Book Review | The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, or life force, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . .

Manchuria, 1908.

A young woman is found frozen in the snow. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes involved, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and men. Bao, a detective with a reputation for sniffing 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 that owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments, but not the curse that afflicts them―their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. Now the only grandson of the family is twenty-three. When a mysterious woman enters their household, their luck seems to change. Or does it? Is their new servant a simple young woman from the north or a fox spirit bent on her own revenge?

New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about a winter full of mysterious deaths, a mother seeking revenge, and old folktales that may very well be true.

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For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #20: A revenge story)
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge

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The Reason

I first read The Ghost Bride by the author years ago, and I was hooked. I loved The Night Tiger as well, and when I found out this book was coming out, of course I had to read it.

The Quotes

“For all stories have an ending as well as a beginning. But a beginning is where you choose to plant your foot, and the ending is only the edge of one’s own knowledge.”

“I exist as either a small canid with thick fur, pointed ears, and neat black feet, or a young woman. Neither are safe forms in a world run by men.”

“Dusk is the most dangerous time, according to Bao’s nanny; the blurred gap between day and night when creatures who resemble humans appear. They exist on the very edge of society, at the tipping point of madness where dreams and nightmares come true.”

The Characters

Snow, the titular fox wife. Bao, the human lie detector. And various other characters. Interestingly, I just realized that I’m not able to give a run-down of many of the characters without going into spoiler territory, so we’ll just keep this brief.

My Thoughts

As a story, I think I might love this one even more than I loved The Ghost Bride, and I loved The Ghost Bride a lot. What I loved about The Ghost Bride was that it made me feel such a connection to the life and times of my own family experiences. It was set in Malaysia in the early 1900’s and showed a lot of our traditional Chinese customs. I also loved the story itself. But here, with The Fox Wife, it feels more whimsical and magical, and I’m just completely transported to a different time and place. I feel like I also love Snow as a character more; she’s such a interesting paradox, and with such human flaws.

For my notes and reactions on the book – with SPOILERS – check out Notes & Reactions | The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo. This post has SPOILERS and assumes you have already finished the book. It is password-protected to prevent accidental spoiling. Password is “SPOILME0003”. Proceed at your own risk.

My Feels

I loved this story so much! I love that it was so mysterious. Even as we got new clues and kept guessing at it, we never really get confirmation for anything until much later. I love the characters and how vibrant they are. To be clear, there aren’t very many good people here, but even the bad people were just great as characters! I love the storytelling, the unfolding of the story. I love both Snow’s POV and Bao’s POV, and I love how Bao’s perspective was able to give us more insight into Snow. I love the relationships and the connections made in this story, I love the portrayal of those relationships, it fills my heart!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. A new favorite!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?