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A review by storyorc
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Yangsze Choo continues to excel at picking interesting (and, to Western eyes, niche) subject matter, drawing up 3-4 compelling characters, and wrapping it all in a page-turning mystery. I was able to guess at enough to keep me engaged while still being surprised at some twists and turns. I also applaud the author's sense of when to let a plot thread or narrative goal go. Choo doesn't dwell in details to wrap everything up nicely; she seems to be aware of exactly where the pull of her story is (the foxes) and keep the focus and momentum there.
Snow, Bao, Tagtaa, and Shiro are wonderful, willful, and, in Shiro's case, wicked. Scenes with two or more of them together always had me leaning in. The only shortcoming of the book is that Kuro's reserved nature, along with the choice to leave his part in Snow's history ambiguous until the ending, left him lagging dangerously close to a quiet, stoic stereotype. In any other book, his gentle charm and seeing his effect on other humans would have been enough to carry him but he pales next to his vibrant castmates. This made it difficult to be fully invested in his part of the ending.
Most impressive, is how Choo makes her foxes feel human enough to love but Other enough that the reader feels it would be unwise to relax in Snow's chapters. Whenever Snow is just starting to feel like a woman you might know, she is compelled by foxish curiosity to do something reckless, makes an offhand mention of a close call two centuries ago, or scales a sheer wall and runs across a roof. Even her tendency dangle a tidbit of her history in front of the reader only to say she'll fill us in later, while annoying, feels very much like a predator playing coy with its food. Their literal magical influence is almost superfluous. No matter how many times the narrative suggested, or Snow explicitly said, not to follow Shiro, his antics and daring, paired with those glimpses of honest yearning, still made him my favourite character. My only complaint in this department is that they spend almost no time in their fox forms!
(One thing I can't explain is why Choo alternates between first person for Snow and third for Bao, unless it is simply to enforce the fact that Snow is the protagonist. Hopefully someone else can posit a theory in their review.)
Snow, Bao, Tagtaa, and Shiro are wonderful, willful, and, in Shiro's case, wicked. Scenes with two or more of them together always had me leaning in. The only shortcoming of the book is that Kuro's reserved nature, along with the choice to leave his part in Snow's history ambiguous until the ending, left him lagging dangerously close to a quiet, stoic stereotype. In any other book, his gentle charm and seeing his effect on other humans would have been enough to carry him but he pales next to his vibrant castmates. This made it difficult to be fully invested in his part of the ending.
Most impressive, is how Choo makes her foxes feel human enough to love but Other enough that the reader feels it would be unwise to relax in Snow's chapters. Whenever Snow is just starting to feel like a woman you might know, she is compelled by foxish curiosity to do something reckless, makes an offhand mention of a close call two centuries ago, or scales a sheer wall and runs across a roof. Even her tendency dangle a tidbit of her history in front of the reader only to say she'll fill us in later, while annoying, feels very much like a predator playing coy with its food. Their literal magical influence is almost superfluous. No matter how many times the narrative suggested, or Snow explicitly said, not to follow Shiro, his antics and daring, paired with those glimpses of honest yearning, still made him my favourite character. My only complaint in this department is that they spend almost no time in their fox forms!
(One thing I can't explain is why Choo alternates between first person for Snow and third for Bao, unless it is simply to enforce the fact that Snow is the protagonist. Hopefully someone else can posit a theory in their review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment