Series: Takamagahara Monogatari
Volume: 1/?Publisher: Self-Published
Genre/s: LGBTQ fantasy, Gay fiction, Historical fiction
Length: -
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✮
Kogitsune is a young fox god who's trying to get to know himself and learn the world he lives in. When one day he crosses paths with a human child, their fates intertwine inseparably. Thanks to young Kokaji, Kogitsune not only experiences friendship and love, but also learns the pain of a broken heart and feeling of betrayal. However, sometimes unpleasant experience is not enough for two beings to go their separate ways.
"Kogitsune" is the first part of "Takamagahara Monogatari" series by Xia Xia Lake. The huge advantage of this very short short story is undoubtedly the great "chatty" style in which this little story was written. The reader is delighted with it from the very first sentence and with each subsequent page they see that the author really knows how to write a very interesting story in a perfect way. What's more, "Kogitsune" draws us into its colorful world in the blink of an eye and we are not able to put this short story down until we finish reading it. I think this is really important, because not every author can make the reader interested in their writing, having only several dozen pages to use. As I've mentioned, Xia Xia Lake does it without any difficulty, as she enchants us with her style from the very beginning.
In my opinion, another huge advantage of "Kogitsune" is the fact that to a great extent the story refers to Japanese culture. First of all, the author retells the well-known Noh theater play, which is simply amazing. While watching Noh theater performances is impossible to some readers or it's simply not interesting enough, the story written by Xia Xia Lake makes one of its plays available and accessible to everyone. Secondly, the story itself refers to Japanese folklore, mythology, demonology, history, so to almost everything that is unique and magical in Japan. Thus, "Kogitsune" is linked to the Land of the Rising Sun on many levels, which makes this story a real deal for all the fans of this amazing country, as well as a curiosity for people who have not been interested in Japan so far.
To sum up, "Kogitsune" is a short but really wonderful story that engrosses and delights the reader from the very first sentence. In these several dozen pages, Xia Xia Lake managed to lock up so much of The Land of the Rising Sun's magic that we are really captivated and want more. In short, I really recommend you "Kogitsune" with all my heart.
Headcanon: When Kokaji leaves some offerings at the shrine, Kogitsune repays him by leaving small presents at the door of his house.
Fanfiction idea: Kogitsune secretly watches Kokaji at work.
AU idea: Modern times urban fantasy!AU
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