DNF at 14%. Unfortunately, this book was just not it for me. I don’t mind dark literary fiction at all, but this pushed the boundary in a way that was beyond unsettling to me as a reader. I understand it as a piece of art, but this turned my stomach in ways I truly couldn’t get past (and overall, I think I have a VERY thick skin for themes that typically require content warnings). On top of the pedophilia and sexual abuse, the writing itself just didn’t strike a chord with me. I’m primarily a literary fiction reader, but something about the prose here never grabbed me and made it incredibly difficult to slog through. I’m disappointed - I truly was looking forward to this one!

FOX
BY: JOYCE CAROL OATES

Five Humanity Stars!

I'm very torn about the prodigious JOYCE CAROL OATES, her latest very disturbing novel called, "FOX," because I thought all of it deserves the full five stars of my rating. I want to make it very clear that I've read much longer novels by her, that contained at the very least another 200 plus pages, or more, so I don't have a problem at all with reading longer novels, whatsoever. In fact, I read one of her's with 400 more pages and gave her the full five stars because her writing is so spellbinding. I had thought that this one received a lot of its lower ratings citing that this was too long, by which I think there are some readers who avoid longer novels, but I took off half a star, and then I amended it, since while I'm writing this review, I am also still processing it. I tend to think with more clarity with reflection because I only just finished it last night, and I was overwhelmed with sadness since this felt so incredibly real to me. That speaks to the Author's very gifted acumen with infusing every single character to be realistically alive, and affected by this trusted Middle School English teacher, named, Francis Harlan Fox, whose charismatic, and charming, but deeply calculating abuse towards his students was so upsetting, for he had fooled everyone. Keep in mind that as difficult as this content is to read that if you look deeper, it is a reality that happens. It's Literary Fiction, and that tends to be character driven written by one of the greatest American writers who I believe she has pure intentions towards making anybody who reads this more vigilant within our communities. We tend to trust most people because that's human nature to think the best of those who inhabit our lives. Especially those who present themselves as affable, likable, and make a good impression. People who are in contact with children, or authority figures are automatically now not beyond my old default belief system that didn't need my discernment. After reading this difficult, but informative novel I will never be too trusting, I hope I learned that I was not as careful as I should have been, to not think everyone is honest by my naivety again. I hope that I gained a great deal of a healthy, but painful jolt of a wake up call that taught me that I was too trusting operating with the mindset that because I am honest, believing everyone else is, unless their were glaring red flags.. I will never be as grateful for the good fortune that while my children were growing up, that they safely made it to young adults without dealing with anything like what these innocent children were exposed to in this novel. Yet, I am aware that they deserve the credit for their level headed choices for I was way too trusting, and if I had to do it over again, that I would be much stricter after reading this. I know that I allowed my youngest son to spend the night at his best friend's home which I knew the mother quite well, but if I had it to do over I would not allow how frequent he spent nights away from home for various reasons which I'm not going to get into other than I regret it, but not for anything that has to do with the content of this book. We had complete confidence in his best friends parents, and we grew close to the parents ourselves, and he is very well adjusted. I did have a great deal of mixed feelings that do not pertain to this content that I by chance caught onto that for other reasons saw red flags that I considered as potential threats, and this was with a different friend of his that my instincts I now realize were right. I realize I was angry that two parents could be so irresponsible that I didn't allow the friendship, but wouldn't stand my ground because it felt wrong to tell him he couldn't be friends with this boy. I think I'm sharing this to say how lucky we are that nothing bad happened, but now I would not be so foolish. . Very seldom was I to worry about the kind of thing that takes place in this novel, and I never thought their teachers were a potential threat which we were fortunate were great mentors. In fact, I thought this type of thing happened with strangers, but if this novel shows anything is how many people were fooled by this Middle School teacher who abused that trust. I always felt school was safe, and I think the spirit in which this was written was to be helpful, and informative which I thought was done as tasteful as possible. It's not an easy read, but if you read it with an idea of it being meant to make us all more aware, then as hard as it is you will realize that it has insight. How does it occur? I don't know anybody that has experienced it? It's very upsetting to think about, and