Mr. Fox

A Novel

By: Helen Oyeyemi

Narrated by: Carol Boyd

Fairy-tale romances end with a wedding, and the fairy tales don't get complicated. In this book, celebrated writer Mr. Fox can't stop himself from killing off the heroines of his novels, and neither can his wife, Daphne. It's not until Mary, his muse, comes to life and transforms him from author into subject that his story begins to unfold differently.

Mary challenges Mr. Fox to join her in stories of their own devising; and so through different times and places, the two of them seek each other, find each other, thwart each other, and try to stay together, even when the roles they inhabit seem to forbid it. Their adventures twist the fairy tale into nine variations, exploding and teasing conventions of genre and romance, and each iteration explores the fears that come with accepting a lifelong bond.

Meanwhile, Daphne becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair, and finds her way into Mary and Mr. Fox's game. And so Mr. Fox is offered a choice: Will it be 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?

The extraordinarily gifted Helen Oyeyemi has written a love story like no other. Mr. Fox is a magical book, endlessly inventive, as witty and charming as it is profound in its truths about how we learn to be with one another.

©2011 Helen Oyeyemi. All rights reserved. (P)2011 AudioGO

Good Listen

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The narrator was excellent and made this book enjoyable. I doubt if I had read the book that I would have finished it.

What was most disappointing about Helen Oyeyemi???s story?

I found the plot to be non-existant. It was more a collection of short stories. I wish it had been marketed that way.

I stayed up multiple nights in a row, unable to stop listening

The performance was so great, I honestly think I probably had an extra spectacular experience hearing it for the first time rather than reading it (which is not something I've ever said before). That's saying a lot because the story/writing itself is already phenomenal.

Good!

Beautiful writing and narration. The story takes a while to make sense, but is lovely if you stick with it!

Excellent!

By far The Best audible book I’ve listened to. I can’t recommend it enough. I loved the stories and the narrator did an incredible job crafting distinct voices for the various characters. It only took a few days to listen because I couldn’t put it down.

very interesting

the book makes no sense, but I don't think it's supposed to. the stories are fun and allows for you to use your imagination.

Good Listen

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The narrator was excellent and made this book enjoyable. I doubt if I had read the book that I would have finished it.

What was most disappointing about Helen Oyeyemi’s story?

I found the plot to be non-existant. It was more a collection of short stories. I wish it had been marketed that way.

Great narration but thin on plot

This book irritated me so much that I considered abandoning it several times. Maybe it wasn't meant to be heard as an audiobook but it just didn't gel for me. Unconnected sections kind of pieced together.

Then "Some Foxes" came along and I loved it so much that I bumped this review 2 whole stars. Part 2 is that good.

Maybe I'm too literal . . .

. . . but no one in my book group enjoyed Mr. Fox, either. The reader has to give up on trying to order the pieces in time and geography.

Probably a better read than listen

Would you consider the audio edition of Mr. Fox to be better than the print version?

Probably not since there are no audible chapter breaks, so the story shifts very quickly without warning, and sometimes it is difficult to follow along. Additionally, some of the accents were very difficult to understand.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mary, because her story is probably the most complex. I would love to figure out which stories were true, or had a truth to them.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably the boys' boarding school story. The ending was kind of haunting and gave me chills, and the whole idea of boys being trained to be perfect husbands is a great satire on Victorian-era views of women.

If you could take any character from Mr. Fox out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mr. Fox, definitely. He's very witty. I'd also love to figure out which stories were his and which were Mary's. Also, to try to pick his brain about what happened to Mary. I also really love the letters between Sinjin and Mary early in the book.

Any additional comments?

I was actually very surprised by the ending.... But I won't say too much lest I give something away.

A Great Novel, just Poor for Audio

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Helen Oyeyemi has spun a very clever tale about a man, his muse and his wife. But the novel has a challenging structure, switching voices between the three main characters, and adding in a number of clever fairy tales in between chapters.

It was difficult to listen to the book because of the shifting narrators. Ms. Boyd uses different voices, but I didn't catch on to what was really going on until 2/3rds of the way through the book. I just think a complex book like this one would be better read than listened to.

Have you listened to any of Carol Boyd’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Mr. Fox?

I'm sure the book is excellent. I have listened to Boy Snow Bird, another Oyeyemi book, which only has two voices, and I really enjoyed it. I intend to get a copy of the book someday and re-read it.