An exhilarating new direction for Helen Oyeyemi with a mischievous story of love, lies and inspiration
Mr Fox
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'An outstanding addition to an impressive body of work, this is Oyeyemi's best, most beautiful novel yet.' Independent on Sunday
'Her depiction of Mr Fox's hard-boiled swagger and Mary s life as a lonely English governess is funny and fresh.' --Daily Telegraph
'The dialogue zips along and Oyeyemi reveals a twinkling sense of humour . . . Lovers of metafiction, magic realism and all things fabulist will find Oyeyemi's energetic imagination a delight.' Independent
'funny, deep, shocking, wry, heart-warming and spine-chilling. She offers a phantasmagorical rendering of the deepest emotional truths, not least among which is a razor-sharp dissection of the topsy-turvy logic of misogyny that blames women for the violence inflicted on them. She's not real, honey, St John assures Daphne about Mary. 'She's only an idea. I made her up.' Oyeyemi breathes life into ideas like nobody else.' Guardian
'this prodigiously talented writer s take on the Bluebeard myth is a piece of modern magical realism that is not just vibrantly imaginative but filled with wit and wisdom . . . Oyeyemi's remarkable gift for depicting multiple worlds populated with the living, ghosts, of the dead and creatures of the imagination makes Mr Fox her best book so far.' --Metro
'Her depiction of Mr Fox's hard-boiled swagger and Mary s life as a lonely English governess is funny and fresh.' --Daily Telegraph
'The dialogue zips along and Oyeyemi reveals a twinkling sense of humour . . . Lovers of metafiction, magic realism and all things fabulist will find Oyeyemi's energetic imagination a delight.' Independent
'funny, deep, shocking, wry, heart-warming and spine-chilling. She offers a phantasmagorical rendering of the deepest emotional truths, not least among which is a razor-sharp dissection of the topsy-turvy logic of misogyny that blames women for the violence inflicted on them. She's not real, honey, St John assures Daphne about Mary. 'She's only an idea. I made her up.' Oyeyemi breathes life into ideas like nobody else.' Guardian
'this prodigiously talented writer s take on the Bluebeard myth is a piece of modern magical realism that is not just vibrantly imaginative but filled with wit and wisdom . . . Oyeyemi's remarkable gift for depicting multiple worlds populated with the living, ghosts, of the dead and creatures of the imagination makes Mr Fox her best book so far.' --Metro
Book Description
It’s an ordinary afternoon in 1938 for the celebrated American novelist St John Fox, hard at work in the study of his suburban home – until his long-absent muse wanders in. Mary Foxe (beautiful, British and 100% imaginary) is in a playfully combative mood. “You’re a villain,” she tells him. ‘A serial killer . . . can you grasp that?” Mr Fox has a predilection for murdering his heroines. Mary is determined to change his ways. And so she challenges him to join her in stories of their own devising, and the result is an exploration of love like no other. It isn’t long before Mrs Daphne Fox becomes suspicious, and St John is offered a choice: a life with the girl of his dreams, or a life with an all-too-real woman who delights him more than he cares to admit. Can there be a happy ending this time? Mr Fox is a magical book, as witty as it is profound in its truths about how we learn to be with one another.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really wanted to love this book. It sounded such an interesting idea - Mr Fox is an author, married to Daphne, and he is visited by his muse, Mary Foxe. She accuses him of being a "serial killer" and he tells her not to be "so sensitive about the content of fiction." So far, so good. There are letters between Mary Foxe and the author where she is a British born tutor and asks him to read his stories and I felt very engaged with the characters. Then the story jumps to different incarnations of Mary - as a florist, a model, etc. Interspersed with all these stories are other fables and stories, which were beautiful storytelling but which eventually seemed to make the book unconnected and were distracting. Because, undoubtedly, the best parts of this novel are those turning around the trio of Mr Fox, Mary Foxe and Daphne.
There is no doubt that Helen Oyeyemi is a magical storyteller, but somehow she has failed to produce a complete novel. I enjoyed her writing, individually the varying stories were wonderfully structured, imaginative and descriptive. I just wish that, somehow, the whole had been more tied together as I hate to say it, but I lost interest in the characters along the way. Yet Daphne and her marriage worries, the enigmatic Mary Foxe and their love for Mr Fox were wonderfully written. Flashes of brilliance here, but as a novel it fails to hold together, which is a shame as much of the book I truly did enjoy.
There is no doubt that Helen Oyeyemi is a magical storyteller, but somehow she has failed to produce a complete novel. I enjoyed her writing, individually the varying stories were wonderfully structured, imaginative and descriptive. I just wish that, somehow, the whole had been more tied together as I hate to say it, but I lost interest in the characters along the way. Yet Daphne and her marriage worries, the enigmatic Mary Foxe and their love for Mr Fox were wonderfully written. Flashes of brilliance here, but as a novel it fails to hold together, which is a shame as much of the book I truly did enjoy.
By Dr C E H
Format:Paperback
Loved the period detail of this novel, and the relationship between the two key characters. For me the dips into other narratives were less successful, so I was left wanting more of the 'Mr Fox' storyline. However, beautifully written and conceived and I shall be waiting for the author's next novel.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you're good with language yourself, you'll enjoy how it's taunted, pulled and played with here. If you're not so good, you may learn a thing or three.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't second-guess it, just enjoy it!
Author St. John Fox stands accused of multiple murder - by his own muse and creation Mary Foxe. He also finds himself on the brink of divorce from his jealous wife, Daphne, who... Read more
Published 12 months ago by neverendings
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of foxes, foxgloves and the playful muse
My experience of this novel is quite different to the few reviewers already listed and part of that might be due to my having a love of this kind of playful magical realism as well... Read more
Published 18 months ago by V. O'Regan
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