Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I enjoyed this strange story of a woman who believes her daughter is part owl. The blurring between what was real and what was fantasy is done very well, and the novel is beautifully written.

I apologize for the delay. I couldn't get into the book. I appreciate the themes but I didn't enjoy the parts I read.

To be honest I found this a bit difficult to get through because to be honest I am a little tired of the "omg pregnancy is so hard/being a woman is so hard" genre of novels... cynical of me, I know. But this is well written and I would definitely read her next book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of Chouette by Claire Oshetsky.

Chouette is one of those books that you're not sure what to make of it, but it definitely does stay with you. The writing is beautiful, the characters are interesting and very real. Tiny is pregnant and convinced that her Owl Lover is the father of her baby. This strange tale of motherhood, loyalty, acceptance and unconditional love will leave an imprint on your mind and heart. When Chouette is born the doctor's prognosis is not good, and Tiny's husband reaches out to various doctors to "fix" Chouette and help her become more adaptable to society. Tiny withdraws from people as Chouette does not easily integrate due to her behaviour and that she looks different to other children. Tiny's unwavering belief that Chouette is perfect as she is, is testament to all mothers who devote their lives to children with special needs and have very little support.

This is a book that everyone should read at least once, it will move you and will stay with you for a long time.

Tiny is a cellist living in Sacramento with her husband.
On the night she and her husband have sex, she is also visited by her owl lover. She conceives but thinks her owl baby is from her owl lover rather than her husband.
So there’s that! And I’m really not sure how to ‘take’ this book except that I know that I loved it.
Is Chouette (French for owl) really an owl baby? Or has she been born with some syndrome?
Tiny refers to her as an owl baby throughout and describes Chouettes actions and behaviour as more bird-like than childlike.
But her husband and his family are afraid of Chouette. They call her Charlotte instead and pity her as a broken child. Her husband was even waiting for Chouette to die at first.
Once I stopped myself from fixating on what was true and what was fantasy in the book, I just simply enjoyed it for a brilliantly, beautifully written book and accepted it for what it was. Which may just be the point of this book - the acceptance of a ‘different’ child for who they are.

Totally reeling after reading this. I can’t do Claire Oshetsky’s masterpiece justice in sentences, so have a list of adjectives that still don’t completely sum up the experience of reading this:

Hypnotic, potent, carnal, brutal, magical, visceral, savage, maternal, wild, provocative, erotic, oppressive, surreal, fierce, unnerving, haunting, lyrical, morbid, disorienting, musical, emotive, captivating, melancholic, otherworldly, philosophical, heartfelt, violent, tender, ruthless, metaphorical, discomfiting, empathetic, ambiguous, sapphic, ecstatic, fantastical, eerie, devastating, hopeful, familiar, wild…

absolutely f*cking amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A strange but delightful little read, Chouette is a beautiful and enigmatic metaphorical novel that I truly enjoyed.

Just as with Mona Awad's Bunny, my immediate take away from Chouette was a big, resounding "WTF?"

But, unlike Bunny I found myself falling in love with Claire Oshetsky's beautifully lyrical fable of fierce, unrelenting love and motherhood.

There's no denying that Chouette will push the boundaries and leave you feeling a bit confused with what you've just read at times. But, what stands apart is the beautiful and realistic writing about what it feels like to be a mother.

It captures the good, the bad and the ugly unashamedly. I loved the passages when Tiny was considering her body and how it had changed during pregnancy and motherhood. It felt like a wild thing that she was losing control of, a feeling I'm sure many mothers feel.

On reflection, I can't say I 100% understood every part of this book and untangling the truth and metaphor from Tiny and Chouette's story is difficult and challenging. But I'm so glad that I read Chouette

Firstly, a huge thank you to Virago and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I remember hearing about this novel months ago, and I was incredibly intrigued by the mysteriously dark premise. This novel certainly delivered from the opening line which immediately captivated me. Whilst Chouette is a fairly short novel, I still would have read the entire book in one sitting even if it had been double the length. It was simply impossible to put down.

The entire story is told through the mother's perspective, who we only ever hear her referred to, affectionately, as 'Tiny'. This was the perfect way to tell this story, I loved seeing how Tiny tried to piece together her own thoughts and feelings about her 'owl-baby', Chouette, as well as try to navigate the opinions of the family around her - especially her husband. There was something wistful and melancholic about the way she would address the reader / Chouette as she tries to organise the muddle of the situation in her mind, which I found particularly captivating. Whilst I may not have understood her, and frequently questioned whether she was doing the right thing or not, I was endeared to her and wanted the best for her and her family.

