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A review by mustard_goat
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
4.0
Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Summary
The Fox Wife was a beautifully written adult fantasy that had me enraptured throughout the tale. This book portrays two people throughout the story: rotating their viewpoints with the changing of each chapter. One point of view is of a female fox who can turn into a human; the other, a man in his sixties, working as a private investigator. As it is expected, their story intertwines throughout the book; but Choo does a beautiful job of doing that even before the characters know of this. During this story, there are magical tales, historical viewpoints (done in a very tasteful way I might add), and moments that tug at your heart, all woven together skillfully.
My Take
I originally was drawn to this book, as I am sure others were as well, because I have a love of the fox; so I dove in with great hope! I find that YA fantasies are usually what I steer towards. However, this book was a delightful play on the line between what is real and what is not, and the elements of Chinese/Manchurian culture gave way for a beautiful depiction. The magic was so close to real, that I began noticing different aspects of my own life and experiencing a child-like wonder, as if these tales could be true. I loved the ride that Choo took me on, and I would do it again gladly.
Would I Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys adult fiction and fantasy.
CONTENT WARNING: Animal death, death of child, mentions of sexual slavery, death of adults, physical assault.
4.5 stars
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 37-38 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:24:26 PM
I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, and neat black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 148-149 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:34:14 PM
There was a dusting of snow on her face and open eyes, so she looked like a bride on her wedding day, gazing through a veil—like she’d seen something wonderful.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 208-210 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:40:00 PM
I stifled a snort. Sixty isn’t old to me. At sixty, humans are just beginning to understand that the weather will never obey them; that true love strikes at most twice in a lifetime; and that by saying yes in your youth, you may bind yourself unwisely to another’s cause. But that was beside the point.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 218-218 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:40:45 PM
I could almost sniff out an aroma of mystery that curled through the winding passageways. Or perhaps it was just stewed pork belly.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 536-539 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 10:18:25 PM
She gave vague excuses, but I suspected she meant to keep the young ladies in the house from spying. They were at a dangerously marriageable age; it wouldn’t do to have them involved in some unsuitable love affair. It has always amazed me how people lock up their daughters but not their sons. If they locked up the young men as well, there would be a lot less trouble. But who was I to interfere? I was simply there on my own quiet path of revenge.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 937-938 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 12:01:44 AM
Whenever humans encounter something strange and novel, their first instinct is to kill it.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 953-954 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 12:03:10 AM
It can be very lonely, living among people and always pretending. That’s why I prefer the grasslands.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 1315-1316 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 1:28:27 PM
Yes, I thought. Giving birth is an appointment you can’t walk away from.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 1796-1797 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 3:23:23 PM
The books that Bao has read about love use literary allusions and courtly language. They dwell on the size of a woman’s feet, her fainting, seductively tottering gait. None of them refer to freckles or the ability to listen solemnly.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2294-2296 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:21:14 PM
The men glanced at one another and chuckled indulgently. Look at this poor little woman, the thought danced between them, admitting them to a club I’d never belong to.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2520-2521 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:39:19 PM
They jealously guard their women, who are apt to run or commit suicide.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2730-2731 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:58:00 PM
“When she saw me, she said, ‘I’ve come to return the clothes.’ She didn’t want me to get into trouble. Nobody has ever kept a promise like that for me, for free.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 3155-3156 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 6:45:35 PM
It makes you wonder whether every living creature has its allotted span of years. Either that, or fate is a capricious master.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 3577-3577 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 7:58:30 PM
Rolled up in my cotton futon like a pill bug,
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 4764-4765 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:09:32 PM
Yet I feel happier the older I’ve become. I don’t wish to be young again.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 5071-5072 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:45:50 PM
I should have known better. What you bury eventually comes to light in some form or other. That’s just the way the world works.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 5111-5111 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:49:08 PM
Fear snakes round his shoulder and bites him in the chest.
