Book review and recommendation/ Preporuka i ogled knjige ( When Fox Is A Thousand....)

Last book I reviewed I described as a journey into a women's soul, a psychological novel with fantasy elements. I could describe this novel in the same way, the only difference would be that here mythological elements are Asian and not Slavic in origin. What book will I be reviewing today? One very special novel! My first book by Larissa Lai! When Fox is A Thousand happens to be her very first novel, published back in 1995. I was too young to read it back then (this novel isn't suitable for children and it is not exactly YA/ teenager appropriate either) but I'm not too young to read it now. 

Who is Larissa Lai? She is a Canadian writer and University professor. She was born in USA but grew up in Canada, where she still lives and works, so she is a contemporary Canadian author. Speaking of Canada, there is another contemporary Canadian author that I love dearly.  I think I mentioned Margaret Atwood a number of times on this blog. She is not only an incredibly gifted writer but also a great intellectual and activist. If you have spare time, look her interviews up on youtube or some place else. I love the way her mind works, her points of view are always so fresh and her honesty and wit are awe-inspiring.  But, let get back to Lai. Her mind is just as fascinating and wonderful. How did I like her novel? Long story short, I loved it. You can read my review here on goodreads (where I rated it 4/5) and/or scroll down for a shorter review. 

Zadnju knjigu o kojoj sam pisala na blogu opisala sam kao putovanje u žensku dušu, psihološki roman s fantastičnim elementima. Ovaj roman bi istim riječima mogla opisati, jedina razlika što su ovdje mitološki elementi azijskoga, a ne slavenskoga podrijekla. O kojoj ću knjizi pisati danas? O jednom posebnom romanu. Moja prva knjiga spisateljice Larisse Lai. Kada je lisici tisuću je zapravo njen roman prvijenac, objavljen još 1995.godine. i koliko znam još nije prijevođen na hrvatski (morat ćemo poduzeti nešto u vezi s tim). Bila sam premlada da ga čitam kada je bio objavljen jer stvarno nije primjeren za djecu,  a ni za mlađe maloljetnike, ali nisam premlada za njega sada. 

Tko je Larissa Lai? Kanadska spisateljica i sveučilišna profesorica. Rođena je u SAD-u ali odrasla je u Kanadi gdje i sada živi i radi tako da se radi o suvremenoj kanadskoj spisateljici. Govoreći o Kanadi, postoji još jedna suvremena kanadska spisateljica koju kao volim. Mislim da sam već nekoliko puta spomenula Margaret Atwood na svome blogu. Ona nije samo nevjerojatno nadarena spisateljica već i istaknuta intelektualka i aktivistica. Imate li slobodnoga vremena, potražite neki njen intervju na youtubu ili negdje drugdje. Volim kako njen mozak radi, njeni pogledi na stvari su uvijek svježi, a njena iskrenost i domišljatost zaslužuju divljenje. No, vratimo se Lai. Njen je um jednako zanimljiv i divan. Kako mi se svidio njen roman? Ukratko, jako mi se svidio. Možete pročitati ovdje moj ogled na goodreads-u gdje sam mu dala ocjenu 4/5  ili/ i pročitati kraći ogled ispod.

What happens when fox turns a thousand? The fox becomes immortal. That's what the myth claims anyway. I've been fascinated by the Asian fox myth for the longest time. Some of you may remember my Inari illustrations because some of them were published on this little place of mine. The interpretation of the fox myth in this book is ingenious. I was completely and utterly enchanted. The writing in this novel is done beautifully and poetically.  In fact, it is often called a lyrical novel. I would describe it that way myself. In this novel you will witness Asian mythology coming to life.

Što se dogodi kada lisica napuni tisuću godina? Postaje besmrtna ili barem tako kaže mit. Mene već dugo fascinira taj azijski mit o lisici. Neki od vas se možda sjećaju mojih ilustracija Inari jer sam neke od njih i objavila na blogu. Intepretacija mita o lisici u ovoj knjizi je genijalna. Posve me očarala. Pisanje u ovom romanu je lijepo i poetično. Zapravo, često ga zovu lirskim romanom, a i ja bi ga bila sklona tako opisati. U ovom romanu svjedočit ćete oživotvorenju azijske mitogije.

 

 This novel follows three different narrations. Three voices (Artemis, the Fox and the Poetess) tell their story. The fox is the only narrator who seems to have insight into other women's mind. The fox is a she, I must stress. This is a lesbian novel and it is only about women. The fox does seem to have an uncanny insight into the minds of the ladies whose stories parallel her narration. This mythological creature (that is able to take a shape of  women by reanimating their corpses) opens with her background story (that she will elaborate on many times) about why she is alone. In a way, this novel starts off with a tale of loneliness. I found it appropriate, because this novel is very honest in revealing what happens when we are searching for escape from reality in romantic relationships and that is often- more loneliness. This novel is novel about love in all its shape and forms. Sometimes that love is scarcely more than lust and sometimes it is a deep joining of souls and a profound friendship.

Ovaj roman prati tri pripovjedna slijeda. Tri glasa (Artemis, Lisica i Pjesnikinja) pričaju svoju priču. Lisica je jedina pripovjedačica koja ima uvid u um drugih žena. Lisica je također ona, to moram naglasiti. Ovo je lezbijski roman i radi se samo o ženama. Lisica ima neobičan uvid u um dama čija priča prati usporednu njenu naraciju. Ovo mitološko biće (koje može uzeti oblik žena oživljavanjem njihovih leševa) otvara priču sa svojom pozadinskom pričom ( na koju će se nadovezati puno puta) o tome kako je ostala sama. Na neki način ovaj roman se otvara pričom o usamljenosti. Mislim da je to prikladno jer je ovaj roman jako iskren u otkrivanju onoga što se događa kada tražiš bijeg od stvarnosti u romantičnim vezama, a to je često više usamljenosti. Ovaj roman je roman o ljubavi u svim njenim oblicima i formama. Ponekad je ta ljubav više nekakva požuda, a ponekad je duboko sjedinjenje duša i duboko prijateljstvo.

  

 

I quite enjoyed reading this novel even if it seemed a bit predictable at times. The fox was my favourite character, the author really managed to make her come to life. I was a bit surprised how this one thousand years old creature seemed more three dimensional than the present day woman i.e. Artemis,  who is in many ways the protagonist of this book. However, the author may have had good reasons for it. I won't get into that now because I promised to you that I won't make this review a long one. My conclusion? This novel is more than deserving of a recommendation, both for the beauty of its writing and its satisfying ending. There is magic to be found in this book. Beware, you might fall under Lai's spell.

Jako sam uživala u čitanju ovoga romana iako mi se na trenutke činio malo predividljiv. Lisica mi je bila najdraži lik i spisateljica joj je stvarno uspjela udahnuti život. Malo me i iznenadilo kako se ovo tisuću godina staro biće čini višedimezionalnim od žene sadašnjice to jest Artemis, koja je na puno načina protagonistica ovoga romana. No, možda  je spisateljica imala dobrih razloga za to. Zasada neću u to ulaziti jer sam obećala da ovaj ogled neće biti previše dug. Moj zaljučak? Roman i više nego zaslužuje preporuku, zbog ljepote samoga pisanja i zbog odličnoga kraja. U ovoj knjizi ima čarolije. Pazite se, mogla bi vas Lai začarati.