The Long-Lasting Grief of Foxes - by Chim Sher Ting (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Long-lasting (adj.): A deep, bone-aching perpetuity. Or word play on 龙 (the Chinese word for "dragon"), the creatures that have a larger foothold on our realities than we'd let on. Our mother tongue is afflicted with a compendium of beasts-from foxes to dragons to butterflies. Our existence is always inexorably linked with wildness, an act of rebellion against external forces. This chapbook explores the Chinese language, in addition to Chinese mythology and pop culture references, to reflect on the tension of minority existence and generational trauma. It seeks to confront the metaphorical dragons in our family, from war to racism to cultural practices and stereotypes, including ideas of femininity and filial piety, to understand how they've shaped us into who we are today.

Review Quotes

The Long-Lasting Grief of Foxes is a striking debut for its mastery of syntax, fusing lyrical precision and popular culture address. The result is a luminous, haunting and quietly subversive collection. Sher Ting reveals the tensions of language, minority existence, feminine

stereotypes and generational trauma in a voice entirely her own.

Michelle Cahill, author of Letter to Pessoa

"So then, / why do I feel so sad, like a girl wanting to move on when/ all the world has done is end?" So goes the lyrical inquiry of ancestry, language, and memories yearning to break free of their "haunting, damning mountain sound" in Sher Ting's second chapbook The Long-Lasting Grief of Fox. Here, the speaker shatters existing tropes and conventions, and examines both gender ("What were we, / but women living// Our mother's lie?") and the notion of legends in order to unearth deeper truths: "Even an animal of light knows its shadows the minute it is born." Rich in imagery and metaphor, The Long-Lasting Grief of Fox leaves readers with the idea of the dream itself as hungry for more beyond its own realm: "That's the beauty of Nowhere. The ghost of a life and the way we'd drive on till morning."

Rosebud Ben-Oni, author of the Alice James Award for If This Is the Age We End Discovery