The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Once, when I lived in the seaside town of Brighton, England, a fox strolled past me on the street. It was at night, and I was with friends along the walkway that overlooks the beach. The fox trotted nonchalantly past us and the rest of the people out haunting the streets that night. It disappeared from my view shortly after, and while our encounter was fleeting, it has never left my memories.

Foxes have long been seen as tricksters in various cultures. In Chinese culture, which is what I’m most familiar with, 狐狸精 or hulijing (fox spirit) are shapeshifters, depicted sometimes as both good and evil, not quite god or demon. This is similar to the kitsune and gumiho myths in Japanese and Korean cultures too.

But back to The Fox Wife. Yangsze Choo, who is from Malaysia, has written other Asian mythology-related books, The Ghost Bride and The Night Tiger. Both books I would highly recommend! So I went into this full of expectations, and I was not disappointed.

The Fox Wife is a beautifully subtle, atmospheric book. It is essentially a tale of revenge, for Snow, a fox who has shapeshifter into a woman, is hunting down the man who killed her child. It is also the tale of Bao, a detective of sorts. He has this strange ability to tell when others are lying. And he’s investigating the death of a young woman who was found outside a restaurant in the cold. The restaurant owner wants Bao to find out her name, so that proper prayers can be said and that she can be put to rest.

“This case, with its overtones of foxes and lost girls, fills Bao with strange urgency. He has the uneasy sensation that he’s walking into a shadowy realm. No longer a child, he’s an old man now, setting out into an unknown forest of lies an half-truths.”

Snow, as the title gives a big hint to, is a wife. She has a husband and that husband is later revealed in the book. And I can’t help but think back to this point that Snow makes early on in the first chapter:

“…though most tales focus on the beautiful female foxes who live by devouring qi, or life force, little is said about the males. Women who run around wilfully doing whatever they please are bound to be censured. A handsome, cunning man is a different matter.”

So while we expect a tale of cunning and misdeeds from Snow, in reality, it is not that easy, not as a young woman in Asia in the early 1900s. For instance, traveling alone as a young girl attracts unwanted attention, and she manages to get on a train by following a pimp. Later, she finds work as a servant in a rich household that owns a traditional medicine shop.

While Snow’s is the main story, Bao’s is told in alternating chapters, and it feels like a cat and mouse game as he traces her steps and catches up to her. Bao’s story is an intriguing one, and we are told much of it through his childhood memories, his own encounters with foxes as a child, and his mysterious abilities – and what is happening to his shadow? When I first saw his name, Bao, I immediately thought of the legendary character Bao Gong (Justice Bao), who apparently was a real-life man from China (born in the year 999), but who many know from wuxia stories, Chinese mythology, or maybe it was the 1990s TV series. Bao Gong is known for his fairness and bringing bad guys to justice.

Despite the whole murder-mystery element of the story, this is a book without that kind of urgency that some readers might expect. It takes its time to build up the encircling stories of Snow and Bao, but I thoroughly enjoyed the way Choo edges the gaps between them closer and closer. Their stories were artfully woven together in a satisfying and beautiful tale.

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham

Gorgeous colourful illustrations from Pham light up this YA graphic novel that is full of family secrets and two special holidays – Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day. 

Valentina Tran loves Valentine’s Day, she makes cards for all her classmates and even has an imaginary friend Cupid. But in high school, everyone thinks her cards are lame and she learns the truth about her parents’ relationship. And her imaginary friend transforms into a more ominous version, Saint Valentine, who demands she give up her heart. 

I love that this book is set in Oakland – Yang is from the Bay Area – and that it features lion dancing, an important part of Lunar New Year celebrations. In the Bay Area, they perform at Chinese restaurants, malls, and businesses during the new year, bringing good luck and prosperity. 

Have you ever seen a lion dance competition? They are truly amazing to watch. They leap from tall platforms (more like poles really), doing crazy stunts up high, and somehow still managing to mimic being a lion. These are mostly held in Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia, although I recently read an article about a teen lion dance troupe based in San Francisco that’s been competing in these events.

Anyway, back to the book, it was just lovely to have Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean characters celebrating the new year. Korean lion dancing was also featured. Valentina learns to connect back with her culture and her family. The teenagers, their struggles and how they dealt with them felt authentic, but I wanted to find out more about Valentina’s parents too (is there a sequel?). 

Beautiful illustrations that frame a sweet coming of age story and a wonderful representation of the Asian diaspora.  

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

I didn’t realize this was a continuation of sorts of Arikawa’s previous book, THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES. But you don’t really need to have read the first book before reading this one. 

