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Fox Girl
Nora Okja Keller, the acclaimed author of Comfort Woman , tells the shocking story of a group of young people abandoned after the Korean War. At the center of the tale are two teenage girls—Hyun Jin and Sookie, a teenage prostitute kept by an American soldier—who form a makeshift family with Lobetto, a lost boy who scrapes together a living running errands and pimping for neighborhood girls. Both horrifying and moving, Fox Girl at once reveals another layer of war's human detritus and the fierce love between a mother and daughter.
321 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
August 14, 2018
Oh, my god.
This book was rough. I don't mean it was bad--quite the opposite. It was heavy. Soul-heavy. You know those books that seem to rip at the fiber of your being and remind you that humanity maybe isn't the best thing ever? Like you read it and it's so gritty you kinda just want to take a shower? I raise you Fox Girl.
Fox Girl is a novel set in Korea in the 60s. It follows a cast of characters in America Town - a slum outside of an army base - and painstakingly details just what it was like, from the prevalence of alcoholism and prostitution to the complexity of racism and class struggle.
As I read this book, I kept thinking back to Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. Although they're written nearly 14 years apart and the books take place in different countries, I feel like these two novels could be sister works and I think my reception of this book would have been very different if I hadn't read Pachinko first.
If you've haven't heard of or read Pachinko, let me give you a quick synopsis: it's a dynastic tale starting back when Japan was colonizing Korea, and ending in 1989. It follows a Korean family who emigrates to Japan and details all of their struggles. Like Fox Girl, it's an amazing story and I recommend both works. What separates the two novels is that in Pachinko, the really gory details are glossed over and left out. There's 2 characters who are rumored to be taken as comfort girls, but it's never even confirmed that's there fate.
Fox Girl is the perfect mirror. There's characters who make it out of America Town and into something better, but you never see them firsthand. Instead, you're painted a crystal-clear image of the awful situation within the slum. From the trip to the Monkey House to seeing Duk Hee in the windowed room barely able to recognize her own daughter, Fox Girl doesn't hold back. I would almost argue it's transgressive lit: instead of upholding humanity, instead of displaying hope or saying "here's the good thing about us" it tells the raw truth. Racism is ingrained. Cycles are repeated. People can harbor deeply-rooted hatred and do wicked things without batting an eye. Sometimes there isn't a happy ending. Sometimes, we're selfish and we choose to turn a blind eye or steal from those who are truly in need.
I think it's an important lesson to hear and an important story to read. Is it a bitter pill to swallow? Absolutely. Does it fill you with hope and wholesomeness like Pachinko will? Not really. But I think this book makes for perfect follow up reading. And if you've read this but haven't read the other, I'd recommend that, too. There's something to be learned from reading about the dark underbelly of things.
This book was rough. I don't mean it was bad--quite the opposite. It was heavy. Soul-heavy. You know those books that seem to rip at the fiber of your being and remind you that humanity maybe isn't the best thing ever? Like you read it and it's so gritty you kinda just want to take a shower? I raise you Fox Girl.
Fox Girl is a novel set in Korea in the 60s. It follows a cast of characters in America Town - a slum outside of an army base - and painstakingly details just what it was like, from the prevalence of alcoholism and prostitution to the complexity of racism and class struggle.
As I read this book, I kept thinking back to Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee. Although they're written nearly 14 years apart and the books take place in different countries, I feel like these two novels could be sister works and I think my reception of this book would have been very different if I hadn't read Pachinko first.
If you've haven't heard of or read Pachinko, let me give you a quick synopsis: it's a dynastic tale starting back when Japan was colonizing Korea, and ending in 1989. It follows a Korean family who emigrates to Japan and details all of their struggles. Like Fox Girl, it's an amazing story and I recommend both works. What separates the two novels is that in Pachinko, the really gory details are glossed over and left out. There's 2 characters who are rumored to be taken as comfort girls, but it's never even confirmed that's there fate.
Fox Girl is the perfect mirror. There's characters who make it out of America Town and into something better, but you never see them firsthand. Instead, you're painted a crystal-clear image of the awful situation within the slum. From the trip to the Monkey House to seeing Duk Hee in the windowed room barely able to recognize her own daughter, Fox Girl doesn't hold back. I would almost argue it's transgressive lit: instead of upholding humanity, instead of displaying hope or saying "here's the good thing about us" it tells the raw truth. Racism is ingrained. Cycles are repeated. People can harbor deeply-rooted hatred and do wicked things without batting an eye. Sometimes there isn't a happy ending. Sometimes, we're selfish and we choose to turn a blind eye or steal from those who are truly in need.
I think it's an important lesson to hear and an important story to read. Is it a bitter pill to swallow? Absolutely. Does it fill you with hope and wholesomeness like Pachinko will? Not really. But I think this book makes for perfect follow up reading. And if you've read this but haven't read the other, I'd recommend that, too. There's something to be learned from reading about the dark underbelly of things.
October 26, 2018
Read this for school.
