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imrereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow! What an incredible story, written so beautifully and melodically. I want to echo the quotes on the cover of ny edition, calling it magnificent, a marvel, and sublime.
This is the story of a mother (Tiny) and her child (Chouette), her owl-baby, this little one with her strange apparence, who will never learn to walk or talk and causes chaos wherever she goes. Her mother loves her for who she is while the father want to try any and every treatmwnt available to make her better (or rather make her normative — because underneath the strange magical realism we find a story about parenting a non-normative child.)
This is a strange and queer book about fierce motherly love, disability and ability, and breaking free from expectations. It opens with this wonderful passage:
"I dream I'm making tender love with an owl. The next morning I see talon marks across my chest that trace the path of my owl-lober's embrace. Two weeks later I learn that I'm pregnant.
You may wonder: How could such a thing come to pass between a woman and an owl?
I, too, am astounded, because my owl-lover was a woman."
This is the story of a mother (Tiny) and her child (Chouette), her owl-baby, this little one with her strange apparence, who will never learn to walk or talk and causes chaos wherever she goes. Her mother loves her for who she is while the father want to try any and every treatmwnt available to make her better (or rather make her normative — because underneath the strange magical realism we find a story about parenting a non-normative child.)
This is a strange and queer book about fierce motherly love, disability and ability, and breaking free from expectations. It opens with this wonderful passage:
"I dream I'm making tender love with an owl. The next morning I see talon marks across my chest that trace the path of my owl-lober's embrace. Two weeks later I learn that I'm pregnant.
You may wonder: How could such a thing come to pass between a woman and an owl?
I, too, am astounded, because my owl-lover was a woman."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Emotional abuse
readingpicnic's review against another edition
5.0
I was hooked by the first page! Such weird and captivating writing that I finished it in one day. Such a heartbreaking story about the isolation of motherhood coupled with having a disabled child that her husband wants to “fix” (autism speaks vibes). I love how she never gave up on her owl daughter and that she understood that there was nothing to fix about her daughter; that the world needs to be fixed to be a more accessible and accepting place for Chouette. I loved the queerness of this book as well, in all its many layers. Overall, a stellar book. This is like The Fifth Child if the mom hadn’t been ableist also.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Animal death, Ableism, Blood, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Murder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
vishnork's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Death, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion
alyssapusateri's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, Excrement, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Sexual content, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
i'm not really sure how to tag this considering there is such a mix of metaphors or what i thought were metaphors... i don't even knowbillcbentley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
ada_elisabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Welcome back to my Hot Takes on Random Books! This one was absolutely wild.
I do not know what to make of this book. It's surreal, it's confusing, yes. But it's also oddly enchanting? The writing was very good-- although some people have critiqued Claire Oshetsky's unique writing style in this novel, I loved it. However, that was pretty much the only thing that I loved. I read the first one hundred and forty pages ravenously, thinking that Chouette would be another easy five-star book. But by page one sixty, my excitement had worn off and I was beginning to dislike the story. Ten pages later, I was once again enthralled, but by page two hundred, I was back to loathing it. While there were a few high points between page two hundred and the end, I overall did not enjoy most of it, which is a shame because the rest of the book was fairly decent.
Basically, Tiny gives birth to an owl-baby having cheated on her husband with her owl-lover. (Not a spoiler, this is all established from the very beginning.) Tiny's husband thinks that the owl-baby, Chouette, can become more like a normal human with a series of therapies, surgeries, and treatments. Tiny wants to leave her owl-baby how it is. If interpreted literally, I would agree with Tiny's father. If there was an option to have my owl-child turned into a normal child, then of course I would take it. If I had chosen to interpret this book in a literal sense, I would have given it one star. However, if the owl-baby is seen as a metaphor for a child who is human, but different from other kids due to something like autism, the book becomes a whole lot better. I won't bore you with all of my thoughts, but I will say this: I think that a mix of what Tiny wants and what her husband wants is okay for Chouette, until she is old enough to express what she wants .
Other than that, this book was just decent. Not a single character was likable, I wanted them all to just shut up and go away. The writing was great, and it almost made up for everything else being mediocre. Also, I do really like the cover. The only other thing I could think of to say is that I didn't understand or enjoy the ending at all. I usually rate a book based on how good I thought the ending was, and this one was very vague, which wasn't my favorite. (view spoiler) I also suspect that Tiny might be gay? (view spoiler)
I would describe this book as surreal, haunting, and enchanting, but I doubt I would ever recommend it to someone. I'm not sure if I'll read Oshetsky's next novel, Poor Deer, but I will continue to follow their reviewer account on Goodreads. 4.25/5 stars, rounded down.
Update from, like, twenty minutes after I wrote this review: I do realize this book is about motherhood, and because I am not a mother, I can't really relate to it. It doesn't change how I feel about it, I just think that this book would definitely hit mothers a little harder than it hit me.