The surrealism that is woven through the narrative, at times merely lingering in the background and at others taking centre stage, was handled brilliantly. The balance was just enough that I never fully got a clear picture of everything, and yet I was still able to piece together my own theories of the narrative which was still incredibly satisfying. I think that is one of the, many, things that makes this story brilliant, there are so many different interpretations you can have over what has happened. You can take the story at face value and believe in the unsettling magic at play, or you can look into the symbolism which could paint an even darker picture. Regardless of what you choose to believe as you read, as both present very interesting and thought-provoking ideas, you are able to still see at the heart of this novel is a new mother who loves her daughter unconditionally and the various implications that this could mean...

Considering this novel is just over 250 pages, there were a lot of different plot points packed in which were all very well developed, including the characters of Tiny's husband and her sister-in-law. Whilst they weren't all as fully explored as they perhaps would have been in a longer novel, that simply adds to the mystery of the characters. You get a small piece of additional information for some things to make sense but not others, which further drew me into the characters. Oshetsky has a beautiful, lyrical, way of writing which gave so much depth to these situations and characters, particularly when presented with some of the more grotesque and violent imagery.

Overall, I adored Chouette, it was everything I hoped it would be and more. This book has so much to offer you'll simultaneously be left with wanting more and being satisfied with the conclusion.

This is a very strange book, but I enjoyed reading it immensely. It's a brutal and bizarre look at womanhood, family, and motherhood, and the unconditional (and often uncomfortable) love that comes along with it all.

Is this book extremely strange - yes

Did I enjoy reading this book - also yes

Chouette is a very strange story about a mother's irrepressible love. I'm still not sure at the end whether or not Tiny really did give birth to an owl baby or is it a metaphor for the struggles involved in bringing up a special needs child. On the one hand her categorisation of children into owl babies and dog babies suggests it is her way of coping with her unique situation, on the other Chouette's reign of violence and Tiny's upbringing would suggest that there is a supernatural element to the tale.

Despite how brutal it could be at various points, I do feel that this is really a book about the fierce and all-consuming love a mother has for their child, and her determination to protect her at all costs. I found it strangely sweet and touching despite everything. I certainly wouldn't suggest it for a book club pick but it was a unique and thought-provoking read.

This book is... bizarre at its best and confusing at its worst. I love the idea of motherhood with the twist. Mainly because I think at its core, Motherhood is just accepting your kid for who they are. And Tiny did just that. Her love is fierce and what is wrong with a child that is different from the others? But anyway, I had to stop reading at one point because I had some similar experiences and it triggered the memories that I can't handle. A brilliant book that is too clever for me to understand but I ended up loving it.

Took a bit to get in to it and was hard going at times. I see motherhood as a beautiful thing not something that has stopped me from living life to the fullest. I understood and felt the pain of the disinterested partner and hated the in-laws passionately. My son was born with a facial birthmark and have faced the pitying looks and comments of surgery etc to make him “normal”. So also this resonated with me. I don’t think I would recommend this book as it’s quite dark in places and I think we need cheering up currently.

