The Fox Wife
A Novel
-
-
4.5 • 158 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .
Manchuria, 1908.
In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff 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 who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can’t escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family’s luck seems to change—or does it?
Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she’s a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.
New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Folklore, historical fiction, and a good old-fashioned detective story all blend together enchantingly in this captivating read from Yangsze Choo. Bao is a retired detective called in to investigate the mysterious death of a courtesan in 1908 Manchuria. Snow is a young woman quietly hunting for the man she believes responsible for the death of her daughter. Following these two wildly different characters on their long, determined journeys (and wondering when their paths would collide) is mesmerizing. We loved their alternative POVs, with Bao’s thoughts meandering through old regrets and broken memories and Snow’s darting around, full of energy and purpose. Interestingly, both characters are preoccupied with the fabled fox spirits who are said to transform into lovely women. Bao’s interest seems born out of a childhood memory, while Snow’s seems based in…personal experience. The poignant vulnerability at the heart of these characters drives the story even more than the mystery, and we were transported straight into their world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Choo (The Night Tiger) draws on Japanese folklore for a rich detective story involving fox spirits. In 1908 Manchuria, a fox spirit named Snow assumes a human form during her search for Bektu Nikan, a photographer responsible for her child's death in a hunt he'd orchestrated. She takes a job as a servant for the matriarch of a medicine shop, whose grandson, Bohai, and his medical school friends have spent time with Bektu. One of the friends, Shirakawa, is also a fox and claims that Bektu fled to Japan. Bohai's grandmother agrees to accompany Snow and the students there, unaware of the journey's real purpose. Meanwhile, retired teacher and detective Bao Gong, who has a supernatural ability to discern lies and is fixated on fox spirits, is hired to identify a woman found dead in an alley. His investigations unveil links between the unidentified woman, Bektu, and a beautiful woman rumored to be a fox. As Bao unravels the threads of the mystery, Snow faces danger in Japan when she crosses paths with another fox she has long avoided. Choo's writing is lush and the slow revelation of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat.
Customer Reviews
A Story of Fox People and the Lives they Touch.
The Fox Wife
Is a novel by Yangsze Choo which is set mainly in China near the end of the Qing Dynasty. As the title suggests, it features foxes who turn into people and their outsider take on the human world.
Our main character is a fox lady known as Snow. In the beginning of the tale, she leaves her quiet rural home on a mission of revenge. Her only child has died, and she seeks the man who was responsible for this tragedy. We meet two other male fox people during the tale, and learn something of the nature of these beings.
However, this story is also very much about all the people they encounter along the way. From Bao the Detective who was touched by a fox as a child, and since then has had the ability to know when lies are spoken. Then there is Tagtaa, who was saved as a child by a black fox when she became lost in the grasslands and has never forgotten him. There is a detective story in this narrative, as well as historical fiction, and lots of characters who are very memorable.
This is a very different and interesting story, which has a lot of depth. In the end, there is a positive outcome for most, which left me feeling satisfied with the narrative.
I’m a fan!
I enjoy this author very much! This wasn’t quite at the level of night tiger but I was glad to read it
Magical and mysterious
I loved this book. Very well written, the prose was very beautiful to read. I highly recommend.