I was sure this book broke my heart at how real it feels throughout the novel, but I hope that now that I might be more aware of how to spot how it transpires because it has been enough of an eye opener that I choose to not revisit. I felt some also called this repetitive which it was but not in a significant way since for most of this was justified by her impeccable character development. The repetitiveness was present, but in a positive way which I thought she definitely achieved her five stars or more like one-hundred stars for her very erudite style of justification of making the numerous characters so intimately nuanced that I felt like she truly made each one so real, which sounds banal or trite. Which leads me to clarify that this was superbly written, and as disturbing as it is, it's educational, to the point that I couldn't wait to pick this up again every time I had to reluctantly stop reading. I happen to think that it technically was repetitive but that was her intent, and used to her brilliant advantage, since there were parts that truly got under my skin. I felt for the most part which considering the subject matter she presented it in a way where she had intoxicated me like the puppet master who she attributes to Francis Harlan Fox to not alienate me, or most readers who enjoy literary, character driven prose, until the exact moment she purposely shifted my emotions to feel how horrified I felt. I can't emphasize enough how I knew that precise point that she had purposefully had not only total command over the language, but had that same spellbinding jolt where I was horrified by the realization how much irreversibly life traumatizing damage these poor young twelve, and thirteen year old's would be suffering for the rest of their lives. I felt so many overwhelming, powerful, negative emotions that I thought that I would never recover. I had felt that I was so depressed that I knew was attributed to the profound impact of Joyce Carol Oates, whose prose shifted exactly when her hypnotic spell intended it to horrify me the most, and I knew it was done on purpose when it happened. This sounds irrational, but she meant for me to know that she knew I would realize she knew precisely how much she could overpower me with words. I knew I was in for the most horrific challenge that took all my strength to continue. I was so affected I just thought I wouldn't recover. I have to admit that she's highly intelligent enough to earn nothing less than the full five stars rounded up from my 4.5 star rating. That's the reason for the page count which I defend her reasons for it being longer and her repetition was precise to have outfoxed me into such discomfort that I felt like I couldn't wait to be done with this novel. I felt at the time that I wished that I never read it. I did guess who was the murderer which was why I initially went to rate this at 4.5 stars, and that was my opinion. I was so upset that I was as now I reiterate that I felt sorry I read this, and it took all my energy to know that I had to endure so much emotional heaviness. It felt like I shouldn't have read this, and said never again will I put myself through so much darkness. I finished it finally so relieved, but it sent me to feel so disturbed that seriously I needed to eat an early dinner and cut my night short. I honestly knew that an early night to which I felt I couldn't wait to finish it fast enough since it affected me for other reasons, but I did recover and am happy that I read it slowly. I felt it was too long of a reading experience to feel so horrible, but I have gained an understanding that those affected would be deeply altered forever. I wrote a very different review than what I had planned since I still remember how surreal and hopelessly it would be as I felt that if not for the intense writing I would feel how extremely insidious this inhabited my being to my soul. I woke up the next day with a different outlook to not want a reread, but I asked myself to remember the positive takeaways since I knew that for me to be so disturbed, that was because of the repetition to the point of how well sketched the depth of characters were. It's not gratuitous, or sensationalized, but left for each reader's imagination. I know that can be worse for some readers. I owe it to stellar writing. I think that Joyce Carol Oates is every bit deserving of her stature with her talent that distinguishes her award winning position as one of the best writers which this novel was life changing for me. This latest novel, "FOX," only has reinforced in me that she has earned not enough prestige for her spectacular achievements which this newest novel is a reflection of her BRILLIANCE, and WIDE RANGING SCOPE that has left me with an increased amount of empathy for all victims who have been representative of her characters depicted in this admirable achievement. That said, I wish to leave those to be aware that this was as tastefully written as possible, but can be a very disturbing reading experience for those with children, especially those with young children. I believe that JOYCE CAROL OATES has the purest intentions towards the Humanity of those who read this that displays how far reaching those who charm us with charisma, can fit in, and how to take care by awareness that I believe the mission is how wide ranging this crime ripples throughout communities.