Thanks to NetGalley and Virago for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
What a novel! I must confess I read a comment about this novel, saw the cover, and being crazy about anything owl I had to request it. It seems I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist the attraction of the cover, because many reviews mention it as well. Curiously, although the two covers of the novel I’ve seen are quite different (both have owls on the cover, but that’s the only similarity), they are fascinating and beautiful, each in its own way.
The brief description of the book made me think of a French film I saw quite a few years back (2009), called Ricky, directed by François Ozon, about a baby who grows wings and the effect that has on everybody around him, but... This novel is not like that. At all.
It is very difficult to review this novel because I am not sure how to classify it, and although that is often said, in this case, I believe it truly defies classification. Amazon.com lists it under three categories: Humorous literary fiction, contemporary literary fiction, and women’s literary fiction. I have also seen people referring to its style as “magic realism”, a category that seems to have many different definitions and conceptions. Having grown up reading Latin-American writers such as Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende, I think of the genre as one where the story takes place in a world that is realistically rendered, but there are some events or characters that seem impossible, peculiar, or even magical, although that fact (that sometimes might be related to specific beliefs of the community, legends, stories) does not alter or transform totally the nature of the world. It is not a world of fantasy. It isn’t a story where somebody sees, does things, or has special powers that nobody else believes in, either. The whole world accepts what is happening as if it was the norm, and that creates quite a strange effect. (As I said, this is my understanding of magic realism, but not everybody thinks the same). With regards to the other categories suggested... Well, humorous fiction might apply, as there are some scenes that are so over the top and cartoonish, that although they are usually also very dark, they are funny. But there is so much disturbing and weird in the book, that I think most people wouldn’t think of it as a straight humorous read. There’s definitely no light humour here.
Literary fiction seems to fit well. This is not an easy book to read (it is quite short, but it makes one stop and pause often, and it’s difficult not to wonder and ponder at what might be going on), and the writing is precious, using sometimes pretty unusual and even out of place words (gendarme for a book set in California, for example), plenty of references to music (classical, contemporary, music from films, indie music...), and the main protagonists, both Tiny and Chouette, are women (well, or a woman and an owl baby, but a female owl baby), and a lot of the book centres around the notion of motherhood, educating and taking care of a child, a mother’s love, family and family relationships... There is something timeless about the book, and although it is not a piece of historical fiction, other than because references to artificial intelligence and to some of the other suggested therapies bring to mind our era, the story could be set years before or after, and it wouldn’t feel out of place (or rather, it would feel as out of place as it is in the here and now).
There are plenty of strange things happening in this book, but there seem to be two interpretations of what is going on. One, is what Tiny, the mother thinks. The other, what everybody else (or almost everybody else) thinks. Is this, therefore, a case of an extremely unreliable narrator? Some reviewers seem to think so and talk about Tiny suffering from some sort of psychotic break following her pregnancy and the birth of her child. Puerperal psychosis is a well-known diagnosis, as is post-partum depression. Because the story is told by Tiny (we never learn if she has another name) in the second person —as if this were a book she was writing to Chouette, her baby— it is possible that all the events she narrates, which seem to confirm that her baby is an owl baby (more owl than baby) were just in her imagination. (If you want to know what kind of things I’m talking about, I don’t want to go into a lot of detail, because some will probably be disturbing to readers, and I don’t want to spoil the story, but I’ll mention: the child hunting for small animals and feeding on them; attacking people, not only unknown people but also her own relatives and her parents as well; the fact that she never achieves her milestones and doesn’t develop as a “normal” baby; she can’t talk; she doesn’t walk and doesn’t seem to have normal limbs... There are also weird things going on in the house and some events from Tiny’s childhood that seem straight out of a dark and Gothic fairy tale, rather than a realistic novel, which also has a bearing on the story).
The rest of the world thinks that the baby might suffer from a metabolic and/or genetic condition affecting her growth and her development, and her father, who is the main advocate of such view, insists on trying to find a cure. (Of course, if we believe Tiny’s version, Chouette is not really the daughter of Tiny’s husband. But, I won’t reveal anything else). This causes some comedic moments, and some pretty tragic ones as well.
Is the whole novel a metaphor for what pregnancy and bringing up a baby, especially a baby with diverse needs, might be like? Tiny categorizes children (and by extent, people) into either dog-babies (those who are gregarious, love to play, chat, socialize, and achieve all their milestones at the required moments), and owl-babies (wild creatures who follow their own rhythm, don’t conform, and are not terribly sociable). The author’s biography and her comments seem to fit that interpretation, and there are moments in the book that felt quite recognisable to me. I’ve never had a child or been pregnant, so I’m not talking from direct experience, but from what friends who have children have told me, and what I have observed. There is much of the insecurity of not knowing if your approach to bringing up your child is right or not, of the exhaustion of having to be there twenty-four hours a day, or not being able to understand what is wrong and having to second-guess. Of feeling a fierce love and total frustration both at the same time. There are readers who subscribe to that view as well, and even reviewers who have strongly identified with the story. The fact that the author describes herself as “autistic” and “avian” seems to point in that direction too but... I am not sure I have decided what possible interpretation I favour, if I want to decide, or even if I need to.
Whichever interpretation readers give to the story, there is plenty to make people think. One of the themes that particularly grabbed me was the debate between Tiny and her husband as to the education and/or “treatment” for their daughter. Should they try to find a way for her to conform and become more like other children so that she can fit in her family and the society all around, or does she have the right to be herself and it is up to others to accept her and make her feel welcome, no matter how different from the norm she might be? What is “normal” after all, and who gets to decide and set the standards? This is one of the big questions that affect many aspects of our lives, in some hotly debated, highly controversial, and far from resolved, even in this day and age. There is no easy answer, but anything that can make us consider things from a different perspective is welcome.
If you want some facts to help you decide if you’d enjoy reading this novel, the book’s writing is gorgeous. I have mentioned the peculiar usage of words and the richness of the language, and although the images used can sometimes be extremely violent and disturbing, there are others that are breathtakingly beautiful. No matter what one might think of the story, or how puzzled one might feel by what is going on, there are paragraphs that I’d happily frame and hang on my wall.
Some random examples. Please, remember that this comes from an ARC copy, so there might be small changes in the final version.
Here, Tiny is watching her husband, before the baby is born:
I love to watch him shuffle the cards. I love the way he can fit himself into the world so rightly. He’s like a card in the deck that he has just squared up. I’m more like a card that somebody left out in the rain.
An example of humour (oh, and her husband’s family is a caution):
I’m the outlier. I’m known in the family as the tiny, fragile, photogenic little wife. My mother-in-law tends to seat me at the children’s table for family gatherings. I don’t think of it as a slight. It’s more like an oversight. My mother-in-law sees right over me. She is six feet tall and never looks down.
And last, but not least:
The days keep coming. You keep on living. Inside me is a damp and complex geography, a sweaty expanse of mixed feelings, uncertainties, and regret; and all of those feelings spread out from my body like the vast Serengeti, full of darkn and danger. The edges blur. The truth is, I have no idea how to be your mother.
It is difficult to talk about the ending because it is left to one’s interpretation and to which version of the story we are going with. For me, it felt hopeful, but that is just my opinion. Oh, for those who love music, the author includes the playlist for the novel, so that is a definite plus.
Another random thought is that the author mentions on her Goodreads page, that she will include recommendations of books she thinks people who’ve enjoyed Chouette might like, and she refers to them as “bizarro books”. I have read reviews of some books that fall under that category, but I haven’t read any (they did remind me too much of some of the things I heard when I worked as a psychiatrist,, but I might try in the future), so this might be something to take into account as well, as that might offer another possible reading of this book.
Who would I recommend this book to? That’s not an easy question to answer. I agree with other readers that this would not be on my list of recommended novels for future mothers or those with very small children. On the other hand, mothers with a dark or alternative sense of humour, and whose children are fairly grown-up, might appreciate it. Readers who are weary of explicit violence, cruelty to animals, and those who prefer a straightforward narrative, should keep away from this book. But those who are happy to explore, are looking for a new voice, don’t mind weird and strange stories, love bizarro books (probably), and appreciate lyrical and gorgeous writing, should give it a go. See what you think. I’m sure it won’t leave you indifferent.

