The Blue Fox

I read about The Blue Fox by Sjon last week here and as it is based on Icelandic folklore I thought it would make an interesting read for the folklore section of Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge so I hunted down a copy.

A surreal novella set in Iceland in the late 19th Century (translated from Icelandic) following two apparently separate stories that intersect in an unexpected way. There is Reverend Baldur who is hunting the elusive blue fox, a rich symbol in Icelandic folklore myth, and the herbalist, Fridrik, and his charge Abba, who has Down's Syndrome, and their fates are bound together. This is an unusual and thought-provoking read, especially upon the subject of Down's Syndrome and technology (how does destroying Down's Syndrome babies at birth in 19th Century Iceland differ from aborting them now?)

The sparseness of the first section, sometimes a page with no more than one line, is symbolic of the Icelandic landscape and the snow upon which the blue fox is hunted (the hunted and the hunter both camouflaged at times). An effective technique, this economy of words upon the page underscores the brevity yet poignancy of the tale. I was also interested in the effect editorially; Kamila Shamsie (or likely her Bloomsbury editors) does something similar in the Hiroshima section of Burnt Shadows, representing the flashing white light, and it is highly effective.

Without a prior knowledge of Icelandic/Norse folklore it was difficult to determine how this tale used it, embodied it, and adapted it, and the little research I attempted didn't get me very far; it is certainly a subject that I would like to read about more, given the chance. From what I did find out, the title holds a double-meaning: on one hand the blue fox is the subject of folk-tales, the offspring of a cat and a fox, but it also means an evil spirit or a sinister person, and both are represented within the novella. The Blue Fox is on the surface a simple, magical, tale but it is curious and has hidden depths, that with further knowledge would be further of re-examination. Furthermore, it is a favourite of Bjork's, which to me is an amusing blurb.

Once Upon a Time...

... there was a girl who read books, blogged about them and completed challenges. With one thing and another (ahem, moving flat unexpectedly) I wasn't able to uphold my end of the R.I.P, challenge last year, despite fulfilling the reading part, so I am excited to approach Carl's Once Upon a Time (III) challenge this year.

I plan to embark on the Quest the Second challenge: read at least one book from each of the four categories (fantasy, fairy tale, folklore and mythology). In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proves to be one of the more difficult quests each year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I ALSO plan to complete Quest the Fourth: read two non-fiction books, essay collections, etc. that treat any one or more of the four genres covered in this challenge, as well as participating in the Short Story Weekends! A heavy undertaking but one I look forward to with anticipation.

The challenge takes place between March 21st (yesterday) and June 20th so that is three months to immerse myself in some heavy fairy tale/fantasy/mythology/folklore reading. I have always had a strong interest in this genre, especially fairy tales and feminist reworkings. I studied Angela Carter for my Master's thesis and took an elective course in the Brothers Grimm and the History of the European Fairy Tale so I relish revisiting some of this work and building upon what I have already learned; I hope above all to learn more about Jungian analysis and its roots in the fairy tale tradition.

This challenge has come around on the first weekend of Spring, albeit not by mere serendipity, it IS apt: this umbrella genre of everything wispy, beautiful, enchanting with wings is very Spring-like... I see myself reading magical stories under a tree in one of London's many parks on several occasions this Spring. I am happy the sun is out and my reading is likely to reflect that anyway.

I am reluctant to tie myself down to any lists as I am inclined to revolt against any strict guidelines I set myself and change my mind over and over so I am going to choose books at random and see where they fit in the categories of the challenge. I imagine that Angela Carter, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman will feature, although they would mostly be re-reads, and perhaps a grown-up fairy tale from Persephone Books (I think I am correct in thinking that one of their Springtime books to be published, Making Conversation by Christine Longford is described as a modern-day fairy tale in the vein of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). Other than that, my inspiration for primary texts is non-existent just now ... my mind is blank so any suggestions based on my likes would be appreciated! As for the secondary material: I have numerous books on the genres in question, all of which look incredibly interesting so it will be difficult to restrain myself to two so I probably won't! I would like to read a lot of secondary material for this challenge as I already have a basis for study although I can never keep myself away from fiction, especially that containing fairy tale elements for long...