Publication Date: June 17, 2025! AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE NOW! AN UNFORGETTABLE FLAWLESSLY WRITTEN NOVEL THAT I'M HOPING WILL BE REACH AS WIDE OF AN AUDIENCE THAT IT DESERVES! A GREAT BOOK CLUB CHOICE!

Thank you to Net Galley, Joyce Carol Oates, and Random House Publishing Group-Random House-Hogarth for generously providing me with my ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own, as always.

#Fox #JoyceCarolOates #RandomHousePublishingGroupRandomHouseHogarth #NetGalley

Quite a deep dive into the psyche of a pedophile that reveals the ugly reasoning behind his actions. But not just the perpetrator is targeted by JCO’s insightful prose, the young victims, the school staff, the town’s residents, and even the investigating detectives have their beliefs and reactions probed in a search for truth.

As I’ve come to expect from JCO, the writing is flawless in its descriptions and pacing holds the reader’s attention. Since the second half of this novel concerns the investigation into the murder, it is very interesting to note the myriad reactions that people have to talking to the police and to the crime itself. Also this has the most unique ending I’ve ever seen!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth Press for the ARC to read and review.

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates is another amazing suspenseful story.
I was pulled by the cover and interesting description.
A well written suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
An intriguing story with characters who draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.

🥳Happy Pub Day 🥳

This book is just wow ... A real mindf#¢k . 🤯
Very dark but also very REAL .
I mean I'm having trouble putting into words a review. I hated it .. I loved it ... It disgusted me . There were times I had to put this book down because it was just too real .. too descriptive.. too sad.. too uncomfortable. BUT a book that makes u feel all of these feelings & gets you thinking must be doing something right . Isn't that what a great book is supposed to do ?

Idk that this will be one of my favorite books this year but it will definitely stand out & I won't forget it .
I do think this book was too long at 672 pages & very wordy but the way Joyce Carol Oates weaves this story & links all the characters is incredible. 👏

This is my first read by this author but now I want to read EVERYTHING she has written. This lady has a true talent for writing . 🖤

Thank you #NetGalley for another on point eArc

The prolific Joyce Carol Oates returns with the tale of a charismatic eighth grade English teacher at the tony Langhorne Academy who has beguiled his students, their parents, and the faculty, and has acquired a loyal coterie of adult women friends, several of whom naively envision a future as Mrs. Fox. The Langhorne Academy is a selective prep school whose graduates are accepted into the Ivy League and other high profile universities. But, from the opening paragraphs, we know that things are not so idyllic in South Jersey where the Langhorne Academy is located.

On October 30, 2013, Paige Cady is treking through the Wieland wetlands at dawn with her high energy rescue hound, Princess Di, when the dog ignores the commands of her human and presents Cady (whom we later learn is the Headmistress at Langhorne) with what a squeamish Cady concludes is a deer tongue. The following day, Martin Pfenning, recently separated from his wife, is walking with his thirteen-year-old daughter Eunice, a nervous, sensitive student at Langhorne with health issues, who is frightened by objects tangled in the rushes near Wieland Pond. Her father dutifully investigates but finds only trash, a styrofoam food container and a doll’s head. That same day, the Healy brothers, Marcus and Demetrius, whose father is the custodian at Langhorne, are dumping debris at the local landfill, when Demetrius shows Marcus a high end white car upended into the shallow water of a ravine adjacent to Wieland Pond and a badly mangled human arm, a naked male torso, and a human head. The car is registered to Francis Fox, but the body is too damaged for a speedy identification.

Oates has set up a scintillating mystery, but she has also penned a chilling tale about a pedophile. Fox, under his former name of Frank Farrell, had been accused of statutory rape and sexual assault of a minor, a seventh grader who committed suicide. Fox is able to continue to abuse his students — a seventh grader hospitalized after cutting her arms severely, an eighth grader who disappeared and is assumed to have runaway — through the victim-blaming tactics of his shrewd attorney who insures that Fox receives his full salary, a nondisclosure agreement forbidding the school that terminated him from speaking of him in any way detrimental to his reputation, and letters of recommendation that Fox can pre-approve.

