LiteraturSchweiz

Reading tip

Catherine Louis, Liu and the Bird: In a dream, Liu is visited by a bird – and she sees her grandfather. The next day, the little Chinese girl decides to look for him, letting herself be guided by signs: down by the river she receives a charred staff, the river leads her through the forest and the tip of the thrown staff shows her the way through the fields. A woman shares her meal with Liu, and a man sitting under a tree calls her attention to the bird on top of the mountains. When Liu reaches the summit, the bird is long gone, but its tracks in the snow and a feather lead her to an old man in the bamboo forest, who shows Liu the shortcut to her grandfather’s house. He, in turn, has been expecting her, since he heard the voice of love from afar. With a large brush that Liu receives from him, the girl paints her path up to where the bird was. Just as she finishes, the bird frees itself from the page and flies off across the land ...