Chouette is a second person narrative account written by Tiny (the mother) to her child Chouette. Tiny has always been an outsider and she knows her child will be different.

Tiny is narrating to her daughter the story of her conception and arrival into the world and the challenges she has had, both living in a world where her husband, his family and much of the community frown upon this mother and child, and of the mother's increasing loss of her own sense of self, due to the sacrifices made in order to nurture and allow the child to develop and grow safely.

The mother sees her offspring as an owl-baby and shares how this magical conception and birth took place, while the husband continues to refer to her as Charlotte. Tiny is tuned into Chouette's needs, but senses disapproval everywhere, and the more understanding she is of Chouette, the more she feels the external world closing in on her.

The story shares these twin perspectives, of the way Tiny sees the world (described through the metaphor of an owl baby and everything she needs, how she behaves and the incongruency of that with the expectations of the existing world they live in) - and the perspective of the husband, who can only see things from the perspective of what he has been conditioned to believe is normal.

Thus the conflict arises between two ways of seeing, of being, one that requires natural behaviour to be modified, medicated, suppressed, so that the child will appear and behave in the family and society as "normal", while the other allows for that natural "but judged and condemned" way of being to exist.

Each reader is likely to have a different experience of reading this novel, depending on whether you read it as magical realism or a metaphor. Just as the husband and wife see things so very differently in their perspective and determination about how to raise this child, so too will a reader bring their own perspective, experience and varying degree of open-mindedness to the text.

It is very much Tiny's narrative and as such, there is little empathy towards the husband's perspective, which challenges and discomforts the reader.

It is a dark, contemporary tale that couldn't be more relevant than now, when so many mother's are facing the same dilemma. Should I follow my own intuitive inclination, because I know this child, I love this child, and when I don't compare this child to others, I see he/she/they are perfect the way are - or do I listen to what the other, the external world is saying, is judging, is condemning them to, despite reducing them to a shell of who they really are?

I found it an incredible, disturbing, yet resonant novel, so mind openly, imaginative in the creation of an owl-like creature to accentuate the reactions and responses non-conforming children invite without asking. The owl a prescient choice, auspicious.

