The blurb:
Wandering Cleric Chih of Singing Hills and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant come to the river town of Baolin chasing stories of a legendary famine. Amid tales of dishes served to royalty and desserts made of dust, they discover the secrets of what happens when hunger stalks the land and what the powerful will do to hide their crimes.
Trapped in the mansion of a sinister magistrate, Chih and Almost Brilliant must learn what happened in Baolin when the famine came to call, and they must do so quickly...because the things in the shadows are only growing hungrier.
The Singing Hills series of novellas are a wonderful example of why novellas exist; each individual story wouldn't really sustain a novel, but a short story would feel crowded. At novella length, the ideas and story have enough room to breathe, and it doesn't feel cut off or too short.
The world of Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant is a beguiling one—not exactly magical in that there are no wandering Merlins or anything, but the supernatural definitely exists and plays a role. For all that, the characters are always thoroughly human, and that's where all the story comes from. In this case, A Mouthful of Dust examines what people will do in extremis. Baolin, usually famous for its roast pork, was gripped by famine some years back and Cleric Chih's job is to collect stories from that time. They are aware that people sometimes do terrible things to survive in such a situation, and cannibalism is referenced in the story; it also looks at how you live with yourself after you've done the terrible thing in order to survive. How do you live with yourself, how do you live with your loved ones?
As always, the language is perfect. Being so short—this one is under 100 pages—there's not a lot of room for extras. But Vo is exceptional at being both economical and atmospheric, building her story and world in a way that is both to the point yet still invites slowing down and really diving into the prose.
Started: 23 October 2025
Finished: 24 October 2025
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