Scan barcode
A review by sahibooknerd
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
4.0
Another book that wasn’t on my radar but I decided to pick up coz I had the audiobook. This took me a long time to finish and while I did like the overall experience, I don’t know if it’ll remain memorable after a while.
This is a very slow moving novel, almost like a slice of life story, which is very much in opposition to the content of it - a mother hell bent on revenge for the killing of her child, and an investigator hot on her heels. One would expect a high paced thriller with that kind of premise but the author takes her time here introducing us to every single character - especially our main protagonists Snow and Bao - we get the backstories, their fears and motivations, their loves and losses; so it’s easy for us to empathize with them and ultimately understand the actions they take and the kind of consequences that follow.
Along with the relationship dynamics between Bao and his family in childhood, his everlasting love for Tagtaa, Snow’s push and pull vibes with both Shiro and Kuro, Snow’s admiration for tai furen and the revolutionary thoughts of Bohai and his friends, we also get to see an empire in the background which is in the throes of its demise - the Qing dynasty which refuses to modernize creating dissent in the populace, contrasting with the rapid development of Japan after the Meiji restoration. I thought the author did a great job balancing the world building, relationships, unraveling the mystery of Snow’s life and the trail of breadcrumbs Bao follows, as well as the supernatural (hulijing) elements.
On the whole, this is not the kind of book you’ll not be able to put down but it’s also one you’ll want to finish and see how the journey unfolds, however long it takes. The pacing maybe languid and the plot not too complicated, but it has great characterization and I really liked the characters. The audiobook was also very well narrated by the author herself, perfectly matching the vibe of the story. This is only my second novel by this author and but I’ll definitely be looking forward to her future works.
This is a very slow moving novel, almost like a slice of life story, which is very much in opposition to the content of it - a mother hell bent on revenge for the killing of her child, and an investigator hot on her heels. One would expect a high paced thriller with that kind of premise but the author takes her time here introducing us to every single character - especially our main protagonists Snow and Bao - we get the backstories, their fears and motivations, their loves and losses; so it’s easy for us to empathize with them and ultimately understand the actions they take and the kind of consequences that follow.
Along with the relationship dynamics between Bao and his family in childhood, his everlasting love for Tagtaa, Snow’s push and pull vibes with both Shiro and Kuro, Snow’s admiration for tai furen and the revolutionary thoughts of Bohai and his friends, we also get to see an empire in the background which is in the throes of its demise - the Qing dynasty which refuses to modernize creating dissent in the populace, contrasting with the rapid development of Japan after the Meiji restoration. I thought the author did a great job balancing the world building, relationships, unraveling the mystery of Snow’s life and the trail of breadcrumbs Bao follows, as well as the supernatural (hulijing) elements.
On the whole, this is not the kind of book you’ll not be able to put down but it’s also one you’ll want to finish and see how the journey unfolds, however long it takes. The pacing maybe languid and the plot not too complicated, but it has great characterization and I really liked the characters. The audiobook was also very well narrated by the author herself, perfectly matching the vibe of the story. This is only my second novel by this author and but I’ll definitely be looking forward to her future works.