“The sacred book of the Werewolf” by Victor Pelevin

I’ve advised to read this book by a friend that thought that i would really like it. After reading it in one evening, on one breath, i have to agree – this book is very interesting! Reading this book was very easy, writers style was easily understood and definitely not boring.

The heroine of the story is a fox whose name (A Hu-Li) unfortunately translates in her adopted homeland, Russia, as something approximating  ‘what the f**k’. A Hu-Li has the appearance of a luscious 14-year-old girl, the mind of a particularly sly Buddhist monk and an endearing habit of name-dropping all the famous people she’s met over past 2,000 years. Originally from China, she’s now playing her vulpine trade at Moscow’s National Hotel. But A Hu-Li’s version of turning tricks is not exactly conventional (she was a virgin), she hypnotizes her willing victims, feeding off his energies with the help of her secret weapon, “a fluffy, flexible, fire-red” tail.

Though she claims an aversion to the messy business of sex, A Hu-Li is also engaged  in a passionate affair with federal security agent who just happens to be well-endowed werewolf with lucrative ability to conjuring oil from earth. The problems came when lone conflicts with duty: moved to kiss her furry shapeshifter, the fox unwittingly triggers his transformation into a five-legged black dog, that may or may not be the super werewolf of the title.

What is the secret of A Hu-Li’s immortality? What is the difference between the transformation of perception and the perception of transformation, and what does either have to do with werewolf’s, werefoxes and modern marketing techniques? How does A Hu-Li ultimately achieves her freedom?

P.S. Here is my drawing of A Hu-Li