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When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
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I am going to try and find a copy to join in also.
Yeah, Kathy! The more the merrier the conversation.
Started this morning and am already enthralled. Up to now the only part I would really consider fantasy/mythology is the fox part. The other stories seem realistic but have a kind of dreamy quality to them. I have a feeling all the stories are going to tie in together. I am so glad I ditched my library books and started this one instead!
Yes, I can see the three storylines weaving closer together with each chapter. I agree that the fantasy/mythology has been thin so far. Maybe when everything merges? Also, do you think Artemis may be a little autobiographical for Larissa? I don't know anything about this author, but our modern character feels rather personal to the author from my perspective. I'll have to do some research on that.
The author's webpage. Gives a small biography.Larissa Lai
Larissa Lai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at The University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD from the University of Calgary. Her first novel, When Fox Is a Thousand (Press Gang 1995, Arsenal Pulp 2004) was shortlisted for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award. Her second novel, Salt Fish Girl (Thomas Allen Publishers 2002) was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award, the Tiptree Award and the City of Calgary W. O. Mitchell Award. In 2004, West Coast Line published a special issue focussed on her work. She has been the Markin-Flanagan Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary (1997-8), and Writer-in-Residence in the English Department at Simon Fraser University (2006). sybil unrest, her collaborative long poem with Rita Wong, was published by Line Books in 2009. Eggs in the Basement, a long poem based on a vocabulary exhaustion exercise, surprised its writer by telling the story of Moses and Monotheism. It was published by Nomados, also in 2009, and has just been shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Lai’s first solo full-length poetry book, Automaton Biographies (Arsenal Pulp), was a finalist for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize.
(Source: http://www.larissalai.com)
Thanks for sharing, Kathy. This is the first time I've read anything by this author so I didn't know anything about her. I did some researching tonight about this specific book. It is not autobiographical per say. Inspired by experience, but not about her.In the afterward, Larissa shares, "I have had the good fortune of coming of age in a feminist and anti-racist community that stressed the importance of producing 'positive role models' for young women ... But when I started writing this book, at the age of twenty-four, I was desperate to read books that showed youth as I knew it to be, not as some ideal form, or series of moral lessons."
I also found an article that artibuted this quote to her, "In my fiction writing of recent years I have been focussing on trying to create a sort of historical launch pad for hybrid flowers like myself." The quote is referenced at the following link, but the link to the interview is dead:
http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/Literary_Cr...
Kim
And here is a fun, entirely unexpected tidbit I just found about this book. Lai uses allusions to Blade Runner. I haven't pick up on any yet, but now I'm watching for them. I found an analytical article addressing the use of this literary device quite effectively in this book. I didn't finish the article because I didn't want to snag on any spoilers, but here it is for later reference:http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent....
I'll have to watch Bladerunner! It is one of those well known films that I never actally got around to seeing. I know one of thoses many nights Artemis ended up sleeping over at Eden's house they watched Bladerunner, but since I haven't seen the film, I missed all the references. The story about Artemis has been a trip down memory lane when I was in my early 20s, a student and newly living on my own. It was time when new friendships came quickly, but disappeared just as fast, where everything was transient, where you lived,worked, your relationships. I even had a room mate like Diane for a few months. Although our relationship was never sexual, like in the novel, she rang up a phone bill of over $500 and Disappeared! Oh, and have we not all at one point had the nice male friend who at first we were not sure if he was gay?
So while this novel might not be autobiographical, I am sure Lai had similar experiences as the characters in the novel, the Artemis part that is.. Both of her parents were immigrants from China, but she was born in the US and later moved to Canada.
Besides not knowing Bladerunner, another thing I am missing to fully appreciate this novel is knowledge about the fox in Chinese mythology. I would like to read up more on that.
Up to know I feel there was not been enough of the story of the 9th century poet Yu Hsuan-Chi for me to be able to get involved in the story.
I just read up a little on the Fox in Chinese Mythology in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huli_jing "In Chinese mythology, it is believed that all things are capable of acquiring human forms, magical powers, and immortality, provided that they receive sufficient energy, in such forms as human breath or essence from the moon and the sun."
It also says that Fox Spirits are female appearing as beautiful women and are similar to Fairies in Celtic mythology.
This makes a lot of sense in regards to the story. I was not quite "getting" the fox part until now.
How far have you read Kimberly? (view spoiler). I still think it an excellent novel, but also feel it is better that it was not chosen as a group read as it definitely would not be everyone's cup of tea and there may not be enough fantasy for many people.
(view spoiler).
I actually finished the book. Just need to pull my thoughts together for a review.
My thought on the ending:I just typed up my review of the novel. I rated it fives stars because I really did love this braid of stories. In articulating my thoughts, I realized that the ending is probably supposed to leave us a little frustrated, a bit uncomfortable. I think that is point given the really rough issues woven through the narratives.
There is one little annoyance I have with this story. At times I felt like the fox's meddling was used to give a non-fault, no-choice-in-the-matter reason for the characters sexual exploration and experimentation. To borrow a phrase from a different culture, "the devil made me do it." Perhaps this is an out Lai has given the readers who are not yet comfortable in their own skin. Hmmmmm ... perhaps that is a significant role for the fox throughout the book. Something to think about.
Kimberly wrote: "My thought on the ending:I just typed up my review of the novel. I rated it fives stars because I really did love this braid of stories. In articulating my thoughts, I realized that the ending is ..."
Yes, I agree with you Kimberley, that this was the authors intention ( the unresolved ending leaving readers frustrated). I definitely felt that way with ending, especially as I was loving the book up to that point, but then felt let down. However you made a great point in your thoughtful review saying something like just as in life things don't always wrap up neatly, they don't in this novel either.
I loved the complexity of the novel and the way the author wove the various issues and characters with the mythology. The last few chapters became like a thriller.(view spoiler)
How about the story of the 9th century poet Yu Hsuan-Chi, did you get enough of her story? I would have personally liked more.
I've started a thread for our discussion of When Fox is a Thousand. My first impression ... I found it interesting that the book starts with a legend of symbols to denote the setting of each chapter as the story switches through ancient China, modern Canada, and the fox's story. I think this is going to be an interesting read.
Kim