There are a lot of books about Werewolves, however Victor Pelevin’s novel isn’t really one of them. There is a werewolf in the book, actually a few but the story spends most of its time focusing on the life and times of a werefox, and probably with good reason, as a werefox is the main character and the entire story is shown through her eyes. I also am not quite sure how sacred of a book it is. The title has to refer to the book one is reading as it begins by telling you that you are reading a literary version of found footage. However aside from explaining to you the main character’s theory its not very religious or spiritual. Instead its closer to a love story than anything.
The book itself takes place mostly in a near-modern Moscow, with a feeling of the late 90’s firmly in place. It is heavy on the politics of Russia at the turn of the century, heavily mixed with Chinese culture whether on accidental or the author’s intention. There is also heavy emphasis on entertainment and pop culture that really gives the book a time and place. All of these elements give the book’s setting a feeling of both familiar and foreign at the same time.
But will you enjoy your time in Hu-Li’s seedy Moscow, with blood, sex, fur and claws? Well its definitely a possibility, of course you could also hate it. Yeah its really one of those type of stories. But werefoxes are known for their casting of illusions, so its right on point. But whether its something up your alley you will need to read on to find out.