li is alright by me. I've finally reluctantly accepted that Barry Hughart isn't going to write any more books about these two characters, but at least we have these three and that is no small blessing.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly superlative, December 19, 2008
I rarely review books, however.... Mere words fail to describe the sheer genius that are the Mr. Hughart's efforts on Master Li and Number Ten Ox. The three books in this omnibus are so cleverly written, so unfailingly humorous and so totally poignant that other works will hereafter be spoiled for me. The author does state that he could have written more adventures for these characters after these three, but that they would have been formulaic, and what would be the point in that? As accurate as that may be, I mourn the fact that the world has no more to look forward to from this amazing author and his two phenomenal characters. Should he write anything else, I will snap it up. I also know that I will re-read these books in the future and approach that task with absolute glee, that I am given the chance to do so.
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