The Magician of 1919

"'One of China's most avant-garde authors has finally been translated into English.' Time Out (2011) In 1919, the year of the May 4th movement in China, magician Bighot Cowrie arrives in Beijing. He has with him a budgerigar, which is a language genius, a hat with a magical long queue and some pigeons. During his time in Beijing he encounters various figures, fictional and historical, and becomes involved in important events in modern Chinese history."