Runaway Fox
As it Was Meant to Be
Runaway Fox is a dramatic romance novel in which a searching man questions how religion and science may explain the chance encounters that change lives.
In Pavel Mahdjik’s musing romance novel Runaway Fox, a man takes a twisting path to true love and happiness.
Foxy seems to have all that a man could want. He works as a popular television economist, and he’s half of a celebrity couple with his girlfriend, Marica. But even though he’s rich and handsome, he is troubled by elements of the life he’s living. When he gets a call to check up on a childhood friend who just joined a monastery, Foxy is put on a path that upends his life—but might save it in the process. As he begins to fall for Mariya, a local girl, Foxy learns that wealth and success pale in comparison to true love.
A dramatic romantic comedy that questions how religion and science may explain the chance encounters that change lives, the story is told from the alternating perspectives of three flawed but sympathetic human beings. There are several dramatic turns that engage attention, and the question of how much more complicated Foxy’s situation can become is continual. Mothers interfere, gangsters get involved, and there’s a funeral too.
However, the drama is somewhat undercut by inconsistencies in the storytelling. For example, the chapters’ lengths vary, and there are lengthy pauses to make space for lectures on new ways of viewing God, religion, science, and fate, topics whose considerations are stylistically at odds with the more sensational elements of the plot.
Further, Foxy is a divisive hero. He begins the story in a situation that seems perfect from the outside, though he’s revealed to be in an unhappy relationship with a controlling girlfriend. When he encounters a new girl, she shakes him up, but it’s a too-predictable means of self-actualization. Further, despite implications that Foxy is trapped with Marica, no real reasons are pronounced for his inability to leave her; he evades taking responsibility for his own situation, leading to narrative gaps. And while the novel delights in murky areas, its inherent contradictions are an impediment to ultimate reading satisfaction. Still, it works toward an explosive climax that is exciting for its perfect storm of various people’s desires and fears, with some significant lies revealed at last.
In the cozy, sometimes philosophical romance novel Runaway Fox, a man gets himself into trouble for his own good.
Reviewed by
Katherine Woods
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