It was kind of all over the place; I felt like I was reading the script to a soap opera. Everyone in my class was saying that the book was harrowing and they were disturbed, but I just ?? ??? did not feel anything. I hated all the characters as well, who were all just horrible to each other, even when there was no reason to be.
And the ending. The ending just didn't match the rest of the book at all, and it felt like the stereotypical western "happy ending."
It was kind of all over the place; I felt like I was reading the script to a soap opera. Everyone in my class was saying that the book was harrowing and they were disturbed, but I just ?? ??? did not feel anything. I hated all the characters as well, who were all just horrible to each other, even when there was no reason to be.
And the ending. The ending just didn't match the rest of the book at all, and it felt like the stereotypical western "happy ending."
November 24, 2017
This book has some beautiful writing. The story is one depressing reading experience. Absolutely a downer.
Professor Elaine Kim asserted that the first significant waves of Korean immigrants to the U.S. were able to immigrate because of their connections (often, in marriages) to members of the U.S. military. Given this story and what these women had to do to "avail" themselves to U.S. soldiers (and to possibly become wives), I'm all the more depressed.
Two quotes:
"In a way, Sookie did move in with us. Something like her shadow breathed through the empty spaces of our home. Her presence was felt in the absence of small foodstuffs, in the secrets and suspicions left unsaid, in the guilt that caused my father to boil eggs two at a time."
"And then it was as if those long-limbed vines in the hothouses burst through the seams, whipped around my head, and yanked. Eye rolling up in to my head, I dropped on all fours, ears pressed to earth, and heard the world singing like crickets, with that in-and-out beat of the tides, of the blood in our veins, and I knew that it was all over."
Professor Elaine Kim asserted that the first significant waves of Korean immigrants to the U.S. were able to immigrate because of their connections (often, in marriages) to members of the U.S. military. Given this story and what these women had to do to "avail" themselves to U.S. soldiers (and to possibly become wives), I'm all the more depressed.
Two quotes:
"In a way, Sookie did move in with us. Something like her shadow breathed through the empty spaces of our home. Her presence was felt in the absence of small foodstuffs, in the secrets and suspicions left unsaid, in the guilt that caused my father to boil eggs two at a time."
"And then it was as if those long-limbed vines in the hothouses burst through the seams, whipped around my head, and yanked. Eye rolling up in to my head, I dropped on all fours, ears pressed to earth, and heard the world singing like crickets, with that in-and-out beat of the tides, of the blood in our veins, and I knew that it was all over."
April 7, 2011
Fox Girl is a brilliant "awareness novel", transporting the reader to 1960s Korea, where women trapped in a culture of prostitution struggle to survive in "America Town," serving the American soldiers on the local base. Narrated by the teenage Hyun Jin and focusing mainly on herself and friends Sookie and Lobetto, it shows how multiple generations are trapped into a cycle of exploitation, especially children of prostitutes and American soldiers. The characters and their lives are realistic; clearly, the author knows of what she writes.
Still, an exposé doesn't automatically make a great novel, and there were a few problems that prevent me from recommending it wholeheartedly. The most irritating while I was reading was the problem of time: the story covers several years, during which the lead female characters become involved in prostitution, get pregnant, etc... and we never know how old they are at any given time! The prologue presents Sookie's age at a couple of key moments, but this information doesn't fit with the amount of time that seems to have elapsed in the text, and it's unclear how old everyone else is in relation to Sookie--she and Hyun Jin appear to be the same age at the beginning, until about 1/3 of the way in, when we discover that Sookie is two years older... although she claims to remember Hyun Jin's birth, which she could not have if she was two. And so forth. This was a problem for me throughout the book, although other readers might not be bothered.
Then there was the fact that all the main characters were just plain unlikable. Now, I know, they were prostitutes and pimps, they were leading rough lives, and they seemed quite realistic as they were. Still, the author seemed to be going out of her way to make them seem unpleasant, which made it hard for me to care about their struggles; I would have had more sympathy for Hyun Jin if the author hadn't spent the first 100 pages showing us what an insensitive friend she was and how she bullied other kids. And the early scene where her parents kicked her out seemed random and contrived. There were some other minor issues as well: Korean words were used without any translation, and continuity problems (Hyun Jin commenting on the relationship between Sookie and Lobetto only to be surprised later on by what she already knew, etc.).
I've written a lot criticizing this book, but I agree with a lot of the things the positive reviewers have stated: if you're looking for a gritty, realistic book (and I mean seriously gritty; expect group sex, bestiality, etc., to be described in some detail) about the lives of Korean prostitutes, this is your book. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
Still, an exposé doesn't automatically make a great novel, and there were a few problems that prevent me from recommending it wholeheartedly. The most irritating while I was reading was the problem of time: the story covers several years, during which the lead female characters become involved in prostitution, get pregnant, etc... and we never know how old they are at any given time! The prologue presents Sookie's age at a couple of key moments, but this information doesn't fit with the amount of time that seems to have elapsed in the text, and it's unclear how old everyone else is in relation to Sookie--she and Hyun Jin appear to be the same age at the beginning, until about 1/3 of the way in, when we discover that Sookie is two years older... although she claims to remember Hyun Jin's birth, which she could not have if she was two. And so forth. This was a problem for me throughout the book, although other readers might not be bothered.
