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When Fox is a Thousand Larissa Lai 9781551521688 Books

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When Fox is a Thousand Larissa Lai 9781551521688 Books

A book about identity (particularly of second-generation immigrants), queer femme identity, and folklore that is absolutely great. My feminist scifi/fantasy book club chose this for our April read, and we pretty much all loved it. I recommend it highly; Larissa Lai has a great style, and I found all three narrators compelling.


Tags : When Fox is a Thousand [Larissa Lai] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div> When Fox is a Thousand</i> is a lyrical, magical novel, rich with poetry and folklore and elements of the fairytale. Larissa Lai interweaves three narrative voices and their attendant cultures: an elusive fox growing toward wisdom and her 1000 birthday,Larissa Lai,When Fox is a Thousand,Arsenal Pulp Press,1551521687,Literary,Asian American women,Fairy tales,Fairy tales - China,Folklore - China,Historical fiction,Mythology, Chinese,Vancouver (B.C.),Yu, Xuanji,AMERICAN FIRST NOVELISTS,Canada,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General & Literary Fiction,General Adult

When Fox is a Thousand Larissa Lai 9781551521688 Books Reviews

This book is the epitome of excellence, the characters are intriguing, especially the fox. The use of 3 voices is just phenomenal. Read this book.
I loved this book for the fox lore and the womanism, the title is beautiful. I read the opening chapter on Google Books and was immediately sold, but upon reading the book, I realize that the opening chapter was unique. The rest of the book is a dark life story of an asian-canadian lesbian woman, interdispersed with an ancient poet's life that was not as well written as the rest of the story, I have to admit that it confused me at several turns and I'm going to have to re-read it to clarify. The story comes full circle at the end which I really appreciated.
Despite the depressive story and the sometimes confusing writing, Larissa Lai has caught my attention. There was enough snarkiness, enough characterization, enough skillful writing that made me really fall into the story. It wasn't perfect but I'll be buying Salt, Fish girl next.
Written in three narrative voices, moving between China and Vancouver and between centuries, this is a wonderful tale. While the fox moves towards a thousand, and immortality, we also journey with a ninth-century female Taoist poet, and Artemis, a young Asian-American woman living in contemporary Vancouver.

This novel combines aspects of Chinese mythology, medieval China, and life in modern-day Vancouver to revise the myth of the Fox (a figure who can inhibit women's bodies in order to cause mischief) and to explore some of the identity and dislocation issues experienced by migrants. Ms Lai's imagination results in a tale that continues to haunt long after the story is told.

'When a fox is fifty, it can take the form of a woman. When it is one hundred, it can take the form of a beautiful girl. When it is a thousand, it can speak to Heaven and will never die. '

Recommended to both lovers of fantasy as well as to those who enjoy well-crafted fiction more generally.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
"When a fox is fifty, it can take the form of a woman. When it is one hundred, it can take the form of a beautiful girl. When it is a thousand, it can speak to Heaven and will never die."

If this isn't the best story about shape-changers I've ever read... then I can't think of one better. What made this story great for me was all the delicious Chinese mythology about foxes.

The Fox Spiritin Chinese folklore they haunt women, turn them shrewish and against their husbands. But is the Fox truly evil? Maybe the Fox is just mischievous and misunderstood (by men). This is a story told in three voices. Each voice has its own clear section and its own tone of voice.

First we have The Fox... and a series of fascinating and humorous Chinese folktales. I really loved the first one. The Fox is so scandalous! I'm going to spoil the first folktale just a little, because it highlights the themes of the book so well. A housewife is afraid of losing her husband's affection, because he's taken a new concubine who is younger and prettier than her. So the housewife asks the Fox for guidance. Fox's solution to the problem is so... devious. It made me laugh. And throughout the book the Fox keeps stealing chickens... even as a human woman... she can't stop stealing chicken. It's hilarious.

The second narrator is Artemis, a young Chinese woman in modern day Vancouver. Artemis was adopted from China by Caucasian parents, and her search for identity and her cultural heritage is the heart of this book. Second only to her quest for cultural identity is her exploration of sexuality and feminism.

The third voice is the most nuanced. Probably because she's an actual historical figure Yu Hsuan-Chi, a ninth-century Chinese poetess. The biography of Yu Hsuan-Chi is fascinating. But there's gaps in the story.... I don't know much about ancient Chinese poets, but apparently Yu Hsuan-Chi was a prolific poet and a lover of other women. But her story ends in a murky tragedy. She got into some sort of struggle with her maid, who accused her of fornicating with her (the maid's) husband. The maid died, Yu Hsuan-Chi was accused of murder, there was a notorious trial, and Yu Hsuan-Chi was executed.

So the basic plot of the novel is this... The Fox Spirit gets stronger as she gets older. She gains her full power when she turns 1,000 years old. At that point she can talk directly to the Heavenly Scribes. The Fox doesn't really know what happened to Yu Hsuan-Chi, who was her lover in the 9th-century. The poet's death was the great tragedy of The Fox's existence, and she doesn't believe that Yu Hsuan-Chi killed the maid - Fox believes the poet was innocent. So Fox is eagerly awaiting her thousandth birthday so she can ask the Heavenly Scribes what really happened to Yu Hsuan-Chi. Meanwhile, Artemis is the reincarnation of the poet, so the Fox starts haunting her, because the poet was the great love of her life.

And I'm not really sure of any of this... I could be wrong in my assessment of the plot. The author is a poet. Poetry is what she does, and it shows. The prose is pure delight. But the plot is.... circular. It kind of confused me at points. But that's not an accident. It's meant to be non-linear. So I can't fault the author for my lack of comprehension.

The book is an awesome exploration of what it means to be separated from your culture by time and distance. It also explores the experience of women, especially lesbians, in both folklore and the modern world.

The final sentence of the first folktale sums it up best, when the Fox is defending her mischievous ways

"Is it my fault if she ran off with the concubine?" p.5
I really enjoyed reading about all three of the main characters of the story, and even the side characters were unique. it really gives a different kind of representation of Asian (Chinese) Canadians. at times it was confusing but that was more my fault for not reading carefully. I really want to read salt fish girl now
This book is gorgeous. I've never read anything quite like it. It doesn't have a traditional plot exactly, but it pulls you right in with lyrical writing and intriguing characters. Great representation of complex queer Chinese/American/Canadian women.
A book about identity (particularly of second-generation immigrants), queer femme identity, and folklore that is absolutely great. My feminist scifi/fantasy book club chose this for our April read, and we pretty much all loved it. I recommend it highly; Larissa Lai has a great style, and I found all three narrators compelling.