With How to Be Human, Paula Cocozza, feature writer at the Guardian, has written an engaging first novel about a woman falling in love with a fox.
In the suburbs of London, Mary is struggling to pull her life back together after a break-up with her fiancé, Mark. Although he was controlling and Mary is glad to be on her own, she feels adrift. She is bored with her job, has let her house and garden go untended and has no close friends or family.
When Mary comes home one day to find a fox sitting in her back garden, her dull routine is broken. The animal entrances her with its stare, and so their relationship begins. Mary becomes obsessed with "her fox" and works to get closer to him; meanwhile her neighbors are terrified that the beast will harm their young children and want to get rid of it.
As the fox wars in the neighborhood escalate, Mary grows to see him as the perfect partner. Incredibly, the fox seems to return some of her affection, bringing her gifts and spending time in both her garden and her house.
Does Mary's fox really care for her, or is she losing her mind? It's up to the reader to decide in this quirky but captivating portrayal of modern life, where a wild animal teaches a woman what it means to be human. --Suzan L. Jackson, freelance writer and author of Book by Book blog