“Whenever humans encounter something strange and novel, their first instinct is to kill it.”
Bao, detektiv sa izraženim osjećajem za istinu i laž, istražuje smrt mlade kurtizane. Istraga ga vodi do mnogih tajni, prošlosti i misterija lisica koji ga muči još od djetinjstva. U međuvremenu Snježna je u potrazi za osvetom smrti svojeg djeteta te započinje raditi kao sluškinja u domaćinstvu obitelji koja posjeduje čuvenu ljekarnu… Roman o ljubavi, gubitku, žalovanju i osveti odvesti će vas u daleku Mandžuriju, 1908. godine.
Yangsze Choo temelji svoj roman na drevnom kineskom mitu u kojem se lisice prikazuju kao duhovi s natprirodnim moćima. One se mogu pretvarati u ljude i opčiniti nas, a na kraju uvijek donose propast. Autorica je na neobičan način prikazala preklapanje svijeta lisica sa našim svijetom čime me je još jednom očarala.
Međutim iako su me početak i sama ideja Žene lisice apsolutno oduševili, kako je radnja odmicala tako je slabilo i moje oduševljenje. Šteta, jer zaista je divno pisana, ali nažalost imala sam osjećaj razvučenosti radnje. Prethodni roman autorice koji sam pročitala, Noćni tigar, bio mi je fantastičan i upravo iz tog razloga očekivala sam puno i od ovog. Dobar je, uglavnom zanimljiv i jako lijepo pisan, ali meni jedno 200 stranica predugačak.
Ljubitelji povijesne fikcije i magičnog realizma nemojte zaobići Ženu lisicu.
“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.”
[english]
“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.”
The Fox Wife – Yangsze Choo
Bao, a detective with a strong sense for truth and lies, investigates the death of a young courtesan. The investigation leads him to many secrets, the past and the mystery of the foxes that have tormented him since childhood. In the meantime, Snow is looking for revenge for the death of her child and begins working as a maid in the household of a family that owns a famous pharmacy… A novel about love, loss, grief and revenge will take you to distant Manchuria, 1908.
Yangsze Choo bases her novel on an ancient Chinese myth in which foxes are depicted as spirits with supernatural powers. They can transform into humans and bewitch us, but in the end they always bring doom. The author has shown the overlap between the world of foxes and our world in an unusual way, which has enchanted me once again.
However, although the beginning and the very idea of The Fox Wife absolutely delighted me, as the plot progressed, my enthusiasm also waned. It’s a shame, because it is truly wonderfully written, but unfortunately I had a feeling that the plot was drawn out. The author’s previous novel that I read, The Night Tiger, was fantastic and for that reason I expected a lot from this one. It is good, mostly interesting and very beautifully written, but for me it is about 200 pages too long.
Fans of historical fiction and magical realism don’t skip The Fox Wife.
“That’s how humans are, Bao thinks. We’re happy as long as we’re better off than others.”
