Subject: Review: The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson

From: "Aaron M. Renn" <[email-masked]>
Date: 12 Apr 2000 17:20:38 -0400

The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
	Review Copyright (c) 2000 Aaron M. Renn

Conclusion: Worth Reading - In Paperback

[ A minor SPOILER near the end of this review that gives a feel for
  the general type of ending the story has ]

This is another hardcover I bought on a lark because I was feeling
properous after a big runup in my stocks.  Well, now my net worth is about
half what it was two weeks ago, and if I had things to do it all over
today, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.  After having read The Fox
Woman, I'm afraid I probably shouldn't have done it last month either.
It's not that this book is bad, just that it's not $25 good.

This is a Japanese fairy tale set in some sort of medieval period I don't
recognize.  A minor out-of-favor nobleman and his wife retreat to the
countryside and are beset by foxes.  The wife dreads them, fearing legends
about how fox magic lures humans to their doom.  The husband longs to be
like them, free of the burdens of his unhappy life.  Unbeknownst to both
of them, one of the foxes - a young female - is falling desperately in
love with the husband.

I was initially quite enchanted by the Japanese setting.  Japan is an
interesting culture that I don't know much about, particularly pre-modern
times.  I have no way to judge whether this book faithfully represents it
or not, but I feel like I got a few insights out of reading it.

Unfortunately, the book is really too long for the story that is told.
This sort of bizarre love triangle tale could have been done as a novella.
I personally think this would have been a very strong 40,000 word story.
A couple hundred pages into it, I just kept thinking to myself, "Ok, get
to the point".

But the ending was a big positive for me.  No happily ever afters here.
Just real life complexity and ambiguity and a hope for a better tomorrow.

The Fox Woman is worth buying in paperback, but isn't a must read.

%A Johnson, Kij
%T The Fox Woman
%I Tor
%D 2000-01
%G ISBN 0-312-85429-3
%P 382 pp.
%O hardcover, US$24.95

Reviewed on 2000-04-06

-- 
Aaron M. Renn ([email-masked]) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/