The owl sees in the dark, is an observant listener, with its heightened powers of observation and intuition. In some traditions it possesses paranormal wisdom, regal silence and fierce intelligence. Just like those extraordinary children.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“It was easier to love you before you were born”

Chouette first entered my radar whilst browsing a publisher catalogue because the cover intrigued me. Not because I particularly liked it, but more so that I was a little disturbed and creeped out, but still drawn to it. Boy, was I in for a treat when I received my copy, because this book was all that and more.
From the moment I started this strange and darkly twisted parable, I was only sure of one thing: Chouette is one of the weirdest and most thought-provoking books I’ve read in a long time. That’s quite the feat as I’m no stranger to weird magical realism…

Our story opens when our protagonist Tiny finds out she’s pregnant, after having a strange dream of a night of passion with a female owl-lover. Her husband is over the moon, yet Tiny is inexplicably determined that something is wrong. This baby isn’t a normal baby; it’s an owl-baby.
She’s proven right when, after an anxious pregnancy, Chouette is born, small and broken-winged. Whilst her husband is willing to go to great length in order to “fix” her, Tiny vows to raise her daughter exactly the way she is. Even when that leads to unconventional and even violent situations…

Chouette will likely leave you with more questions than answers with regards to its interpretation, and the author does not guide you one way or another. The only thing that’s sure is that this is a story about motherhood in extremis and the length we will go to for what we perceive to be “the best” for our children. It covers the anxieties of pregnancy; the growth of a different person inside of you, the anticipating of this “perfect being”, the fear of it not being perfect and the simultaneous shame that comes with thinking like that. It covers ableism, social norms, non-conformity and our strange affinity for medicalising anything that is different. All of this, and more, is done in a confident, insightful and often witty narrative voice of a deeply talented novelist.
To me, chasing down every lead, fitting different interpretations and picking the story apart like an owl pellet was part of the joy to me. Perhaps that makes me a bit of an owl-person myself however. If you’re more of a dog-reader, you may find this book confusing and frustrating, and both interpretations are perfectly valid. In fact, if I took anything away from this novel, it was that I had to stop “interpreting” this novel so much. My “doctors-brain” kept asking questions like: Is Chouette on the autism spectrum? Does she have a birth-defect? Is she disabled? Just a “free-spirited kid”? What about Tiny: is this whole thing a post-partum psychosis?
In the end, none of that matters to the ultimate message I took from this book: Chouette is different, strange, wild and untameable. But aren’t all children in their own way? Chouette is Chouette, and it’s not our job as parents (or doctors) to label or fix her, but to help her find her place in the world.

Many thanks to the publisher Little Brown UK for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For me Chouette is first and foremost a very dark cautionary tale about(against?!) motherhood. Looking at it from this point of view, I've find it full to the brim of the most abject cliche out there: giving up your job, your vocation, your friends, your life due to motherhood. Giving up on your husband, lover, father of your child. A father who is not very involved, a father who only wants a normal child, a father who bowls out when things get difficult. In-laws that are despicable human beings, who will only ever accept what some will call - normality. And the list continues until one will want to tear the book to pieces.

Chouette can also be seen as a extremely dark case of early onset of madness triggered by pregnancy. Tiny is a unbalanced your woman, who I believe has been abused as a child, therefore her own pregnancy becomes a very powerful trigger and the turning point in her life. She is an unreliable narrator and the events unfolding in the novel are her distorted memories and perception of life and everything else happening around her. The narrative is very disturbing, some scenes really turned my stomach and made for a hard read. As a mother myself, inevitably, I found myself in Tiny, in particular when she was pregnant and constantly being plagued by what ifs. I am perfectly aware how easy it is to fall pray to the challenging time that is a pregnancy. Disturbing and scary yet not necessary a harrowing experience!

Chouette is very imaginative in its metaphorical imagery and I've also appreciated the many facet of the story. But personally I just couldn't get over the stereotypes. In this day and age we should all be past that!

It’s difficult for me to decide where I stand on this one , this isn’t an easy read and is a long metaphor for the difficulty of motherhood, a lot of the book is quite philosophical, the nature vs nurture debate is explored along with other theories, I will say I found the ending to be satisfying despite the emotion. This isn’t a read I would recommend, personally but I can respect the author for the attempt, although I think would have been more successful as a shorter read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was hard work, but I got there in the end and I didn’t hate it. Much like Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch, Chouette strains hard on a metaphor for the difficulty of motherhood in a way that would have been more sustainable as a shorter piece. Tiny has an affair with an owl that leads to an owl-baby and Chouette is the story of Tiny’s struggles to manage this while fighting everyone else’s fear and misconceptions of the strange child. Wild. But what did work for me was Oshetsky’s use of language, slipping the narrative into second person addressed to the owl-baby, with Tiny calling herself “your mother” rather than “I” when she wasn’t mothering well, and allowing Tiny to switch around the names of people and things as she gets to know them better. Chouette isn’t necessarily a novel I would recommend, but I appreciate what it’s doing.