Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful, poetic allegory.
Review: This lyrical allegory is a must for anyone who has ever tried to be someone they are not in order to gain love, for anyone who has had to choose between two loves, for anyone who has had to fight to save their love. Written in a beautiful, poetic style reminiscent of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, "The Fox Woman" captures the reader from the moment it begins.
Kij Johnson tells this love story entirely through the diary entries of the three main characters; each with their own unique perspective and voice. One would think that by doing this she would risk redundancy, and yet the overlaps are few and natural, serving only to connect the characters to each other and to the storyline.
Besides the unique, mystical vehicle she has chosen to deliver this allegory, Johnson's strength lies in her imagistic detail. Here is an example: "The rain has stopped, but the eaves still drip. Overhead, the spiderweb glistens in the moonlight that filters through the eave openings. The gossamer lines are almost too fine to see as anything but a lightening of the darkness."
Her language is exquisitely beautiful and yet also accessible. This strength, combined with the universality of the topic, is what makes it possible for the reader to leave their world and enter fully into the story; and in making that possible, Johnson weaves a fox magic of her own.
Rating: 
Summary: Enchanting and Engaging Fable
Review: What a wonderful, enchanting surprise this book turned out to be! Although Ms. Johnson chose a very difficult technique to tell the story - basically writing every scene from three different points of view - she deftly weaves the three narrarators' perspectives into an engaging tale of love and illusion in feudal Japan. All I can say is "WOW", and she better have another book in the works!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, like a clear winter?s day
Review: When I picked up Fox Woman I had no idea what to expect from it. I had seen it on a friend's bookshelf and curiosity led me to order it. Inside I found a deep and beautiful story full of truth and pain. Before I finished the story I was drawn in by the incredible characterization and the simplicity using the different perspectives in diary format to define alternate views. While reading this book, I misplaced my copy and was so engrossed that I purchased another in order to finish it. While reading I feared how she was going to be able to end the book so as to not oversimplify, make it saccharine, or trite. All may fears were allayed and in the end I was satisfied that this book did not conclude so much as chose to stop sharing its story. It is one that should not be missed
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, like a clear winter¿s day
Review: When I picked up Fox Woman I had no idea what to expect from it. I had seen it on a friend's bookshelf and curiosity led me to order it. Inside I found a deep and beautiful story full of truth and pain. Before I finished the story I was drawn in by the incredible characterization and the simplicity using the different perspectives in diary format to define alternate views. While reading this book, I misplaced my copy and was so engrossed that I purchased another in order to finish it. While reading I feared how she was going to be able to end the book so as to not oversimplify, make it saccharine, or trite. All may fears were allayed and in the end I was satisfied that this book did not conclude so much as chose to stop sharing its story. It is one that should not be missed
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, reflective book...a perfect Autumn read
Review: With autumn's chill setting in, I will reach for this gorgeous fable a second time. Kij Johnson's prose perfectly evokes the season as the year winds down, even to the relationships of the characters. I particularly enjoy the lush, sensual descriptions of scents (foxes, gardens, lovemaking), colors (kimonos, landscapes), and textures (earth, silk, paper). Do yourself a favor and set aside several hours in a comfortable chair by the fire...this isn't a book to rush through. If you like the lyrical tales of writers such as Patricia McKillip, or Jonathan Caroll's stories of inevitable destiny, you may enjoy this departure into mythical Japan.
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