A collection of stories that feature cats, this was just bursting full of feline love. Many of the cats involved are rescued cats and the stories revolve around the families they live with. The title does give a hint that there will be loss involved, so there may be some tears when you read these stories. I do think the author approached the farewells thoughtfully, her writing is simple and direct.

Counterweight by Djuna

I love weird books and I jumped onto this Korean sci-fi after seeing it on IG many times. Plus I have enjoyed so very many books that Hur has translated, like Bora’s Cursed Bunny and of course, the BTS book 💜

Counterweight packs a lot into its 156 pages. The author Djuna (who’s real identity seems to be a mystery) is also a film critic and I can definitely see that when it comes to Counterweight. It’s action-packed and would make for an exciting movie. It’s a bit hard to describe the plot but there are space elevators. 

It was a chaotic and sometimes confusing read that felt hard to sink my teeth into. Maybe that’s why it took me a few weeks to read this short book. I liked the butterflies and the chaebol culture critique, as well as the idea of space elevators. It’s an intriguing story but I wanted more connection to characters so it wasn’t quite for me.

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

To be honest, I didn’t want to write a post about this book because I didn’t want to have to think about this book anymore. It’s a harrowing read. The physical bullying that goes on in the school is terrifying and so painful to read. 

The book is about Eyes, a boy who’s bullied because of his lazy eye. A girl named Kojima is also being bullied in class and she suggests that they become friends. Kojima has a very different view of the bullying, she feels like her suffering is almost meant to be, like it’s a calling. 

Despite the brutality of the bullying, the most chilling moment in the story is when Eyes happens to meet Momose, one of the bullies, and confronts him. But Momose tells him that there is no meaning behind all of it. He’s bullied because he was around when someone was looking to punch someone. 

“The weak can’t handle reality. They can’t deal with the pain or sadness, let alone the obvious fact that nothing in life actually has any meaning.”

This is a harrowing read. I kept wondering why doesn’t anyone do anything for these kids? Are there no teachers around to help or has this bullying become so normalized that it’s ignored? Does this happen in real life? It’s thought provoking for sure, this book, it’s uncomfortable and it’s troubling, it’s like that splinter that gets into your finger and you know it’s there but you can’t see the damn thing and it hurts, just enough to remind you that it’s there.

Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai

Maybe it was because I was ill when reading this book, or perhaps it was the unbroken long paragraphs used in the book, but reading Mild Vertigo did create this uneasy sense of claustrophobia (and some vertigo, but maybe that’s the illness talking) as I got stuck into the main character’s life and all its details. 

First published in 1997, but only recently translated into English, Mild Vertigo follows Natsumi, a stay-home parent in her 30s as she goes about her daily life, tending to her family, running errands, going to the supermarket, talking to neighbors, and all the minutiae of daily life. It’s a stream of consciousness that’s both fascinating and challenging because nothing happens and yet so many details and thoughts are drawn together as we all spin along in this carousel of life. 

Some readers are going to hate this book because of the way it’s written and others, because nothing much happens. But I found it intriguing, as we experience the life of a Japanese housewife in the 90s. And also by the strange and mesmerizing writing style. I felt like I had to often reorientate myself as I navigated these long continuous passages, as if to make sure I stayed on the right path and didn’t get lost in the vertigo. 

“the water was flowing out of the tap, there was nothing remarkable about it — that was the whole thing, there was nothing remarkable about it whatsoever, it was an utterly ordinary thing — and yet for some unknown reason she kept staring at it, and falling, again for some unknown reason, into a kind of trance”. 

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

This book was visceral and lush. It hit all the textures and mouthfeel, all the gut punches and senses. It’s dystopian and has a kind of sci-fi feel to it, but as if Anthony Bourdain wrote a sci-fi series. It also made me think of that disturbing restaurant movie, The Menu.

I don’t know how to describe this book but it has to do with an environmental disaster that wrecks the earth and humans are left with bioengineered mung-protein-soy-algal flour to cook with. The unnamed chef takes a job in a remote research community in Italy which stores unimaginable wealth in terms of food like the last strawberries. 

This book is a story about power, about food and love, it’s a complex and sensual and creative work. I did find it hard to read though, taking several weeks to finally make my way through it. This book made me hungry with its intense descriptions of food, but it also left me a bit cold, in that I wanted to feel more for the unnamed chef, I wanted to care more, but I didn’t.

What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama

Look at that cover! It is lovely and cozy and so very welcoming. The pile of books, the view out the window, the potted plant, the cute polar bear mug with tea or coffee, and the gorgeous cat. 

