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disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
moreadsabook's review against another edition
2.5
you don't understand how much I wanted to love this. I love weird and unhinged cryptic shit and from the first 15-20 pages I was ready for it!! but then as it kept going, I just wasn't excited about it anymore and it became too weird and cryptic to really grasp anything of substance :( I just didn't understand the who, what, when, where, why or how of anything. and if I can't get an answer to even two of those questions, like....why am I reading it đź’€
I loved the little short stories in between the "main" storyline. I wish we had gotten more of that. I love Oyeyemi's writing so much and I think I will try another novel by her but, this one was a no from me. maybe if we get someone like Yorgos Lanthimos to adapt this into a movie I'll enjoy it more lol
I loved the little short stories in between the "main" storyline. I wish we had gotten more of that. I love Oyeyemi's writing so much and I think I will try another novel by her but, this one was a no from me. maybe if we get someone like Yorgos Lanthimos to adapt this into a movie I'll enjoy it more lol
radspeedio's review against another edition
2.0
I really do wish I could like this book, but when I understand nothing about what's really going on and wish I could stop reading it because it's so confusing, I really can't
annalynpoulsen's review against another edition
4.0
I had to read this for a class I am taking on fairy tales and I ended up really liking it! It is definitely one of those books you have to analyze and really think about so that it made me a little confused at times. However, if you have read the tales it references like Fitcher’s Bird and Bluebeard then you realize how genius this story is. I wouldn’t quite give it five stars because I was lost at times, but I do think it was a great piece that connects with the author and these fairytales in an amazing way.
ralowe's review against another edition
3.0
helen oyeyemi is an incredibly talented writer, who knows how to make a sentence twist and possesses a fondness for myth, but this novel is choked by the threat of depoliticized heterosexual violence. like it doesn't seem to be motivated by a feminist sense of justice, say like in toni morrison and gayl jones, or done with any type of aesthetic flair for its own sake. i don't think you have to be queer to find it tedious, we all know about it. but it seems to be trying to make the point about the uncovering of secrets, and that the big secret is that secrets are always adulterous! i could never figure out what was the investment in showing how miserable being straight is when you don't actually have to or want to be. but this steers so much of the relations between genders in oyeyemi's writing. i mean why. my biggest gripe was the dodgy focus and fracturedness of the whole novel but i believe that is more the fault of a publishing industry that doesn't want to give a black woman writer a break, won't allow space so the magic realism can be less of a parlor trick. she tries to make it work with the short story thing but i'd like to see oyeyemi given the free reign of a proust (who is mentioned) to really unleash her genius over a 1k-page tome or two.
kathissimo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The novel has a non-conventional setup that I don't quite think is pulled off, but I'm open to reading it again in the future and perhaps I will see it differently at that time.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
caitlinemccann's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book is more of a 2.5-star read for me, but I'm rounding up because while it wasn't for me, I don't think it was inherently bad either. In fact, Helen Oyeyemi is an interesting writer with prose that manages to be both spare and melodic. I just didn't get her book.
This premise captivated me early on--a writer confronted by his (real? imagined?) muse for repeatedly killing his heroines. There was such strong potential for commentary in that premise that I don't feel was fully realized. However, Mr. Fox feels like a book I would read in a college course. It feels like it's supposed to be Important Literature. There are clear recurring motifs and symbolism galore, but I struggled to stay engaged.
The characters and their respective arcs always stayed a little out of reach, and I didn't know who or what I was rooting for. Though the book is initially set in the 1930s (I think) it also dallies in other timelines that aren't clearly addressed within the narrative. I walked away feeling like I missed something or wasn't clever enough for the myriad of Foxes in this book.
This premise captivated me early on--a writer confronted by his (real? imagined?) muse for repeatedly killing his heroines. There was such strong potential for commentary in that premise that I don't feel was fully realized. However, Mr. Fox feels like a book I would read in a college course. It feels like it's supposed to be Important Literature. There are clear recurring motifs and symbolism galore, but I struggled to stay engaged.
The characters and their respective arcs always stayed a little out of reach, and I didn't know who or what I was rooting for. Though the book is initially set in the 1930s (I think) it also dallies in other timelines that aren't clearly addressed within the narrative. I walked away feeling like I missed something or wasn't clever enough for the myriad of Foxes in this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Minor: Classism, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
dorothyhollander's review against another edition
2.5
I have read and loved so many of oyeyemi’s other books … this one was just soo hard to get through for some reason