The Snow Fox: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Oh let it end already
Review: The Snow Fox by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer is a highly touted, ravely reviewed novel that I found unrealistic and unappealing.

The basic plot sounded great and was pretty decent--how the lives and destinies of the beautiful Lady Utsu, her protector the famous warrior Lord Norimasa and her bodyguard, and Norimasa second-in-command, Matsuhito intertwined to affect the other. However, as the novel progressed it began to falter and become uninteresting. The further along I got, the harder it was to press on. Of course, by the middle of the book, I felt I had invested too much time to put it aside unread.

I found the Lady Utsu unlovable and I couldn't get at all interested in her fate or future. Furthermore, her actions in the latter part of the book were incompatible with her personality and the lack of change to be found in her. Not to spoil it, and hopefully this bit won't, but how could a woman like her find contentment in a hermit existence? She couldn't and didn't, even her actions show that. Schaeffer seems to be the only one who didn't realize that, as her writing suggests .

Matsuhito was more lovable, but less dynamic. He was exactly what one would expect a samurai to be. . . but without realistic emotions, actions and reactions. It was only his love for the little fox that made me warm to him. As a matter of a fact, the story of the foxes was the only thing that made me press on through the last few chapters--though I will admit to skimming a bit through there.

Lord Norimasa, on the other hand, was a warlord of vitality and personality. He was the only well-rounded personality in the book, and I enjoyed all his scenes. His interactions with the old councilor, his wife, Matsuhito and Lady Utsu showed difference and depth. Schaeffer did well with Norimasa and I regret that he was not in the novel more.

The book is supposed to be told by the daughter of Utsu and Matsuhito, who never knew them and never knew their story until she was an adult. She is telling it from some scrolls that supposedly record their history. Given that, how is she (the daughter) able to record their thoughts and motives? Very unlikely, very weak plot device. Furthermore, the book switches from event to event in a jarring, rough way that is hard to follow. Schaeffer obscures the identity of some characters, to add a bit of mystery I suppose. All it does is make those parts of the book unintelligible or ridiculous.

I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of 1 solely because I enjoyed Lord Norimasa and I enjoyed the story of the foxes. . . and because it was better than sitting down in front of a sit-com. Others may--and many have--enjoy it. I, however, have read many books that were much better and not so many that were much worse.

Rating:
Summary: Snow Fox
Review: The Snow Fox, that remarkable novel by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, is a book everyone should read. We read it in our book group and this was the first book discussed that the men liked as much as the women. This never happens. The characters come alive at once and are completely believable. Even the two foxes have personalities of their own.

The Snow Fox begins with Lady Utsu, the most famous court poet of her time. She is ordered by the member of her clan, Lord Norimasa, to kill the man she most loves. She does, and after that, she is changed forever; she becomes cruel to men, probably (I thought) because she no longer wants to damage a man again. But she soon falls in love with a samurai who is Lord Norimasa's most trusted soldier. The two of them are separated by battle and by court intrigues, but after a great deal of time has passed, the two of them are reunited again, largely because each of them has a pet fox, and Lady Utsu, who is known to travel with a fox, is again found by the samurai who loves her. The love affair between the two is completely real--none of that drippy stuff you usually find in novels with romantic plots. The love affair is also very fragile. Both the samurai and Lady Utsu are afraid the happiness they find will not last. He believes this because life has taught him that lesson, and Lady Utsu has learned the same thing. She also (according to me) feels great guilt for the cruelty she has inflicted on men and believes she is sure to be punished. The end of the novel is simply heartbreaking and feels predestined. I don't want to give the ending away, but I didn't want anyone watching me as I finished reading the ending. It was too powerful. I wanted to read it in silence, without distractions.

I am a fan of Susan Fromberg Schaeffer's work. Anya and Buffalo Afternoon were just republished. The three together are a remarkable triad about the suffering caused by the violence of everyday life and the unending suffering caused by war. I've reread The Snow Fox twice--it is an amazingly beautiful book, like all of Schaeffer's--and I reread the other two. You can't go wrong reading War and Peace. But then you can't go wrong reading these three amazing novels. I've never read anything that can touch them. And with the three of them available together--nuclear fission! In the dangerous time in which we live, these three books are essential reading. Schaeffer is one of the few great American writers, and it's about time people started saying so.

Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: There are few books for which we would wait on the authors' doorsteps for our next opportunity to be rewarded for our patience. The Snow Fox is that rarity. This is not pulp fiction. It is that occasional explosion of brilliance in an otherwise dimly lit universe of novel writing. Don't share yours with your friends. You'll want to have it to read it again after you've finished with the other brilliant works of this author.