Then there was the fact that all the main characters were just plain unlikable. Now, I know, they were prostitutes and pimps, they were leading rough lives, and they seemed quite realistic as they were. Still, the author seemed to be going out of her way to make them seem unpleasant, which made it hard for me to care about their struggles; I would have had more sympathy for Hyun Jin if the author hadn't spent the first 100 pages showing us what an insensitive friend she was and how she bullied other kids. And the early scene where her parents kicked her out seemed random and contrived. There were some other minor issues as well: Korean words were used without any translation, and continuity problems (Hyun Jin commenting on the relationship between Sookie and Lobetto only to be surprised later on by what she already knew, etc.).
I've written a lot criticizing this book, but I agree with a lot of the things the positive reviewers have stated: if you're looking for a gritty, realistic book (and I mean seriously gritty; expect group sex, bestiality, etc., to be described in some detail) about the lives of Korean prostitutes, this is your book. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
March 23, 2017
cw in book: rape, assault, domestic abuse, prostitution, childhood sexual abuse, anti-blackness in korea, abandonment, etc
dang. keller took on a helluva load to write this book. the intensity in which she moves through difficult moment to difficult moment to a heart-wrenching moment to a moment that i had to pull away from, at times, to pace around the house, caught in a daze of triggering scene-after-scene that catapulted me into my own traumas—i, phew. take pause while reading this. it is about the effect of the american military's occupation of korea in the 60s. the way it shaped families. every colonial space is a violent and loud interchange of histories. this was an easy but hard read. it felt very very alive. the way it was written bothered me slightly. at times i have a difficult time reading things that seem to re-traumatize for the sake of re-traumatizing, without a holding ground for the reader to fall back onto. or rather — sometimes the prose moved in such a way that the language itself felt traumatizing—the language itself felt invasive. which i guess i understand. but i think this book should definitely come with a list of content warnings. to tread lightly into it, for it is carrying a world of hurt.
dang. keller took on a helluva load to write this book. the intensity in which she moves through difficult moment to difficult moment to a heart-wrenching moment to a moment that i had to pull away from, at times, to pace around the house, caught in a daze of triggering scene-after-scene that catapulted me into my own traumas—i, phew. take pause while reading this. it is about the effect of the american military's occupation of korea in the 60s. the way it shaped families. every colonial space is a violent and loud interchange of histories. this was an easy but hard read. it felt very very alive. the way it was written bothered me slightly. at times i have a difficult time reading things that seem to re-traumatize for the sake of re-traumatizing, without a holding ground for the reader to fall back onto. or rather — sometimes the prose moved in such a way that the language itself felt traumatizing—the language itself felt invasive. which i guess i understand. but i think this book should definitely come with a list of content warnings. to tread lightly into it, for it is carrying a world of hurt.
July 14, 2009
After living in Korea for almost 2 years I thought I should read this book. I must say I wasn't happy with that decision until the very end.
This book shows a very different view of Korea right after the "end" of the Korean War and how American's GIs treated the locals. In some parts the book got so dark and descriptive that it made me uncomfortable and sad. I kept reading it hoping that somehow there would be a resolve to all the wretchedness.
Keller is definitely a talented writer and I must say I'm very curious about her other books, especially the one that is supposed to come after Fox Girl.
This book shows a very different view of Korea right after the "end" of the Korean War and how American's GIs treated the locals. In some parts the book got so dark and descriptive that it made me uncomfortable and sad. I kept reading it hoping that somehow there would be a resolve to all the wretchedness.
Keller is definitely a talented writer and I must say I'm very curious about her other books, especially the one that is supposed to come after Fox Girl.
January 30, 2021
More like 2.5.
I'm giving this rating not because it's a bad book, but because it leaves you feeling grimy all over. Which - to reiterate - is not a bad thing, but it's similar to Mad Max: Fury Road where I can objectively recognize that it was a fantastic piece of art and yet never want to watch it again. All of the characters in this book endure horrible things and then turn around and do horrible things to other characters. There's abuse, rape, trauma, racism, you name it. Most of the characters dream of making it to "America," but you know that the vast majority of them never will; Duk Hee's fate is especially depressing.
I'm giving this rating not because it's a bad book, but because it leaves you feeling grimy all over. Which - to reiterate - is not a bad thing, but it's similar to Mad Max: Fury Road where I can objectively recognize that it was a fantastic piece of art and yet never want to watch it again. All of the characters in this book endure horrible things and then turn around and do horrible things to other characters. There's abuse, rape, trauma, racism, you name it. Most of the characters dream of making it to "America," but you know that the vast majority of them never will; Duk Hee's fate is especially depressing.
