The Story of the Stone

I found this volume a little more confusing than Bridge of Birds, but in the end I think I liked it a little more. Hughart maintains the same faux-fairy tale tone which I really enjoy. The way characters and coincidence weave in and out makes the story feel older than it really is. Some of the coincidences get a little hard to believe, but the tone makes this forgivable.

What I really enjoyed about the book though was the way it played with gender and sexuality. reGrief of Dawn and Moon Boy just fascinate me, and I'd have to think most authors would have swapped their gender. They are both intriguing characters without any sense of impropriety or jealousy, and that makes them pretty unique in the field of literature. Their love for each other is a pure thing despite the fact that they sleep with whoever and whatever they like/gets them to their goal. It's very weird and at times awkward, but that juxtaposition is so intriguing I'll overlook the weirdness.

Master Li remains a great character, a trickster of the old school. Ox develops into a bit more of a character, I think. He has more emotions, more opinions despite his innocence. I'm curious to see how he grows in the third book.

My one disappointment is that having read Bridge of Birds, it was pretty easy to guess who the real villain of the piece was. It's one of the reasons I don't read many mysteries. Most authors have tells that give it away pretty early, and Hughart's are pretty classic. Knowing didn't make any of the fantastical adventure much less enjoyable, though. The descriptions and crazy links of causality are some of the best parts of the book.

Bridge of Birds is under talks for a film right now, but I think this one might make make an even better film. Zombies and bishounen and crazy rock slides... what could be better?