After being dismissed from four schools in nine years, Fox’s reputation in the small world of prestige private schools is faltering, and he recognizes that although the Langhorne Academy is a place of exile, he will need to call it home. But he cannot escape his desire for prepubescent girls, preferably those without fathers and those who are day students. As the story begins, Mr. Fox is sexually assaulting Langhorne student, Genevieve, whom he refers to as “Little Kitten,” and has given her a lemon meringue tart laced with Ativan to make her more compliant. Complaint Little Kitten sends Mr. Fox “secret” pictures of her naked body, and is distressed when he fails to show up at school.

This story might be dismissed as merely shocking, but Oates’ capable command of the language and tactics of a pedophile, coupled with the astonishing naïveté of those around Fox, keeps the chilling mystery propulsive. Oates even throws in some references to the best known pedophile in literature — Humbert Humbert. Fox declares to his librarian girlfriend that “Lolita” is pornography. “A man of, is it forty, forcing sex in a girl of eleven, disgusting!” His agitation is so disturbing that the chaste librarian assumes that Fox may have been a victim of sexual abuse himself, a conclusion that he reinforces to explain their chaste relationship. This is Oates at her best. Thank you Hogarth and Net Galley for an advance copy of this dark, but addictive, mystery.

I try to read everything Joyce Carol Oates writes. She is a current day literary treasure, IMO. I absolutely couldn't put this book down. However, as many readers have noted, it guts you to the core. You have to steel yourself against what's happening much of the book. Yet, I loved the story, they way JCO built suspense and mystery, and even had some likable characters mixed in with the naive, confused, uneducated, and wishful thinking characters that littered the story. I loved the 700 page length as you can really sink your teeth into it. The book may not be for everyone, but it certainly was for me.

Others have told about the plot, but it took place at a private boarding school in the NE and the sparsely populated region added to the mystery of it all. Mr. Fox is a new teacher who let's say has some REALLY BAD HABITS that affect some of his students in an extreme way. Yet his charisma has people just wanting to be in his presence and makes it hard to believe that he would do anything wrong

Thanks to Netbooks and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC!

This is a difficult book to rate because it was a difficult book to read, but I try not to rate a book low just because I have a trigger warning with the content. I don't really have any trigger warnings. But I struggled with this one because of some of the authorial choices in depicting child abuse.

I've long been an admirer of JCO's writing and there's no question that she's a master at unflinching, visceral narratives that will provoke reactions of disgust and alarm. So I was excited to get an ARC for her latest, a literary thriller exploring the many angles of the insidiousness of child abuse and how it affects the community of a small town.

This the story of Francis Fox, an English teacher who teaches at elite private middle schools and is a pedophile, his target of choice 12- and 13- year old girls. He starts innocently enough, crossing boundaries with one of his students who has a crush on him, and his behavior snowballs from there, going so far as to make a website for his "Sleeping Beauties." He's able to escape accountability on charm alone and being a master of disguise.

At his latest school, Langhorne Academy, the abuse deepens and becomes serial, as he manipulates his students like some kind of cult leader and leaves them shells of human beings at the end. This really showed how abusers are able to get away with it for so long, by getting trusted adults on their side who swear that their close friend could never be so evil, going so far as to establish prizes and foundations in his name after his death. I used to work as a courtroom clerk and these were the hardest cases to watch because of that. The wife who grimly accompanied her husband to every court hearing and refused to believe he could have raped a child.

I almost rated this book four stars because it did a very good job of showing the far-reaching nature of abuse in a small society. Reading this made my skin crawl and it made me want to take a cold shower after I finished every section. It certainly wasn't an enjoyable reading experience. But you don't read JCO for comfort.

Where I struggled with it was this - when I was a courtroom clerk the other hardest cases were child pornography cases. The child is victimized once and yet they are traumatized over and over again as these images are disseminated among subscribers. I struggled with the author's decision to show the child's point of view as these rapes were occuring, using terms like Mr. Tongue and Mr. Teddy Bear and done in a way that was intended to arouse and also disgust for the arousal, like a modern day Lolita.

