http://www.leftfield.org/~rawdon/book... ( )

This omnibus edition comprises
1) Bridge of Birds,
2) The Story of the Stone, and
3)Eight Skilled Gentlemen.
The first novel is one of the best fantasies I have read. The second is very, very good, and the third is well worth reading.

It is a story about Master Li (a sage with a slight flaw in his character) and Number ten Ox, his peasant friend and assistent. They solve mysteries and crimes in sixth century China, and their antics and the world they live in are extremely quirky and interesting. Even more quirky and fascinating are the characters that populate this world, up to and including the Celestial Beaurocracy.

You fall in love with the characters, sympathize with their trials and tribulations, try to figure out what Master Li is thinking, and become immersed in their lives and in trying to help. The books have a purity and honesty of feeling that is rare these days.

While Barry Hughart only wrote three novels to my knowledge, I am happy he managed to produce these three objects of beauty and delight. ( )

This is a compendium of three excellent books which take place in a historical China that didn't exactly exist. In the books, which are set in China's distant past, mythical creatures and deities rub elbows with peasants and Confucian scholars. The books are a combination of historical mystery, farce and historical fiction. This is a brilliant, hilarious compelling collection everyone should read. ( )

See my">http://www.librarything.com/catalog.p... review of the first of the three books.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.p... ( )