Rating:
Summary: Difficult to love
Review: This book sounded wonderful from the online reviews, but I was sorely disappointed. The details were certainly fascinating, but I found the author's style jarring and disjointed. Certainly the grace of Japan is evident in the novel, but my concentration just kept getting derailed by the author's prose.

Rating:
Summary: The Snow Job
Review: This is a novel about Japan in the, er, well a long time ago. It must have been a long time ago, because there are no cars or airplanes or anything, and there's mention of samurai warriors wandering about and swinging their swords around and chopping off heads. My guess is that it would have to be at least two hundred years ago, but maybe more. Maybe a thousand. But, long ago Japan, in any event.

Actually, I'm not even positive it's Japan, but Japan would be as good a guess as any. As mentioned, there is talk of samurai, and plus, the names of the characters are "Lady Utsu," and "Norimasa," and "Matsuhito," so it must be. There's even a picture of a naked Japanese-looking babe on the cover, but you never know, she might be Korean or something, but okay, okay, okay, Japan it is. The book flap says so, too.

Kind of a funny place, Japan. At least in here. I mean, there's talk of "nuns," and "monks" and "convents" and that sort of thing. I'm no expert on historic Japan or anything, but I'm pretty sure that the Japanese never practiced Christianity then or even now that much. Probably, the author was just trying to convey the historic Japanese EQUIVALENT of nuns and monks and convents. I'm sure that's the case. But, I don't know, stupid me, I kind of thought it might be interesting to know something--anything really--of what REAL Japanese religion was like so long ago. Whenever it was. But that's not really the focus of the novel, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Actually, the focus of the novel is on Lady Utsu, the Snow Fox of the title. Well, at the beginning anyway. She's a member of the court of the Lord Norimasa. Like a courtesan or something, I think. In any event, she is strongly disliked by the Lady Tsukie, who is Norimasa's number one wife, because she's so good looking. Norimasa's general, or top soldier, or something--his name is Matsuhito--then enters the picture and sleeps with Lady Utsu one night. Except they don't have physical relations, they just lie next to one another stiffly, "like statues." But the next night: "It goes without saying . . . of course, they became lovers." Of course! It goes without saying! Even though they've only known each other one night, and even though she is the prize of Norimasa's female retinue, and even though Matsuhito might be taking the risk of getting his head chopped off, and even though this is ancient Japan the customs of which I, personally--stupid me--know nothing about, OF COURSE they became lovers!

But then there's a battle and Lady Utsu (she's referred to as Lady Utsu throughout the entire novel which must be another ancient Japanese custom, not just political correctness), is sent away and Matsuhito, who is Norimasa's general or top soldier or numero-uno samurai-capo or something, has to go and help him fight it. They win and chop off a lot of heads. It's not clear why they were fighting or what the political ramifications were or even whether this battle was based on historical fact, but who cares? This isn't the focus of the novel anyway.

No, the focus of the novel is on ancient Japanese philosophy. Well, maybe not that either, but at least Lady Utsu gets to write a lot of cryptic poetry and engage in a lot of cryptic conversations, all of which are vaguely and mysteriously Oriental sounding. Except of course when she's not acting like a spoiled contemporary American fifteen-year old brat which seemed very unusual for ancient Japan, but what do I know? Besides, Lady Tsukie is screaming and yelling and cursing at her husband the great Lord Norimasa on almost every other page, so I guess historic Japanese women weren't really as taciturn and servile as we'd all been led to believe, either.

Actually, really, the focus is on Matsuhito, who after the big battle is separated from the beautiful Lady Utsu, and who spends the rest of the novel wandering around the snowy mountains with his horse and his symbolic pet fox looking for her. The moon in Japan, by the way, resembles, "a sand garden on which rain has fallen," which is PRECISELY the first thing I think of when I see a full moon. Well, maybe the second thing. And, don't worry, everybody's pain will be soothed by "time's rough tongue," which is EXACTLY what I think every time my little doggie comes over and licks my big toe, but that's only when I'm not wearing socks.

In any event, Japan sure was a wacky place back then! Well, whenever it was.

Rating:
Summary: Best novel
Review: This is the best novel I've read in many, many years. The characters of the lady poet and the samurai are profoundly engaging. I felt I learned a great deal about them, about medieval Japan, and about human love and loss. This is a war story and a love story I will want to read again. It is powerfully and even beautifully written. I don't know how the author manages to get inside the culture and the heads and hearts of her characters, but I am grateful she did.