These are the kinds of scenes that people who scoff at readers who need trigger warnings applaud themselves for perservering through. I just found it cringe, uncomfortable and had no literary merit beyond the artifice of performatory shock value. No need to traumatize the reader to make your point. Some things only cops and courts of law should see. Mainly because treating it like a scene from a spicy romance novel normalizes it to a disturbing degree. It dilutes the impact of the abuse and makes it seem like moody teenage drama.

I also found this book overlong (Did it really need to be over 600 pages!), a real drag to read in parts and as a thriller it was not very twisty and was really fairly boring. The most exciting revelations happened in the last 20%.

A cast filled with unlikable characters doing disgusting things. I guess I am meant to be disgusted and examine the depravity of human nature, but I just found this a real rambling drag to push through. I feel relieved that it's over. It will definitely stay with me though, in a way that makes me cringe.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Dark, smart, and absolutely gutting. Fox is part literary thriller, part psychological horror, with a modern-day Lolita thread running through it. It opens with a wrecked car and a body, then peels back layers of a beloved teacher’s legacy at a prep school until the full horror comes into view.

Told through a chorus of voices—students, parents, detectives, even dogs. This is pure Oates: relentless, uncomfortable, and brilliantly written. If you're sensitive to content, please be aware. If you're up for it, it's one of her most disturbing and unforgettable novels yet.

TRIGGER WARNING.

Child molestation. Child pornography. Self-harm. Suicide.

This book is super hard to review. As a blanket statement, it was good. I was interested and engaged. I was fascinated by the way that human nature was portrayed in this book. However, honestly, this book was also creepy and disturbing and it really was hard to ready because the child abuse was so pervasive and climbed into my head. (though, clearly it was well-done because I was so disturbed.)

Fox was compelling. It was interesting and thought provoking. It was well-written to the point of being too much.

Advanced reader copy provided by Hogarth and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publsihing for the eARC.

Wooof this book is lengthy. I found it hard to get through and struggled to finish it. The concept was so intriguing to me, I really wanted to know everything about Francis Fox but I needed it to be done faster.

I had to take a break from reading Fox, not because it is nearly 700 pages, but because this is PAINFUL to read. Don't get me wrong, it is so well written, Joyce Carol Oates maybe at her best. But oof, this is tough stuff and JCO does not let you look away. This is great summer reading. If there were ever a 700 page book you want try to finish in a day, Fox is that book for many reasons.

The subject matter of this story is disturbing and not in a fiction mystery way, in a gross, hard to get out of my brain way. Unfortunately it was not the story for me. I have never read a book by this author and this was not the one to start with. The opening scenes were confusing, told in a dogs point of view, then got into difficult and disturbing subject matter from there. Also, the lack of understanding as far as police procedural and basic crime laws made this a no go read for me.

Genre: Literary Dark Suspense
Publisher: Random
Pub. Date: June 17, 2025

Joyce Carol Oates infuses her first foray into the murder mystery genre, “Fox,” with her famous literary flair. Francis Fox is an admired English middle school teacher working at an elite boarding school in the fictional town of Weiland, New Jersey, in the 1970s. When he’s found dead in his car in a nature preserve, the questions that arise threaten his respectable and likeable facade. Though it’s a whodunit, the question of why someone would kill Mr. Fox is at the heart of Oates’ latest novel. The answer, in true Oates fashion, is deeply disturbing.

Tasked with investigating Mr. Fox’s death is the world-weary investigator Horace Zwender. As he uncovers stomach-turning accounts of Mr. Fox’s conduct with the female students who adore him, one doesn’t sense the exploitative sensationalism that mars so much writing about sexual abuse. What distinguishes Oates’ work is the unflinching study of the abuser’s pathology. Mr. Fox, we learn, hated “Lolita.” He would never force himself on one of his victims—he believes he is romancing them. Oates paints a painfully convincing picture of how he similarly charms those who might be in the position to stop him, like the school’s standoffish headmistress, P.C.

