3.0
The Fox and Dr. Shimamura
ByPublisher Description
A delicious mix of East and West, of wonder and irony, The Fox and Dr. Shimamura is a most curious novel
Winner of the 2020 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translation PrizeThe Fox and Dr. Shimamura toothsomely encompasses East and West, memory and reality, fox-possession myths, and psychiatric mythmaking. As an outstanding young Japanese medical student at the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Shimamura is sent—to his dismay—to the provinces: he is asked to cure scores of young women afflicted by an epidemic of fox possession. Believing it’s all a hoax, he considers the assignment an insulting joke, until he sees a fox moving under the skin of a young beauty... Next he travels to Europe and works with such luminaries as Charcot, Breuer and Freud—whose methods, Dr. Shimamura concludes, are incompatible with Japanese politeness. The ironic parallels between Charcot’s theories of female hysteria and ancient Japanese fox myths—when it comes to beautiful, writhing young women—are handled with a lightly sardonic touch by Christine Wunnicke, whose flavor-packed, inventive language is a delight.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Fox and Dr. Shimamura Reviews
3.0
“Using the Kitsune as a way to describe and "diagnose" "hysteria" in Women. The synopsis was riveting, yet the story itself was tepid, redundant and boring. I almost DNF.
It's a long book for being under 200 pages.”
“3.5 stars It is definitely well written and was exceptionally observant. It just wasn’t my favorite”
“An English translation of a German novel about a Japanese neurologist who studies in France. It’s an interesting treatise on memory and reality. It’s hard to get through at times, but other parts are worth it!”
About Christine Wunnicke
Christine Wunnicke lives in Munich, Germany. She has published four award-winning novels, a biography, and several translations.
Other books by Christine Wunnicke
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