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sylvieleggatt's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
I hope foxes everywhere avoid this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Blood, Sexual assault, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Gore, Racism, Death, and Animal death
elly29's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
In parts I am stunned, and in other parts I am utterly bewildered.
I had no idea what I was getting in to, and I was met with a piece of literature that felt like Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea” mixed with George Saunders’ “Isabelle,” add a splash of some epic poetry, mix it all in a pot called Iceland, and then you get Sjón’s The Blue Fox.
It had me weeping at times — mostly at Abba’s treatment and Fridrik’s tenderness towards her. As a content warning, this story involves a woman with Down syndrome, and how she is treated by the community in 19th century Iceland (most babies with Down syndrome were killed and recorded as stillborn). It is a quick and spare story, solemn, too. It was beautiful, and difficult, and made me feel.
I was bewildered at Reverend Baldur’s visions in the glacier. I looked up more information on what The Blue Fox signifies, which was helpful — they are monsters in Icelandic folklore whose stare can kill you, and they are born from the mix between a cat and a fox. (Blue foxes are called Skugga-Baldur! He is Reverend Baldur Skuggason! Spoiler: he dies and becomes a blue fox himself, and it is perhaps saying something that a person like Baldur is reprehensible and has the wilderness inside him already, and his hubris against fox and nature leads to his death. Or maybe the fox is redemptive? I am so not confident about this. But he becomes Skuuga-Baldur.)
I liked it, though I wish there had been more supporting material. I read the translation by Victoria Cribb, and there was no translator’s note, nor footnotes, nor anything to give context to the novice reader of Icelandic literature.
I had no idea what I was getting in to, and I was met with a piece of literature that felt like Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea” mixed with George Saunders’ “Isabelle,” add a splash of some epic poetry, mix it all in a pot called Iceland, and then you get Sjón’s The Blue Fox.
It had me weeping at times — mostly at Abba’s treatment and Fridrik’s tenderness towards her. As a content warning, this story involves a woman with Down syndrome, and how she is treated by the community in 19th century Iceland (most babies with Down syndrome were killed and recorded as stillborn). It is a quick and spare story, solemn, too. It was beautiful, and difficult, and made me feel.
I was bewildered at Reverend Baldur’s visions in the glacier. I looked up more information on what The Blue Fox signifies, which was helpful — they are monsters in Icelandic folklore whose stare can kill you, and they are born from the mix between a cat and a fox. (Blue foxes are called Skugga-Baldur! He is Reverend Baldur Skuggason! Spoiler: he dies and becomes a blue fox himself, and it is perhaps saying something that a person like Baldur is reprehensible and has the wilderness inside him already, and his hubris against fox and nature leads to his death. Or maybe the fox is redemptive? I am so not confident about this. But he becomes Skuuga-Baldur.)
I liked it, though I wish there had been more supporting material. I read the translation by Victoria Cribb, and there was no translator’s note, nor footnotes, nor anything to give context to the novice reader of Icelandic literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
adriennne's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Animal death
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
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