The Wind Bird Pinocha
風鳥皮諾查
Overview
As Taiwan’s first landmark animal novel, this epic follows a lone waterbird on a perilous transcontinental migration, where he must navigate the brutal laws of nature to discover the true meaning of survival.
As the harsh northern winter approaches, Pinocha sets off on a southbound migration spanning thousands of kilometers. This journey is not merely an escape from the cold—it is a rite of survival. He flies across raging seas and treacherous wilderness. He witnesses companions fall to predators and confronts the despair of utter exhaustion. At last, he arrives at a vibrant southern island—Taiwan. Along Taiwan’s coastline, Pinocha embarks on a quest to find the “mysterious bird”—a legendary creature rarely seen and believed to embody the ultimate freedom and mystery of the natural world.
In Taiwan, Pinocha encounters a group regarded as outcasts within his species (Kentish Plover): resident birds who have chosen not to return north, instead staying in the south to breed. In the traditional worldview of migratory birds, refusing to return north signifies weakness and betrayal of lineage. Yet through his interactions with the resident birds’ leader, Pinocha begins to question this belief: Is perpetual migration truly the only meaning of life? Could putting down roots in unfamiliar land and facing local hardships also be an act of courage?
Comp titles:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
First published in 1991
Author(s)
Liu Ka-Shiang, is a writer of boundless creative energy and tirelessly explores new subjects and experiments with various literary forms, refusing to be confined to any single niche. He is widely regarded as a pioneering figure in contemporary Taiwanese nature writing. His works 11-Dollar Railway Journey and Fifteen Little Planets both won the Openbook Award and the Golden Tripod Award in 2 consecutive years.
In the 1990s, Liu published works centered on water birds and whales, including The Wind Bird Pinocha and The Humpback Whale Helian Momo. The Wind Bird Pinocha was hailed as Taiwan's first animal novel and selected as the Best 10 Books of the Year by China Times. Following this, he continued creating Taiwanese animal novels, publishing Wild Dog Hill and Albatross Forever. Albatross Forever won the Grand Prize for Fiction at the Taipei International Book Exhibition.
With each animal novel, Liu strives to experiment with new narrative forms, exploring nature and contemplating the relationship between humans and the natural world. These works also chart the evolution of a nature observer. In 2011, inspired by his children, he decided to revise his earlier work Lentil Forest, creating new color illustrations and republishing it as The Legumin Chronicles. Utilizing a fictional creature, this book represents the author's ambitious attempt to expand the scope of animal fiction.