The Fox by Dubravka Ugresic Publisher: Beijing Daily Press

Introduction · · · · · ·
Foxes are not beasts, nor are they among us humans, nor are they among the gods.

She was a perpetual stowaway, an immigrant moving effortlessly between worlds, juggling a ball with her tail when she was caught fare-evading, performing her cheap tricks, and shortsightedly mistaking the audience’s fleeting admiration for love. That was her moment of glory.

Everything else is a history of fear: escaping from hunters' bullets, barking hounds, persecution, beatings, licking wounds, humiliation, loneliness and cheap comfort - a string of hand bells made of chicken bones.

The fox is the writer's totem.