I do not know what to make of this book. It's surreal, it's confusing, yes. But it's also oddly enchanting? The writing was very good-- although some people have critiqued Claire Oshetsky's unique writing style in this novel, I loved it. However, that was pretty much the only thing that I loved. I read the first one hundred and forty pages ravenously, thinking that Chouette would be another easy five-star book. But by page one sixty, my excitement had worn off and I was beginning to dislike the story. Ten pages later, I was once again enthralled, but by page two hundred, I was back to loathing it. While there were a few high points between page two hundred and the end, I overall did not enjoy most of it, which is a shame because the rest of the book was fairly decent.
Basically, Tiny gives birth to an owl-baby having cheated on her husband with her owl-lover. (Not a spoiler, this is all established from the very beginning.) Tiny's husband thinks that the owl-baby, Chouette, can become more like a normal human with a series of therapies, surgeries, and treatments. Tiny wants to leave her owl-baby how it is. If interpreted literally, I would agree with Tiny's father. If there was an option to have my owl-child turned into a normal child, then of course I would take it. If I had chosen to interpret this book in a literal sense, I would have given it one star. However, if the owl-baby is seen as a metaphor for a child who is human, but different from other kids due to something like autism, the book becomes a whole lot better. I won't bore you with all of my thoughts, but I will say this: I think that a mix of what Tiny wants and what her husband wants is okay for Chouette, until she is old enough to express what she wants .
Other than that, this book was just decent. Not a single character was likable, I wanted them all to just shut up and go away. The writing was great, and it almost made up for everything else being mediocre. Also, I do really like the cover. The only other thing I could think of to say is that I didn't understand or enjoy the ending at all. I usually rate a book based on how good I thought the ending was, and this one was very vague, which wasn't my favorite. (view spoiler) I also suspect that Tiny might be gay? (view spoiler)
I would describe this book as surreal, haunting, and enchanting, but I doubt I would ever recommend it to someone. I'm not sure if I'll read Oshetsky's next novel, Poor Deer, but I will continue to follow their reviewer account on Goodreads. 4.25/5 stars, rounded down.
Update from, like, twenty minutes after I wrote this review: I do realize this book is about motherhood, and because I am not a mother, I can't really relate to it. It doesn't change how I feel about it, I just think that this book would definitely hit mothers a little harder than it hit me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
desireewoodwhite's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The idea of the novel was quite intriguing, but I didn’t enjoy the writing style.. so the story and its characters really felt flat and kinda boring even.
Maybe I spoiled the read for myself by constantly comparing this one with Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova, which I absolutely loved!
Maybe I spoiled the read for myself by constantly comparing this one with Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova, which I absolutely loved!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Toxic relationship
freyagee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Abandonment, Animal death, Confinement, and Chronic illness
Minor: Cursing
seawarrior's review against another edition
5.0
Chouette is a wild, lyrical novel I immediately recognized as a metaphor for raising a disabled child, specifically an autistic one. While Oshetsky relating her experience raising her autistic daughter to Tiny raising an owl-baby may seem questionable to some readers, I personally feel drawn to stories that depict trauma through allegorical and impossible means. And while Tiny suffers immensely in raising her daughter, it's Chouette who is in the most danger from a world so repulsed by her that it would dehumanize her in order to alter her natural state.
I gleefully suspended my disbelief while reading this story, relishing in Tiny's devotion to her daughter and Chouette's unembarrassed honesty and wanton destruction. Throughout the book, Chouette's father, who noticeably calls his daughter by the wrong name, refuses to interact with her unless he's found a new medical intervention. While some of these interventions are imagined, others that are briefly mentioned, such as forcing a child to ingest poisonous chemicals, are abuses that have been documented as supposed "cures" for autism: Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to 'cure' autism. These moms are trying to stop it (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/moms-go-undercover-fight-fake-autism-cures-private-facebook-groups-n1007871). Alternately, Tiny learns what Chouette needs and frenziedly provides it for her, while warring against her private doubts that Chouette's aggressively determined father may be right that she must be profoundly altered in order to exist peacefully in the world. I was moved by the meaning of this story, and exhilarated by its unconventional approach and rich descriptions of the natural world. While this novel may not be understood, much less loved by some readers, I treasured Chouette and its strangeness.
I gleefully suspended my disbelief while reading this story, relishing in Tiny's devotion to her daughter and Chouette's unembarrassed honesty and wanton destruction. Throughout the book, Chouette's father, who noticeably calls his daughter by the wrong name, refuses to interact with her unless he's found a new medical intervention. While some of these interventions are imagined, others that are briefly mentioned, such as forcing a child to ingest poisonous chemicals, are abuses that have been documented as supposed "cures" for autism: Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to 'cure' autism. These moms are trying to stop it (https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/moms-go-undercover-fight-fake-autism-cures-private-facebook-groups-n1007871). Alternately, Tiny learns what Chouette needs and frenziedly provides it for her, while warring against her private doubts that Chouette's aggressively determined father may be right that she must be profoundly altered in order to exist peacefully in the world. I was moved by the meaning of this story, and exhilarated by its unconventional approach and rich descriptions of the natural world. While this novel may not be understood, much less loved by some readers, I treasured Chouette and its strangeness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Animal death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gore and Animal cruelty
hotdrinks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Excrement, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Child abuse
Minor: Racism, Abortion, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Grief, Car accident, and Body shaming