Mr. Fox, Helen Oyeyemi’s fourth novel, takes its name from the English version of the Bluebeard fairytale — in which a Mr. Fox murders and dismembers all of his wives until his soon-to-be wife Lady Mary visits his castle, discovers his chamber of bodies, and manages to avoid her fate. In that tale, Lady Mary exposes Mr. Fox by recounting in the form of a dream the murder she watched him commit, using such detail that the menacing Mr. Fox begins to shirk away from her words. In doing so, Lady Mary thwarts Mr. Fox’s horrible intentions and triumphs over him through the power of her narration.
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