April 21, 2019
I got through half of the book in a day, and knocked out the rest in another two. There really isn't a book I can think of as gritty as this, something that makes you feel physically dirty. It's not for the faint of heart, or those with traumatic past experiences of rape/sexual assault, abortion, alcoholism... yeah. Keller doesn't hold back when going into detail, capturing the true horrors of the lengths Korean women went to just to make sure they didn't die on the streets. Keller's aim is to make you uncomfortable, to go through less than a small fraction of what the characters did, and boy does she succeed. This is a book without a real protagonist and antagonist, as all the characters are generally unlikable save for a few moments where they care for each other in their own weird ways. The timing felt a bit fast, understandable for something that takes place over a decade, and their ages are only outright stated in the intro chapter (and the part where Lobetto says he's almost nineteen, from what I can remember). It's not hard to guess what stage they're at, though, through context clues. What I liked most is there's no romanticizing. Not once did Keller attempt to paint a beautiful love story between the GI's and the girls, or Lobetto and Sookie/Hyunjin for that matter. The only ounce of love you get from their relationships is the one between Hyunjin and Myu. And if you're looking for a happy ending, this isn't the book for you. Its sequence is one terrible event after another, hope a small speck in the distance that only rarely gets brighter. Some have said it had a 'stereotypical happy ending', but I beg to differ. There is nothing uplifting about this book, except for the last chapter, which isn't really labeled a chapter at all. Though the characters are unlikable, you can find yourself worrying for them at the end, maybe relating in some ways (I know I saw myself in Hyunjin more than once). It's so unsatisfying you *wish* Keller had written a continuation, just to give a glimpse for how they developed, what they learned, where they are now. Did they survive? Did they make it out? Overall, I enjoyed-if that's the right word-this read. It's a breath of fresh air to see something so heartbreaking and raw compared to the normal YA lit. If you can handle your heartstrings being tugged at, not only with anger, but despair and uncertainty, I recommend this.
January 20, 2020
Unforgettable.
I can’t universally recommend the book. It’s VERY gritty, and contains triggers for nearly anyone who’s suffered any kind of abuse or difficult relationships, and plenty of people who haven’t.
But it’s highly moving and one of the most gut-wrenching books I’ve ever read. Perhaps if you’re not a very empathetic person you won’t connect with the characters - they can be unnecessarily mean and sniping at times, or they can be unrealistically calm and congenial at times you’d think the situation would call for more angst or even violence.
But they all come from dark backgrounds with significant trauma, and I disagree that this makes them unlikable. They’re pitiful, pathetic characters, but so are many of the people we pass in the street every day. We might call them ugly, undesirable, whores, idiots, any pejoratives our mind automatically settles on, without ever comprehending the trauma that could be in their past. The thesis of the book comes in one sentence more than 2/3 of the way through: “I didn’t care if she was ugly for the rest of her life; I knew how to love the unlovable.”
Some complain about the quick jumps in time and ages being unclear, but if those are issues they’re minor ones, and potentially even helpful in understanding the horror or the timeless nature of living the life these characters lived. Sometimes you read and think a year mist have passed, then you realize it was only a few days. Are these girls 24, 20, 16? What’s happening in the outside world? None of it matters to them, immersed in the filthy underworld where their grimy, gritty lives consist only of wringing every won they can from their young bodies with the hope of having enough food to eat and luxuries like beaded necklaces and GIs who will buy them candy.
My only real complaint is probably that it’s not gritty enough. The author’s optimism shines through a bit unrealistically at points - while some of the circumstances are certainly possible, I fully expected far more tragedy in places (don’t get me wrong - this book is a smack in the face with a nail-ridden 2x4, but I fully expected to be decapitated at the end too). Maybe the few brief respites are just there to keep readers from jumping off a tall building.
That minor critique aside, it’s a superlative book, and one I won’t ever forget.
I can’t universally recommend the book. It’s VERY gritty, and contains triggers for nearly anyone who’s suffered any kind of abuse or difficult relationships, and plenty of people who haven’t.
But it’s highly moving and one of the most gut-wrenching books I’ve ever read. Perhaps if you’re not a very empathetic person you won’t connect with the characters - they can be unnecessarily mean and sniping at times, or they can be unrealistically calm and congenial at times you’d think the situation would call for more angst or even violence.
But they all come from dark backgrounds with significant trauma, and I disagree that this makes them unlikable. They’re pitiful, pathetic characters, but so are many of the people we pass in the street every day. We might call them ugly, undesirable, whores, idiots, any pejoratives our mind automatically settles on, without ever comprehending the trauma that could be in their past. The thesis of the book comes in one sentence more than 2/3 of the way through: “I didn’t care if she was ugly for the rest of her life; I knew how to love the unlovable.”