==========
Summary
The Fox Wife was a beautifully written adult fantasy that had me enraptured throughout the tale. This book portrays two people throughout the story: rotating their viewpoints with the changing of each chapter. One point of view is of a female fox who can turn into a human; the other, a man in his sixties, working as a private investigator. As it is expected, their story intertwines throughout the book; but Choo does a beautiful job of doing that even before the characters know of this. During this story, there are magical tales, historical viewpoints (done in a very tasteful way I might add), and moments that tug at your heart, all woven together skillfully.
My Take
I originally was drawn to this book, as I am sure others were as well, because I have a love of the fox; so I dove in with great hope! I find that YA fantasies are usually what I steer towards. However, this book was a delightful play on the line between what is real and what is not, and the elements of Chinese/Manchurian culture gave way for a beautiful depiction. The magic was so close to real, that I began noticing different aspects of my own life and experiencing a child-like wonder, as if these tales could be true. I loved the ride that Choo took me on, and I would do it again gladly.
Would I Recommend
Yes, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys adult fiction and fantasy.
CONTENT WARNING: Animal death, death of child, mentions of sexual slavery, death of adults, physical assault.
4.5 stars
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 37-38 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:24:26 PM
I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, and neat black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 148-149 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:34:14 PM
There was a dusting of snow on her face and open eyes, so she looked like a bride on her wedding day, gazing through a veil—like she’d seen something wonderful.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 208-210 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:40:00 PM
I stifled a snort. Sixty isn’t old to me. At sixty, humans are just beginning to understand that the weather will never obey them; that true love strikes at most twice in a lifetime; and that by saying yes in your youth, you may bind yourself unwisely to another’s cause. But that was beside the point.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 218-218 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 5:40:45 PM
I could almost sniff out an aroma of mystery that curled through the winding passageways. Or perhaps it was just stewed pork belly.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 536-539 | Added on Saturday, June 3, 2023 10:18:25 PM
She gave vague excuses, but I suspected she meant to keep the young ladies in the house from spying. They were at a dangerously marriageable age; it wouldn’t do to have them involved in some unsuitable love affair. It has always amazed me how people lock up their daughters but not their sons. If they locked up the young men as well, there would be a lot less trouble. But who was I to interfere? I was simply there on my own quiet path of revenge.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 937-938 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 12:01:44 AM
Whenever humans encounter something strange and novel, their first instinct is to kill it.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 953-954 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 12:03:10 AM
It can be very lonely, living among people and always pretending. That’s why I prefer the grasslands.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 1315-1316 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 1:28:27 PM
Yes, I thought. Giving birth is an appointment you can’t walk away from.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 1796-1797 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 3:23:23 PM
The books that Bao has read about love use literary allusions and courtly language. They dwell on the size of a woman’s feet, her fainting, seductively tottering gait. None of them refer to freckles or the ability to listen solemnly.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2294-2296 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:21:14 PM
The men glanced at one another and chuckled indulgently. Look at this poor little woman, the thought danced between them, admitting them to a club I’d never belong to.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2520-2521 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:39:19 PM
They jealously guard their women, who are apt to run or commit suicide.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 2730-2731 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 4:58:00 PM
“When she saw me, she said, ‘I’ve come to return the clothes.’ She didn’t want me to get into trouble. Nobody has ever kept a promise like that for me, for free.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 3155-3156 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 6:45:35 PM
It makes you wonder whether every living creature has its allotted span of years. Either that, or fate is a capricious master.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 3577-3577 | Added on Sunday, June 4, 2023 7:58:30 PM
Rolled up in my cotton futon like a pill bug,
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 4764-4765 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:09:32 PM
Yet I feel happier the older I’ve become. I don’t wish to be young again.”
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 5071-5072 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:45:50 PM
I should have known better. What you bury eventually comes to light in some form or other. That’s just the way the world works.
==========
The Fox Wife (Yangsze Choo)
- Your Highlight on Location 5111-5111 | Added on Monday, June 5, 2023 7:49:08 PM
Fear snakes round his shoulder and bites him in the chest.
==========