The Fox’s Tower by Sam Thompson
Published by Little Island Books
FROM the acclaimed author of Wolfstongue comes The Fox’s Tower, another breathtaking children’s novel, set within the animal kingdom, that has a wealth of wisdom about humanity beneath the surface. The illustrations of Anna Tromop highlight all the moments Thompson describes just as you would see them in your mind, bringing the story to life and despite some of its darker themes, keeping the story accessible to the imaginations of a younger audience. Having read George Orwell’s Animal Farm, this story is its modern equivalent, carrying the same depth of exploration of very human dynamics of oppression with the addition of a surface adventure fast-paced and exciting enough to emphasise or lighten these themes when necessary.
Willow’s father had always told stories. She listened when she was younger to his far-fetched tales of befriending wolves, how he could speak to them and they would respond but like many children she grew out of believing in magic. She had attributed much of this to her eccentric father’s grief for her mother and love for all things that live in nature. This seemed to be the case until the night everything changed, the night her own unbelievable story begins. She watched as her father was taken by foxes and dragged into the dark of the nearby forest and realised that whatever the reason, whatever the explanation, she had to save him. In order to do this Willow is guided by her father’s friends, talking animals she had once denied the existence of, beginning with a raven.
Within the forest she meets various creatures and is taken in by three wolves, sisters who had once been part of the pack her father had befriended as a child. While the pack is in turmoil themselves, they agree to help her navigate the tower, the new home of all the forest’s creatures. While all these beings had once lived in their own places and on their own terms, one fox Reynard had seen a different future and with the help of magic built a whole world within a tower. It is revealed that this great and diverse habitat is an imperfect one, filled with inequality. Some animals are forced to live in the overcrowded Jumble at the bottom of the tower, isolated from the rest and looked down upon as though inherently more wild, less trustworthy. This is the status of many of the wolves and despite their fear of those in the higher levels of the tower and therefore of higher class, they agree to help Willow on a journey to the very top. In order to find what happened to her dad, she knows she must confront the fox who created this land, and find out what he knows.
Along their journey, Willow is faced with the inequality of this land, a chilling and effective metaphor for the power structures in humans that, for seemingly no reason, leave some with less shelter and food than others. As the first human to enter the tower, accompanied only by the rarely respected wolves, they are questioned at every turn, unravelling parts of the story of not only what could have happened to her father, but also what has happened to the piece of the forest.
While many of the main characters are represented as animals, they are deeply sympathetic, pulling the reader into their adventure – you feel the curiosity and urgency of Willow to rescue her dad and warmth toward all her new friends. The mystery and fantasy elements of The Fox’s Tower make it a captivating read for children while its hidden depths entice older readers at once.