Some complain about the quick jumps in time and ages being unclear, but if those are issues they’re minor ones, and potentially even helpful in understanding the horror or the timeless nature of living the life these characters lived. Sometimes you read and think a year mist have passed, then you realize it was only a few days. Are these girls 24, 20, 16? What’s happening in the outside world? None of it matters to them, immersed in the filthy underworld where their grimy, gritty lives consist only of wringing every won they can from their young bodies with the hope of having enough food to eat and luxuries like beaded necklaces and GIs who will buy them candy.
My only real complaint is probably that it’s not gritty enough. The author’s optimism shines through a bit unrealistically at points - while some of the circumstances are certainly possible, I fully expected far more tragedy in places (don’t get me wrong - this book is a smack in the face with a nail-ridden 2x4, but I fully expected to be decapitated at the end too). Maybe the few brief respites are just there to keep readers from jumping off a tall building.
That minor critique aside, it’s a superlative book, and one I won’t ever forget.
November 14, 2022
I was hooked on this book after just the intro chapter. I wanted to read something different. Something more than boy meets girl. I found it in Fox Girl. It is an eerie look at a world and culture I never imagined. Though sometimes depressing, it's always thought-provoking. I could hardly put it down. I just had to keep finding out what was going to happen.I love when writers tell the unheard stories of those who may not lead such prosperous and attractive lives. Keller beautifully renders the hardships of a young Korean girl during the 60's/70's. Through Keller's descriptions, one is able to see what a person can endure for survival. The book was graphic to the point of being overly sordid, but that is what I feel Keller wants the readers to see...that dirtiness and darkness can be transformed into goodness and compassion.
This is a book in which the main character, the predicted heroine, is not quite a heroine; the story unfolds from her, but it's her friend Sookie who drives the action, who is the repulsively attractive person we all know, the one that doesn't seem to think in quite the same morals that you do. Through Hyun Jin and Sookie, we see the facets of friendship and the interpretations of motherhood, and how dreams of America that once possessed the people that settled this country has swept, and influenced, the East. It's somewhat low-key in Hyun Jin's narratives; you catch nuances of the tone.
I ache for the Hyun Jin as she falls into prostitution, but you also rejoice in her love for the child she takes into her heart. While the begining of the book is good, and the middle is very strong, the ending is sadly weak and anticlimatic. The book definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth about prostitution, and leaves you wondering about whatever did happen to the children of American GIs in Korea.....
This is a book in which the main character, the predicted heroine, is not quite a heroine; the story unfolds from her, but it's her friend Sookie who drives the action, who is the repulsively attractive person we all know, the one that doesn't seem to think in quite the same morals that you do. Through Hyun Jin and Sookie, we see the facets of friendship and the interpretations of motherhood, and how dreams of America that once possessed the people that settled this country has swept, and influenced, the East. It's somewhat low-key in Hyun Jin's narratives; you catch nuances of the tone.
I ache for the Hyun Jin as she falls into prostitution, but you also rejoice in her love for the child she takes into her heart. While the begining of the book is good, and the middle is very strong, the ending is sadly weak and anticlimatic. The book definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth about prostitution, and leaves you wondering about whatever did happen to the children of American GIs in Korea.....
October 6, 2024
2002 Read.
brutal, heartwrenching, gut twisting.
All of the triggers.
Focuses on to Korean teenagers who grew up up impoverished near a center for U.S soldiers called "America Town" in Korea.
The kids are often ones that are abandoned by their GI-dads who go back to Amercia and abandon their Korean mistress and child.
There are 3 characters the story follows:
two half sisters who end up prostitutes and a biracial boy named Lobetto, who is a neighborhood pimp.
I read this book really slowly because I was just really trying to picture everything since I never read about Korea and its history very much. The world felt pretty rich and had some gritty realism in terms of how it portrayed racism and violent rape scenes.
This book was full of traumatic experiences I had to reread a couple of times. I was not prepared to read what I read in some parts of this book. My eyes widened in horror because I know these things do happen to this day, which makes the story quite disturbing. I just honestly wasnt expecting it to get so graphic. It was not an unwelcome surprise, though.
It's a pretty bleak and hopeless read for a while. I disliked all of the characters-but still enjoyed them and find them interesting. I also felt empathy for their situations despite disgreeing with lots of what they were doing.
I felt the ending was a bit weak and dishonest because it was too positive. I just think you should stick to the realism/grittiness and not give a rather positive end for what I think would have realistically happened.
Worth reading in 2024 I think. I also appreciated the author mentioning diversity and representation during a time period before it was really even a topic on most people's radar.
brutal, heartwrenching, gut twisting.
All of the triggers.
Focuses on to Korean teenagers who grew up up impoverished near a center for U.S soldiers called "America Town" in Korea.
The kids are often ones that are abandoned by their GI-dads who go back to Amercia and abandon their Korean mistress and child.
There are 3 characters the story follows:
two half sisters who end up prostitutes and a biracial boy named Lobetto, who is a neighborhood pimp.
I read this book really slowly because I was just really trying to picture everything since I never read about Korea and its history very much. The world felt pretty rich and had some gritty realism in terms of how it portrayed racism and violent rape scenes.
