Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2024
400 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking ...
Manchuria, 1908.
In the last years of the dying Qing Empire, a courtesan is found frozen in a doorway. Her death is clouded by rumors of foxes, which are believed to lure people by transforming themselves into beautiful women and handsome men. Bao, a detective with an uncanny ability to sniff 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 who owns a famous Chinese medicine shop can cure ailments but can't escape the curse that afflicts them—their eldest sons die before their twenty-fourth birthdays. When a disruptively winsome servant named Snow enters their household, the family's luck seems to change—or does it?
Snow is a creature of many secrets, but most of all she's a mother seeking vengeance for her lost child. Hunting a murderer, she will follow the trail from northern China to Japan, while Bao follows doggedly behind. Navigating the myths and misconceptions of fox spirits, both Snow and Bao will encounter old friends and new foes, even as more deaths occur.
New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.
"Equal parts detective story, folktale, and family saga, the highly anticipated latest novel by Choo (The Night Tiger, 2019) will appeal to fans of diverse, imaginative literary fiction, historical mysteries like Nilima Rao's A Disappearance in Fiji (2023), and fantasy like Marlon James' Dark Star trilogy."
―Booklist (starred review)
"Choo's writing is lush and the slow revelation of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat."
―Publishers Weekly
"An intriguing vulpine mystery worth the suspension of disbelief...The rich Asian tradition of fox folklore provides the backdrop for Choo's complex and atmospheric tale of identity and discovery set in early 1900s Manchuria."
―Kirkus Reviews
"Magical, wonderous, transporting and illuminating, The Fox Wife reminds me that reading can be pure joy ... I was captivated from the very first word of this novel until its very last. Yangsze Choo is a writer of immense talent."
―Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, internationally best-selling author of The Mountains Sing and Dust Child
"A stunning story filled with wonder, mystery and folklore. I was utterly captivated by Yangsze Choo's exquisite prose and fascinating characters from the first page till the last. A remarkable tale, one that will stay with me."
―Sue Lynn Tan, author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess
"Like the foxes who populate its pages, The Fox Wife is vivid, enigmatic, and enchanting. Choo's fresh new fable conjures a world where danger and intrigue are forever entwined with sublime and sensory delights."
―M.L. Rio, author of If We Were Villains
This information about The Fox Wife was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: James Cham
Yangsze Choo is a fourth-generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Due to a childhood spent in various countries, she can eavesdrop (badly) in several languages. After graduating from Harvard University, she worked as a management consultant and at a startup before writing her first novel. The Ghost Bride, set in colonial Malaya and the elaborate Chinese world of the afterlife, is about a peculiar historic custom called a spirit marriage. Yangsze lives in California with her husband, two children, and a potential rabbit. She loves to eat and read, and often does both at the same time.
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