“Fox” is a long novel, 672 pages. Oates employs a slow-burn approach, allowing the reader to become intimately familiar with the characters and their complex relationships with Mr. Fox. The effect is immersive and unsettling. When Mr. Fox is found dead, some of his female students attempt suicide, leaving their parents stunned and distraught. To keep us guessing, there are many suspects on Detective Zwender’s list. P. C., who is naturally apprehensive, falls apart when it is her turn to be questioned. Much of Weiland seems to be on the verge of falling apart.

At 86 years, Joyce Carol Oates is as sharp as ever. This is her 58th novel, and it ends brilliantly. I wonder how she still does it. Though “Fox” can be a little slow at points, Oates’ trademark prose works in tandem with the novel’s central mystery to keep the reader hooked. With a new genre, Oates has found a new way to illuminate the darkness that keeps drawing us back.

I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from NetGalley at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

This book about a middle school English teacher at an elite private school in New Jersey who preys on his students was painful to read. Of course, the subject was incredibly disturbing, but there were other things that made this painful. Most importantly, there is no way that a local police department would be solely responsible for an investigation that involves online child pornography. Oates either needs to stop writing or she needs an editor who will edit her overwriting and bad plot points.

While I was not mentally prepared for the graphic and disturbing CSA in this novel, it will undoubtedly be one of my top books this year.

Oftentimes stories of this length can seem overkill - too drawn out, too wordy, too self-indulgent. However, that is not the case with Fox. Joyce Carol Oates is a master of her craft, and the intentionality with which she weaves together this story left me feeling like I needed every single word she provided. This is not a plot-driven novel, but a deeply rich character study into the minds of the most depraved predators in our society, as well as the many different types of victims that exist - whether directly or indirectly related to the perpetrators.

Fox is nothing short of a masterful literary mystery, and my only complaint is that I have no one to discuss it with until it is released on June 17th. This book will be highly recommended by me to my fellow readers.

TRIGGER WARNING: CSA. I wish this book had come with a trigger warning because I'm not sure I would have read it, had I know the extent and depravity and disgusting details of years of Child Sexual Assault that were depicted. It was well written and intriguing but I couldn't get over the ick and just horrible feeling of the CSA. If you can get over that part, it is an excellent book.

Fox comes out next week on June 17, 2025 and you can purchase HERE.

Nostalgia: yearning for something that never was recalled with much maudlin emotion as if it had ever been.

Francis Fox feels not the merest wisp of nostalgia for the childhood of "Frank Farrell," which he can barely remember and which he may have conflated with films and TV of the era of an equal banality and tedium. Long estranged from his thoroughly undistinguished parents, siblings. Descended from thoroughly undistinguished ancestors. Not even a modest fortune in the Farrell family, no estate to inherit even if (a sizable if) he'd have been a probable heir.

Generally, I find JCO hit or miss. For every novel I enjoy, there is one I put down. Add this to the enjoy pile! Outstanding, creepy, provocative, engrossing, disturbing and, above all, brilliantly written. This will not be for everyone as the subject matter is polarizing, but I was riveted.

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates

I’ve never read a book by this author so I don’t know how it compares to other works. While a little too wordy for me, I did appreciate the beauty in the command of language. I did find it repetitive and slow for the majority of the time. This might have been the case of it being the wrong time to read it. I imagine this one as more of a winter read for some reason - when the world is slow and I can sink into a dark tale.

Told from multiple perspectives, the story did feel very explored from all angles. It was nuanced, provocative and graphic, bringing a modern spin to Lolita, so do your research for trigger warnings before picking it up.

Readers who enjoy true literary fiction, detailed and flowery prose, and books that push boundaries will find much to enjoy here.

I wanted to love this, Joyce Carol Oates has always been brilliant, but admittedly, not all her books are for me, and Fox fell into that category. The fragmented prose made for choppy reading, and the subject matter was too far over my personal line. Grooming of a minor by a teacher, SA, just icky, disturbing stuff. Not sure why that’s the one thing I can’t handle but it is.

I recognize the talent and effort put into this, and JCO has earned her long and successful career, but Fox made me feel like I was at the waning end of her journey.