This book was full of traumatic experiences I had to reread a couple of times. I was not prepared to read what I read in some parts of this book. My eyes widened in horror because I know these things do happen to this day, which makes the story quite disturbing. I just honestly wasnt expecting it to get so graphic. It was not an unwelcome surprise, though.
It's a pretty bleak and hopeless read for a while. I disliked all of the characters-but still enjoyed them and find them interesting. I also felt empathy for their situations despite disgreeing with lots of what they were doing.
I felt the ending was a bit weak and dishonest because it was too positive. I just think you should stick to the realism/grittiness and not give a rather positive end for what I think would have realistically happened.
Worth reading in 2024 I think. I also appreciated the author mentioning diversity and representation during a time period before it was really even a topic on most people's radar.
August 18, 2020
In the harrowing novel Fox Girl written by Korean writer Nora Okla Keller, the social cost of war is shown in graphic, heartbreaking detail through the eyes of three “throwaway Korean” children. The overriding theme of the book is that in a cold ruthless world, the only way to survive is to become cold and ruthless, like a fox who is only concerned with survival.
The setting is a military camp town in 1960s Korea called America Town, where the cult of Americanization, along with its high buying power, twists Korean culture into something horrific, where state-sponsored prostitution is the order of the day and warm bottles of Coca-Cola are the ultimate status symbol. The main character is Hyun Jin, head of her class and possessing the arrogance of someone born into status, in this case, being the daughter of a shopkeeper. Her best and only friend Sookie is another main character, the daughter of a “GI Girl” which is a Korean who sexually pleasures Black American soldiers, these women occupy “the lowest rung of America Town’s social hierarchy” yet, the abandoned children created from these unions are invisible, not existing on the social ladder at all (“Fox Girl,” 2020). The other main character is Lobbatto, a mixed-race teenager forced to support himself and his mother by any means necessary, which include running black market goods and playing the role of pimp for his friends and even his own mother. This novel is a coming of age story “in a seemingly dead-end world of poverty, vice, and despair” (“Fox Girl,” 2020).
The setting is a military camp town in 1960s Korea called America Town, where the cult of Americanization, along with its high buying power, twists Korean culture into something horrific, where state-sponsored prostitution is the order of the day and warm bottles of Coca-Cola are the ultimate status symbol. The main character is Hyun Jin, head of her class and possessing the arrogance of someone born into status, in this case, being the daughter of a shopkeeper. Her best and only friend Sookie is another main character, the daughter of a “GI Girl” which is a Korean who sexually pleasures Black American soldiers, these women occupy “the lowest rung of America Town’s social hierarchy” yet, the abandoned children created from these unions are invisible, not existing on the social ladder at all (“Fox Girl,” 2020). The other main character is Lobbatto, a mixed-race teenager forced to support himself and his mother by any means necessary, which include running black market goods and playing the role of pimp for his friends and even his own mother. This novel is a coming of age story “in a seemingly dead-end world of poverty, vice, and despair” (“Fox Girl,” 2020).
February 25, 2025
Fox Girl follows a group of Korean teens named Hyun Jin, Sookie, and Lobetto. Hyun Jin is the star student but is still resented by her mother for reasons unbeknownst to her, Sookie is a teenage sex worker who is kept by an American soldier, and Lobetto is a biracial boy who pimps for the neighborhood girls including his own mother. Told through the raw voice of Hyun Jin we see these three young teens navigate the world around them that has been disparaged by war and colonialism.
This book was definitely hard to swallow at times due to the nature of the work the teens engage in. It is horrifying to think of what women and children in a war-torn and post war world are put through. It is quite devastating how often we see history repeating itself whether currently in Palestine or in the past like this novel in the aftermath of the Korean War.
Keller's prose was heartbreaking and reverent. The author hails from Hawai'i and so it was interesting to see how she was able to weave her home into this story in a realistic way as well as the depictions of Hawai'i in its mid stages of post-overthrow development.
If you are looking for a historical fiction that relates heavily to current world events I would highly recommend reading Fox Girl!
Note: Heavy trigger warning for depictions of SA.
This book was definitely hard to swallow at times due to the nature of the work the teens engage in. It is horrifying to think of what women and children in a war-torn and post war world are put through. It is quite devastating how often we see history repeating itself whether currently in Palestine or in the past like this novel in the aftermath of the Korean War.
Keller's prose was heartbreaking and reverent. The author hails from Hawai'i and so it was interesting to see how she was able to weave her home into this story in a realistic way as well as the depictions of Hawai'i in its mid stages of post-overthrow development.
If you are looking for a historical fiction that relates heavily to current world events I would highly recommend reading Fox Girl!
Note: Heavy trigger warning for depictions of SA.
March 19, 2019
Heartbreaking, gut wrenching, and impossible to look away. This novel gripped me by the throat and wouldn't let go even during the moments that the characters were all highly unlikable, the occasional moments when the timeline seemed to get confused, and the ultimately unsatisfying ending.
