This was only my second foray into the weird and wonderful mind of Oyeyemi, but I enjoyed it thoroughly! I know she polarises readers, but so far both White is For Witching and Mr Foxhave been great reading experiences. Mr Foxisn't quite as dark as White is For Witching, although it does have a main character who can't seem to stop killing his fictional wives...

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The premise is that an author St. John Fox's fictional muse comes to life, intent on making him change his murdering ways. None of his fictional heroines ever make it out of his stories alive, and Mary Foxe is intent on putting a stop to the carnage. It doesn't take long for St John's wife Daphne to become suspicious, and he must choose a path. It's a creative mash-up of featuring retold fairytales (including the obvious Bluebeard), folklore, Yoruba traditions and myth. Even if you're not familiar with the original story being turned on its head, it's still so much fun to read on its own!

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I thought the creativity within this book was absolutely delightful! There's the main storyline with Mary, St John and Daphne running through, and then through lots of off-shoot stories we get a peek inside St John's fiction. But the lines between fiction and reality blur; characters weave in and out of real life and stories. It gets a little murky if you're not concentrating, but overall the effect is gleefully playful.

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Oyeyemi herself said in an interview with BookForum that she considers Mr Fox one of her 'games'. In her own words she said she thinks these books are 'useless and not contributing anything', but because of that 'desire to be happy and desire to play', they feel more like her own and they are the ones she loves most. I think Oyeyemi's passion for writing this book definitely shines through, and it contributed to a brilliant reading experience for this reader!

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I'm really looking forward to reading my way through the rest of Oyeyemi's books, her imagination is extraordinary!