I feel like Helen Oyeyemi‘s work is often described as playful, and Mr. Fox is certainly a collection of games tied in with fairy tales. Suggested related activities:
To Do
Following Mary Foxe, make a list of experiences that are memorable to you or that you still want to experience.
She wanted to experience things; she had a list. She planned to attend a big band concert, and she planned to walk through a field of yellow rapeseed, and she planned to get an injection, and anything else I might recommend.
Browse upscale dining restaurant menus. Maybe when the pandemic is over I will actually go to one of these restaurants for dinner, but until then… I do like a good menu.
Upscale dining near me: Polo Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Spago by Wolfgang Puck, Il Cielo, and Caulfield’s Bar and Dining Room
I wondered if we could go out to dinner together. Someplace fancy. And if I could wear a nice hat.
Make a paper cutting. I always associate these crafts with fairy tales; they feel whimsical and romantic in a similar way to me.

To Read
For more foxes: “Reynard the Fox“, the epic poem written by Goethe, and the short story Fox 8: a story by George Saunders
For more fairy tales: Sur La Lune collection of fairy/folk tales – what I particularly like about this collection is that it includes stories from non-European origins.
For “hasty women” (the list given in the book): La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas, Therese Raquin by Emilie Zola, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Tess of the d’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Magicians has ruined Reynard the Fox for me – that sneaky fox!
Some fancy places that I would like to dream about include Sugarfish (they just opened a new location near me, and they deliver!) and Nobu — lots of dreams about fresh sushi right now!
Hehe “Jessica dreams of sushi.” Yeah! The Magicians is the first time I heard of this figure! In the book, he is a human and his name is Reynardine but boy is he a trickster. A murder-y murder-y trickster.
Yammy yammy sushi! 🙂