Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
by Jenners • 02/28/2012 • 2.5 Stars, Fiction, Literary, M Titles, Miscellaneous, O Authors • 32 Comments
Mr. Fox by Helen OyeyemiPublisher: Riverhead Hardcover, 2011
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
Where I Got It: Bought it for my Kindle
Why I Read It: After reading this review by Zibilee at Raging Biblomania, I impulsively downloaded it to my Kindle
My Rating: 3.5 stars but I might also give it 2.5 stars. Honestly, I think I just wasn’t up for this book so I’ll give it 3.5 stars to be nice. (But deep down, I give it 2.5 stars.)
Book Description
Considering that I’m still not really sure exactly what was going on, writing this summary shall be a challenge. Let’s see … as best as I can tell, the story is about a writer (Mr. Fox) who is married to a woman named Daphne but is having an affair of sorts with his muse (Mary Foxe), who is slowly taking corporeal form in the real world. But when I tell you that this story is not told in a straightforward way, trust me on that
My Thoughts
The story of this love triangle is told in a series of short stories, vignettes, fairy tales, letters, and narratives by the three characters and jumbled together in a blender of sorts so that the reader must be on the very tip-top of their game to keep it all straight. It was very A Visit from a Goon Squad-ish but even more confusing. Stories would abruptly end and one of the characters would start talking and half the time I wouldn’t know what was going on.
For instance, there would be a story about Mary Foxe, and I’d be completely unsure if she was a character in a story written by Mr. Fox, one she made up herself, or just a character in the bigger story being told by Helen Oyeyemi. Then characters would appear in fantastical fairy tale-like stories and then show up later as real people in the real world. Getting all this straight was really difficult, and I’m not actually sure I did keep it straight.
To be 100% honest, my main reaction to the book was “WTF??” I found myself thinking this over and over again throughout the book. And when I got to the very end, I remember thinking to myself: “Your entire review should just be WTF?!” As a service to you, I’m struggling to provide a bit more information.
The writing itself isn’t bad. I found myself getting sucked into the various stories that Oyeyemi was telling via Mr. Fox or Mary Foxe or Daphne, but I just couldn’t connect the puzzle pieces together in a satisfying way. Now this could definitely be my fault as a reader. I read this book at night before going to bed, and I realize now this isn’t a book to be read for relaxation or when tired. It requires a bit more commitment from the reader.
In the end, I just didn’t have it in me to go back and try to make the book fit together for me. In fact, I had to go back to Zibilee’s review to get a better understanding of what was going on.
One last thing, this had the most awful ending I’ve read in a book in a long time. I just HATED IT. But at least the book was over.
Recommended For
Readers up for a challenging read, fans of the fractured storytelling form a la A Visit from the Goon Squad. (And hey, if you read this book and “get” it, can you explain it to me?)
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Well this is definitely not for me. I’m not too fond of jumbled up stories that leave me confused (I can manage confusion quite nicely on my own).
It does sound strange, I’d probably just give up on it myself. I get easily irritated.
Your review kinda matches the cover
I’m still laughing over the “deep down I give it 2.5 stars!”
I’ve read a few like that – it’s been in the past year I’ve gotten much more stingy with my star-giving. this fox is not for me – i’d be throwing a book!
I don’t like to have to keep a brain chart on a book’s characters or events! Same thing for movies. I’d rather just be entertained and think very little!
Oh yeah that book would be a challenge for my fried brain!
I felt the same about the last book of hers that I read (White is for Witching)…that I needed to be at the top of my game and I wasn’t. Consequently, it was a miserable experience.
I’m sorry to hear this. I downloaded a sample of this book and had somewhat of the same vibe, but I always intended to get to it someday. Because how adorable is this plot? And that cover? I wish it was better.
WTF???? Don’t you just hate books like that?
I am reading/listening to Goon Squad now and at about halfway thru, I am liking it. But your mention of “the most horrible ending ever” makes me want to read this one. Morbid of me, isn’t it?
Never a good thing when you have the “at least the book is over” reaction. Okay then, I will stay far away from this one.
Don’t know if I’m in the mood for a WTF book this week. Maybe it will have to wait. Thanks for the heads up!
LOL – I love honest reviews. I had to go to my reading list and make sure this wasn’t on it. Thanks for the tip.
Not a good read then? It sounds to me as if there were too many styles going on.
But at least it ended, LOL! I would probably not like this book. It sounds a little surreal, and I’m sure I’d be confused!
HA! Funny. Are you like me in that you HAVE to finish a book, no matter how terrible just to end it?
Well, if it isn’t a read me before going to bed book then forget it. The brain power being used in the evening should be minimal….in my opinion.
Got any fluffy books on the bookshelf?
Thanks for saving us all. If you say you hate it I totally trust you in not reading it
I’ve tried two of her other books and never made it very far into them. They just don’t feel worth it to me, I guess, and this one doesn’t sound much better…
This sounds like a book that would disappoint me as well. I read The Icarus Girl by Oyemi and enjoyed it. I’ve also heard that White is for Witching is good.
It sounds like it would be over my head.
I love your wishy washy rating. I totally know what you mean. There are some books that I read that I’m sure must be good, but I just don’t read them at the right time or in the right frame of mind. This does sound confusing though. I don’t know if I’d be up for this level of commitment. And boo for bad endings! They can completely ruin an otherwise great book.
I love, love, love it that you save me from reading some of these books. I really do!
I had a very similar experience with White is for Witching. I didn’t have a clue what was going on! I’m sure it is very good, but as I couldn’t follow it there was no way I was going to try this one. Congratulations for finishing it!
I hate WTF books and movies! and poems! so many poems are WTF!
I have this out from the library right now, but I am not so sure I will get a chance to read it…
At least the writing was good, but if your first thoughts upon finishing it were WTF?, then I’m definitely going to pass.
Hee hee. You make me laugh. Hey, I liked Goon Squad…it was clever and made me use my brain cells. However, I’m just not sure if this one would be one step too far into the bizarre. Most of the time, I prefer to be more entertained and less challenged. Sometimes I think authors try to get a little too clever for their britches.
Jenners, thanks for being so honest about your thoughts and feelings about this book. Not every book is for every person (duh!).
It was a pretty confusing book, and I honestly had no idea what was going on for about 50 to 100 pages in the beginning. I didn’t understand much of anything that was happening until I read the publisher’s summary, and the information on the back of the book, and then slowly it was made clear to me. It was very weird. I didn’t really much care for the story of Mr Fox and his paramours all that much, but I liked the fables and stories that were embedded in the main story, and think that they were what made the story interesting to me. I am sorry that this one didn’t work for you though. I can totally understand that, as it took pretty much all the concentration that I had to figure out what was going on!
Sounds like the author got so caught up in being unique, that he didn’t realize he was also being confusing as all get out! Kudos to you for completing it.
This sounds totally confusing. I don’t enjoy a book that makes me struggle to figure out what’s going on!