So would it be wrong for me to have presumed that a cat would be front and center in this story? I think not! I also checked out the covers of a few other international editions of the book, which also have cats. 

Ultimately, I was disappointed by the lack of cats in this book. There are cats only in the second chapter, which features a bookshop that sells coffee, books about cats, and has resident cats that wander around, which sounds absolutely delightful. But alas, no cats actually live at the library, and neither was the librarian a talking cat (hey this is Japanese lit, anything can happen – see, THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS by Sosuke Natsukawa). 

On the other hand, if you were looking for a book that doesn’t necessarily feature cats, this book features a small community library and a librarian whose book recommendations are absolutely spot on for the various visitors who come seeking her help, whether it be a new retiree at loss for what to do, a woman sidelined at work after having a baby, or a 30yo adrift in life. 

It has BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD vibes, like THE KAMOGAWA FOOD DETECTIVES (by Hisashi Kashiwai) I read a few months back. But WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY is maybe more successful because we follow the various characters more thoroughly, seeing from their POV before they finally hit the library. It leaves you feeling warm and cozy, so it’s a perfect winter or monsoon season read, along with your hot drink in a cute mug.

The Kamogawa Food Detectives – Hisashi Kashiwai

This book has Before The Coffee Gets Cold vibes. As in, it’s set in one place (an eatery in Kyoto), there are a myriad of characters that rotate into the eatery looking for help of some sort, and the owners provide help and knowledge. There is that vibe of reminiscences and nostalgia, but in this case, no magic happens of any sort, and instead some footwork and investigation by this retired policeman – although we aren’t really given that much details into how that all happens. But somehow Nagare KAMOGAWA and his daughter Koishi make it happen. 

This is a book for foodies for sure. The people looking for help are all looking for a particular food that they may had once eaten, maybe when they were kids, or with a loved one who’s now gone. And so it has all those feel good, sentimental erm feels that go along with this kind of story. 

A gentle and heartwarming read that just makes you hungry for Japanese food. 

What is one dish that you would want to taste one more time? I think for me, it is my late grandmother’s Kong Bah, a stewed pork dish that’s popular in Singapore. It’s served inside a soft steamed plain bao. When I was a kid, we would have Sunday dinner with my grandparents and other relatives. Usually there would be some meat dishes, stir fried vegetables, maybe a steamed fish, and a soup. The kids would go to pick out the food we wanted and sit at the small table on the front patio. The adults would sit at the round table and eat together. My grandmother didn’t cook Kong Bah every Sunday, so it was a treat when she did. I remember requesting for her to cook it for my birthday. I sometimes make Kong Bah for my kids now, but I guess I always wondered what her recipe for it was. Am I remembering that it was extra tasty or was it because of nostalgia-tinted tastebuds?

Invitation to a Banquet – Fuchsia Dunlop

This book is so good! Fuchsia Dunlop takes the reader on a discovery of Chinese food, some you may know of, others completely new to you. Well at least that was the case for me. Here I should take a step back and mention that I’m Chinese Singaporean, and in Singapore, the Chinese food tends towards the regions of Fujian (Hokkien) and Chaozhou (Teochew, or also referred to as Chiuchow), some Hong Kong and Hainanese food. So while I may know some bits about Chinese food, by way of Singapore, I have learnt so much more from this book. 

In case you haven’t heard of Fuchsia Dunlop, she’s British but is an authority on Chinese food, having lived in China and even studied a professional chef training course at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine. She’s since written seven books about Chinese cuisine. 

I love how she tries so hard to break that “greasy Chinese food” misconception that westerners have. Admittedly, a lot of Chinese American food is on the greasy side, and it doesn’t help that Panda Express is so popular (also, yuck). 

Having grown up on steamed fish, stir fried vegetables, clear soups, braised pork etc in Singapore, that greasy misconception annoys me too. I mean I do love those days where we get chow mein and spring rolls from the little Chinese takeout joint and finish up with their sesame balls (also deep fried). But at home, I like to cook simpler stuff like steamed egg, ABC soup (carrot, potato, tomato soup), some kind of stir fried vegetable and meat dish, and rice. 

This is an unbelievably comprehensive book, it covers not just ingredients and origins, also culinary techniques and food styles. It is all you ever wanted to learn about Chinese cuisine and more. Yet the book manages to be engaging, insightful, and easy to read. It will also leave you hungry. 

“There are whole fresh river shrimp, sleekly clad in a soy-dark glaze; angled chunks of brilliant green mustard stem; pickled bamboo shoots, ivory white; soft globes of baby taro dotted with tiny golden osmanthus flowers; and slices of duck that have been smoked over sugar cane.”