In Larissa Lai's compelling first novel, a fox spirit comes to haunt the oddly named Artemis Wong, a young woman living in Vancouver. The fox brings with her the history of another haunting, that of the T'ang Dynasty poet Yu Hsuan-Chi, who was accused, perhaps wrongly, of having murdered the young maid servant who once worked for her. One part history, one part fairytale, one part urban discontent, this delightful novel cracks open all preconceptions of Asian women, gender, sexuality, family, faith, and the flow of time. Smart, funny, and fully-imagined, When Fox Is a Thousand is beautiful, enchanting, and composed with a sure narrative hand. Lai's potent imagination and considerable verbal skill result in a tale that continues to haunt long after the story is told.