The Fox Woman

[Meghan]

The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
Genre : Folklore / Romance
Setting : Feudal Japan, I believe
Warnings : DEFINITELY NOT FOR KIDDIES. Sex is a central theme in this novel. Even if you're accustomed to traditional "romance novel" sex scenes, this book WILL make you uncomfortable. It's supposed to make you feel that way. You have been warned.

Book Flap Summary :
Yoshifuji is a man fascinated by foxes, a man discontented and troubled by the meaning of life. A misstep at court forces him to retire to his long-deserted country estate, to rethink his plans and contemplate the next move that might return him to favor and guarantee his family's prosperity.

Kitsune is a young fox who is fascinated by the large creatures that have suddenly invaded her world. She is drawn to them and to Yoshifuji. She comes to love him and will do anything to become a human woman to be with him.

Shikujo is Yoshifuji's wife, ashamed of her husband, yet in love with him and uncertain of her role in his world. She is confused by his fascination with the creatures of the wood, and especially the foxes that she knows in her heart are harbingers of danger. She sees him slipping away and is determined to win him back from the wild . . . for all that she has her own fox-related secret.

My Analysis :

To give you an idea of how much work Kij Johnson put into this novel, she takes up an entire page, front and back, to list all the resources she used during her research. It definitely shows; The Fox Woman is overflowing with Japanese beliefs and culture, and probably taught me most of what I know about historical Japan. It's simply stunning how much work went into this. The plot itself is based on an actual myth.

The novel is written in a sort of pseudo diary format, and is told from three alternating points of view. Yoshifuji and Shikujo are writing in present tense, while Kistune writes in past tense, indicating that the story has already happened and she is recounting it with excerpts from the diaries of the former two characters. At first I found this somewhat strange, but later on it made sense. The communication between husband and wife has broken down, and Kitsune also has her own secrets to keep from Yoshifuji.

The sex scenes. This must be addressed. They are very central to the plot. The scene between Yoshifuji and Shikujo shows the lack of communication between them. The entire novel culminates into the scene between Yoshifuji and Human-Kitsune. There is no bestiality . . . kind of. You'd have to read it to understand. There is mating between foxes, but it's very emotionless and "textbook" sounding. The only graphic scene that seemed a bit unnecessary was the homosexual encounter, but that also ties into the disconnection between the characters, especially at the end.

This novel was very well planned and written in beautiful, almost poetic prose. I've read and reread it about four times, and it leaves me heartbroken and wistful every time I finish. I recommend this book to anyone with an open, mature mind and an appreciation for Japanese culture and folklore.

[Bowie20049]

Shouldn't this be moved to Book Reviews?

[Shaun]

Moved. Make sure these go to the right place, Meghan :P.