The book tells, in harsh and unrelenting detail, the story of Korean girls and women living as prostitutes in America Town, a GI camp toward the end of the Korean War. The book doesn't shy from the segregation and racism existed within the G.I. camp nor does it let the reader escape the uncomfortable and often harsh realities of life for the children chronicled here.
The beginning of the book explains that the chapters are written as letters that perhaps one character will one day deliver to the other. This allows the chapters to be related but somewhat disjointed, a mechanism that the author couldn't always control completely.
I liked this book enough to want to seek out the author's other work.
The book tells, in harsh and unrelenting detail, the story of Korean girls and women living as prostitutes in America Town, a GI camp toward the end of the Korean War. The book doesn't shy from the segregation and racism existed within the G.I. camp nor does it let the reader escape the uncomfortable and often harsh realities of life for the children chronicled here.
The beginning of the book explains that the chapters are written as letters that perhaps one character will one day deliver to the other. This allows the chapters to be related but somewhat disjointed, a mechanism that the author couldn't always control completely.
I liked this book enough to want to seek out the author's other work.
August 19, 2019
Though its not my first time reading about women prostitution in korea before and after the korean war it's still hard to digest. Especially when you know there is no happy ending to this kind of stories. Fox Girl in that sense has no happy ending and in my opinion no clear ending at all. The story itself reads more like a patchwork of scripts the author thought about but failing to connect the pieces and making a whole story out of this. Not that it bothered me while reading the book, but as other readers mentioned, there have been informations that just dont fit to the story. As for me I couldnt sympathize with any character in the book though its kind of understandable the line of action the characters take. For instance girls choosing to become prostitutes and some of them willing to sell their children for money. The book isnt only telling the story of some mere characters but the struggles of one lost generation after the Korean war. The destruction of the society through poverty and the gradual dysfunction of families.
July 3, 2021
Because I've been researching the prostitutes made available in the clubs in the camptowns established by the U.S. government and the South Korean government for the American G.I.s, Fox Girl was on my list of books to read. It's a fictional account of a young Korean girl who is disowned by her father and ends up being a military prostitute in a club in America Town, a camptown servicing G.I.s stationed at Kunsan Air Base. My research focuses on the women who are prostitutes in the clubs (actually they are brothels) in the camptowns. Fox Girl is a realistic portrayal of the day-to-day life of a military prostitute. My opinion is based on my research which has included reading interviews with former military prostitutes. It's a gritty, sad story that some readers will be repulsed by and most likely won't believe. Anyone interested in the U.S. government's part in continuing to support the brothels in the camptowns for entertainment of the American G.I.s will find Fox Girl though-provoking.
February 10, 2024
I just opened my acct to post this review. Keller did a magnificent job creating honest characters. These kids are considered mutants in this society. Mixed race kids born as the offspring of the colonizer and colonized. Korea, a homogeneous population, was in the middle of a devastating war that continues to this day. The story is very honest about how circumstances can circumscribe people’s actions, but also reveal good hearts in the middle of a quagmire. I think most of the characters are redeemed in some way except for the father figures who are Asian and Black. The whyte man who rules the military town sitch doesn’t get a critique except a hasty one liner saying the Black men are nicer than the whyte military men. I thought the intergenerational story between Sookie’s mom’s actions and later Sookie’s was profound. During the Korean War the whole country was starving and fed by international sources. It was truly a harrowing time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2018
A breathtaking and brutally human tale about the image and place of korean women in the post-war "America Town" Korea.
Historical novels about the struggles of humans, either make me want to puke convulsively or punch every person I see on the street. I'm too naive to realize what it's like to live under a war, to see your reality change in a second, turning the most basic human rights into nothing, 'till you forget you're a person that deserves to live and not just survive.
The atrocities that people testified never fail to leave me horrified and scared, because I know I'm reading this in the past tense but shit like this won't ever extinguish, just like ill-minded people won't ever stop making them happen..
This was not a review but a lament, I guess.
Historical novels about the struggles of humans, either make me want to puke convulsively or punch every person I see on the street. I'm too naive to realize what it's like to live under a war, to see your reality change in a second, turning the most basic human rights into nothing, 'till you forget you're a person that deserves to live and not just survive.
The atrocities that people testified never fail to leave me horrified and scared, because I know I'm reading this in the past tense but shit like this won't ever extinguish, just like ill-minded people won't ever stop making them happen..
This was not a review but a lament, I guess.
