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Tuesday 10 March 2020

Mrs Fox by Sarah Hall Review


A woman turns into a fox while her husband haplessly looks on. That’s all that happens - what am I missing?!

She literally does turn into a fox so, unless all that description was for nothing, I don’t think it’s meant to be a metaphor. But a metaphor for what anyway - how people change in a marriage over time? Eh, I don’t buy it. Is it all in the man’s head and he murdered her or she left him or something? That’s a stretch too as there’s no indication of either. Is it broadly just about “change” in general? Maybe but then what’s Sarah Hall saying about change - that it happens? That’d be pretty bland if she were.

Mrs Fox completely foxed me. It’s a totally flat short story that’s all premise and nothing else. The man seems to quite matter-of-factly accept that his wife is now a fox who lives in the woods and carries on with his life. I’m sorry but I need more from a story than simply a woman turning into a fox apropos of nothing! This is the kind of fiction that tries to appear deep but is about as shallow as a puddle.

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