Confessions of the Fox

by Jordy Rosenberg

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, 2019
Finalist for the Publishing Triangle Award, 2019

A New Yorker Book of the Year, 2018
A Huffington Post Book of the Year, 2018
A Buzzfeed Book of the Year, 2018

'Quite simply extraordinary... Imagine if Maggie Nelson, Daphne du Maurier and Daniel Defoe collaborated.' Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent

Jack Sheppard - a transgender carpenter's apprentice - has fled his master's house to become a notorious prison break artist, and Bess Khan has escaped the draining of the fenlands to become a revolutionary mastermind. Together, they find themselves at the center of a web of corruption leading back to the dreaded Thief-Catcher General ...

...Or so we are told in a mysterious manuscript unearthed by one Professor R. Voth. Voth traces the origins and authenticity of the manuscript as Jack and Bess trace the connections between the bowels of Newgate Prison and the dissection chambers of the Royal College, in a bawdy collision of a novel about gender, love, and liberation.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

• ISBN10: 039959227X
• ISBN13: 9780399592270
• Publish Date: 26 June 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: One World
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[clementine]

There are a lot of Big Ideas in this novel, and that's not generally at the expense of narrative and character. This layered mediation of the past through the present is interesting. Rosenberg writes successfully about the euphoria of recognition. I'm a fan of any historical narrative that makes visible the existence of LGBTQ+ people, and this work is clearly a self-conscious intervention in the erasing tendencies of history. The use of anachronism was interesting and helped normalize the existence of trans/gender-nonconforming people in this historical context. There is something a bit self-congratulatory about it, and a lot of that has to do with the footnotes. The fucking footnotes, people. I have yet to encounter a book that makes extensive use of footnotes as a quirky narrative feature that doesn't feel at least a little bit smug. I mean, the footnotes at least made sense in terms of the narrative framing, and the fact that they took me out of the historical manuscript helped create that sense of the past and present connecting. That is to say, I get why they were used. It's just not a device that appeals to me. I think there's also a lot to say about applying modern ideas of gender and sexuality to the past - it's a dangerous game! I think this is a cool novel that successfully grapples with many interesting concepts - but I don't know if I actually enjoyed reading it.

[layawaydragon]

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Content Warning: Racism, Transphobia, Ameteur Surgery, Prision, Crimes Against Humanity

Reminds me of The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman and The Gentleman by Forrest Leo with the story in the footnotes, the unique slang, and critique on society. Only Confessions of the Fox is from a trans*male perspective and blows everything else out of the water.

It's only 352 pages but there's so so much inside and I highly recommend taking it slow. It's worth savoring and really digesting it. This is something worth studying and re-reading for sure.

It's a great story within a story that I love to death. Jack and Bess are amazing and adorable. Dr. Voth is the relatable awkward academic torn between survival and morals. I had no idea what would happen next and I was so excited to find out.

It's intersectional balm against our fucked up capitalist society in a way Robin Hood couldn't even dream of.

I've never read, studied, or honestly heard of The Threepenny Opera before. I'm a laywoman feminist. But I had no trouble picking up what Rosenberg is putting down in here. There's also an impressive list of resources in the back that I will be checking out to help my education along.