October 4, 2019
อ่านแล้วเครียดคิ้วขมวด ฉายภาพชีวิตไร้ทางเลือกของเด็กสาวลูกครึ่งเกาหลี-แอฟริกัน ผลผลิตจากทหารจีไอและโสเภณีเกาหลีช่วงสงครามเกาหลี ที่สุดท้ายก็เหมือนจะต้องวนเวียนอยู่ในคลับบาร์ของ “อเมริกันทาวน์” ย่านที่มีทั้งการหลั่งไหลของเงินอู้ฟู้จากการซื้อความบันเทิงเหล่าทหาร ขณะเดียวกันก็เป็นแหล่งรวมชะตากรรมอันสิ้นหวังของเด็กที่เกิดมาเพื่อขายตัวหรือไม่ก็เป็นแมงดา ต่างฝันถึงการไปอเมริกา ประเทศที่ใครๆ ก็บอกว่า “ดีกว่า” ไม่ว่าจะด้วยการสะสมเงินจากการทำงานหรือหวังรักแท้จากชายชาวต่างชาติ บ้างหวังไปพบหน้าพ่อที่สัญญาลมๆ แล้งๆ ว่าวันหนึ่งจะเป็นวันของเรา แต่ตอนนี้คนขาวยังคงเหยียดผิวอยู่จึงพาเจ้าไปอยู่ด้วยไม่ได้ / ถ้ามองเป็นการเรียนรู้บรรยากาศเศษซากสังคมที่โดนสงครามเข้ากระทบ ก็สนุกดี แต่ในฐานะนิยาย หดหู่มาก
June 1, 2021
Okay, I had to sit on this for a while before reviewing but I think I’ve got my thoughts gathered. This novel was tragic and insightful. I learned a lot about the reality people, and especially women, had to face in a time of war. It hurt to see our main characters navigate a world that didn’t care for them in a time threatening their existence. The torturous things they had to do just to get by were devastating and I don’t blame them for the morally gray areas they entered. Overall the second half of the book was my favorite part as we got a little more hope for our girls (although not by much) and even got to meet one (1) ☝🏼 halfway decent man.
read this book!
but TW: Misogyny, SA, R*pe, attempted murder, racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia 💀 my goodness this book was heavy.
read this book!
but TW: Misogyny, SA, R*pe, attempted murder, racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia 💀 my goodness this book was heavy.
February 9, 2017
Currently taking a course in Asian-American Women Writers and this book was one of the required readings. With that being said, it has been a long time since I actually enjoyed a book I (had) to read.
Extremely thrilling and informative of the harsh realities of kiji'chons. Character development of Hyun Jin, Sookie, and Lobetto is incredible. I still have scenes from the book in my mind. Would be very interested to see this being turned into a movie. And being from Hawaii, I whole heartedly appreciate the ending of the novel.
Extremely thrilling and informative of the harsh realities of kiji'chons. Character development of Hyun Jin, Sookie, and Lobetto is incredible. I still have scenes from the book in my mind. Would be very interested to see this being turned into a movie. And being from Hawaii, I whole heartedly appreciate the ending of the novel.
June 6, 2025
I have read Keller’s work before and from my understanding, Comfort Woman is the more popular one. However, I truly think it should be Fox Girl. Don’t get me wrong, Comfort Woman is an incredible work and very important, but Fox Girl is so harrowingly written and highlights yet another societal issue and brings to light a complex story with complex characters. I will warn that is it very graphic and brings up a lot of triggering things, please take that into account, but I was blown away by this work and hope Keller will gain more popularity in time.
December 16, 2018
Excellent portrayal of modern slavery; prejudice; sexual exploitation of children, youth and women; and poverty. It's well written, with fully developed characters and a strong plot. It was simultaneously hard to put down and emotionally gut-wrenching. Graphic descriptions of gang rape, the reality of being forced to live on the fringes of society and the amazing resilience of strong women. Not planning to read it a second time.
August 7, 2019
One of the most powerful and upsetting books I've read in a long time. Struggled with it from beginning to end, the layers of cruelty the characters keep heaving onto one another. I couldn't stop reading it, as morbid and tragic as it was. I couldn't look away and appreciate getting even the slightest glimpse into what many women had to endure during/after the war.
This book will be deeply triggering for some, proceed with caution. A highly worthwhile read but devistating and difficult
This book will be deeply triggering for some, proceed with caution. A highly worthwhile read but devistating and difficult
October 28, 2020
This is a valuable book to read — it forces readers into difficult understandings of history and life. Nonetheless, and perhaps because it was my first time reading it, it felt as if there was too much asked for the reader to get to. The villain of American imposition seems to be muddled with flawed characters that become easier to blame as we become entrenched in their worlds, yet we never blatantly understand them as products of their conditions. Rereading this later may change my position.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2023
Raw and hauntingly beautiful. A glimpse into a world where human suffering is an epitome of one’s existence. An excellent rendition of how one adapts to the most abhorrent conditions. The ending offers a ray of hope that love wins after all.
May 15, 2024
This novel centers on women trying to make a living based on their interactions with soldiers in Korea. The sex trade runs rampant especially for single mothers who have to decide how to raise their children. Ultimately, the kids are swept into the business. It is a very sad tale to read.
March 7, 2025
hyun jin shouldve went back... the ending of the story was empty or maybe it was just me but lobetto sookie and hyun jin shouldve just been back in america town like the kids they were. bittersweet ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 30, 2017I think I will love it
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