The fox and Dr. Shimamura
(Book)

Book Cover
Average Rating
Contributors
Boehm, Philip, translator.
Published
New York : New Directions Publications, [2019].
Status
Aurora Hills - Adult Fiction
F WUNNI
1 available

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LocationCall NumberStatus
Aurora Hills - Adult FictionF WUNNIAvailable

Description

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Published
New York : New Directions Publications, [2019].
Format
Book
Physical Desc
151 pages ; 21 cm
Language
English

Notes

General Note
Originally published as Der Fuchs und Dr. Shimamura by Berenbberg Verlag in 2015.
Description
"The Fox and Dr. Shimamura toothsomely encompasses Japan and Europe, memory and actuality, fox-possession myths and psychiatric mythmaking. The novel begins near the story's end, in Dr. Shimamura's retirement. A feverish invalid, he's watched over by four women: his wife, his mother, his mother-in- law, and a nurse (originally one of his psychiatric patients). His mother is busily writing and rewriting his biography, Between Genius and Madness. As an outstanding young Japanese medical student at the end of the nineteenth century, Dr. Shimamura is sent--to his dismay--to the provinces: he is asked to cure scores of young women of an epidemic of fox possession. He considers the assignment a joke, believing it's all a hoax, until he sees a fox moving under the skin of a beauty. He comes to believe not just in fox possession, but also that he in fact "cured" the young woman with a kiss, by breathing in the fox demon (the root of his lifelong fever). Next he travels to Europe and works with such luminaries as Charcot, Breuer and (briefly) Freud himself (whose methods he concludes are incompatible with Japanese politeness). The ironic parallels between Charcot's hack theories of female "hysteria" and Japanese ancient folklore--when it comes to beautiful writhing young women--are handled with a lightly sardonic touch by Christine Wunnicke, whose flavor-packed language is a delight"--,Provided by publisher.

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Wunnicke, C., & Boehm, P. (2019). The fox and Dr. Shimamura . New Directions Publications.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Wunnicke, Christine, 1966- and Philip, Boehm. 2019. The Fox and Dr. Shimamura. New Directions Publications.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Wunnicke, Christine, 1966- and Philip, Boehm. The Fox and Dr. Shimamura New Directions Publications, 2019.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Wunnicke, Christine, and Philip Boehm. The Fox and Dr. Shimamura New Directions Publications, 2019.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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