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A review by graculus
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
4.0
Having read and enjoyed on of this author's previous books (The Ghost Bride, which has also been adapted into a limited series by Netflix), not to mention the description given of this one, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy The Fox Wife and I was 100% correct. In the interests of full disclosure, I'd also read her other book (The Night Tiger) which didn't quite work for me, so it was always possible I'd be wrong.
Unlike the previous two books, which were take place in 1930's Malaya, The Fox Wife is set in the end days of the Qing dynasty (around 1910), with much of the action taking place in Manchuria or Japan. It's a fairly slow-moving story of two main characters, one told in first person (our eponymous fox, Snow) and the other in third person (the elderly Bao, who works as an enquiry agent and is looking for a missing woman after another woman is found frozen to death on a restaurant doorstep). Eventually the two storylines collide and discoveries are made, especially as Snow is not the only fox in the narrative and Bao's own life experience comes to play a major part.
I really enjoyed reading it and found the world-building convincing, so I'm glad I requested it and have already recommended it to people asking for historical fantasy (the fantastic element being the reality of foxes and many of the myths about them being true). Not sure what this author has planned next, as I don't think this book is due out till early 2024, but I look forward to checking it out.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
Unlike the previous two books, which were take place in 1930's Malaya, The Fox Wife is set in the end days of the Qing dynasty (around 1910), with much of the action taking place in Manchuria or Japan. It's a fairly slow-moving story of two main characters, one told in first person (our eponymous fox, Snow) and the other in third person (the elderly Bao, who works as an enquiry agent and is looking for a missing woman after another woman is found frozen to death on a restaurant doorstep). Eventually the two storylines collide and discoveries are made, especially as Snow is not the only fox in the narrative and Bao's own life experience comes to play a major part.
I really enjoyed reading it and found the world-building convincing, so I'm glad I requested it and have already recommended it to people asking for historical fantasy (the fantastic element being the reality of foxes and many of the myths about them being true). Not sure what this author has planned next, as I don't think this book is due out till early 2024, but I look forward to checking it out.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Animal cruelty