Mostly Murders

The very idea of an animal that can mimic a human is both captivating and terrifying.

The Fox Wife is a novel with a simple premise turned into a complicated, dazzling, mystical story. Based on Chinese myths of fox spirits who can turn into beautiful, beguiling human figures, The Fox Wife tells the story of three fox spirits in Manchuria, 1908, and the people whose lives they touch. There is a grieving mother on a mission of revenge. There is an old man who can hear if someone is lying. There is a serious, scarred man, a boisterous carouser, a woman who was saved by a black fox as a child, a cursed elder son, and a whole host of other characters who are all in some way connected to fox spirits.

The prose is beautiful and mystical, sometimes witty, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes philosophical and sometimes pragmatic. Stories, and lives, connect, intertwine, separate and connect again, in a sweeping tale of love, passion, tragedy and loss, of humans reflecting on the mesmerising and terrifying aspects of fox spirits, and of fox spirits contemplating the destructive nature of man, and the predatory nature of men.

If you enjoy mythology, folklore, magical realism and historical fiction and don’t shy away from epic, dual point of view stories filled with characters, places and strange and unnatural phenomena, I highly recommend The Fox Wife. It won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy a dreamy, rich atmosphere, a slowly unfolding plot filled with mysteries, and private ruminations about life, love, and human nature, you might want to give this one a try.

Mythology – Historical fiction