TITLE: The Fox Wife
AUTHOR: Yangsze Choo
PUBLISHER: Quercus
ISBN: 9781529429756
PODCAST EPISODE: Episode 155
REVIEWER: Mark Norman
The Fox Wife is the third novel to come from the pen of Chinese author Yangsze Choo and is once again a culturally rich and historically accurate representation of Asian life in times past – this time Manchuria in 1908.
“A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.
Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?”
As you may glean from the publisher’s blurb, The Fox Wife is a mix of genres. Part historical novel, part detective story, part folkloric fantasy. But always, it is fair to say, a story that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The book is told from the dual perspectives of Snow, the titular Fox, and Bao the detective whose two stories gradually converge as the story gets closer to its closure. Rather than being disjointed, the gentle pace of the plot offers much time for thought and introspection, and to enjoy the rich tapestry of images that Choo’s words paint.
Listeners to the podcast episode with Yangsze Choo about this novel will appreciate the depth of research and lifelong interest in the fox mythology of Asia that the author has drawn upon, and to good effect. This is a story which, aside from its engaging plot, has much to offer to anyone with a least a passing interest in the folklore of the author’s home. Highly recommended.
AUTHOR: Yangsze Choo
PUBLISHER: Quercus
ISBN: 9781529429756
PODCAST EPISODE: Episode 155
REVIEWER: Mark Norman
The Fox Wife is the third novel to come from the pen of Chinese author Yangsze Choo and is once again a culturally rich and historically accurate representation of Asian life in times past – this time Manchuria in 1908.
“A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumours of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing out the truth, is hired to uncover the dead woman’s identity. Since childhood, Bao has been intrigued by the fox gods, yet they’ve remained tantalizingly out of reach. Until, perhaps, now.
Meanwhile, a family that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?”
As you may glean from the publisher’s blurb, The Fox Wife is a mix of genres. Part historical novel, part detective story, part folkloric fantasy. But always, it is fair to say, a story that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The book is told from the dual perspectives of Snow, the titular Fox, and Bao the detective whose two stories gradually converge as the story gets closer to its closure. Rather than being disjointed, the gentle pace of the plot offers much time for thought and introspection, and to enjoy the rich tapestry of images that Choo’s words paint.
Listeners to the podcast episode with Yangsze Choo about this novel will appreciate the depth of research and lifelong interest in the fox mythology of Asia that the author has drawn upon, and to good effect. This is a story which, aside from its engaging plot, has much to offer to anyone with a least a passing interest in the folklore of the author’s home. Highly recommended.