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A review by root
Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky
dark
sad
5.0
This novel is a beautiful and stark picture of grief, guilt, and love in a way that pulls you hazily into its narrative of the simultaneous isolation and collective experience of grief. It's definitely very dark, particularly in its exploration of mother-daughter relationships, loss, and self harm. I wouldn't lightly recommend it to anyone, though it is fantastically written.
I think towards the later quarter of the book it sort of fizzled out, unfortunately. I did not find the ending satisfactory and it felt a bit sudden and choppy whereas the rest of the book felt like lazily meandering through a cohesive set of events that strung together in an almost ineluctible way. I think the understanding of choice could have been better portrayed without changing the tune of the story quite so much. I was also looking forward to a more conclusive ending--not necessarily a closed ending, but not quite as sudden and open as it was. I wanted an ending that had a stronger bite to it, no matter what that bite was like.
I think towards the later quarter of the book it sort of fizzled out, unfortunately. I did not find the ending satisfactory and it felt a bit sudden and choppy whereas the rest of the book felt like lazily meandering through a cohesive set of events that strung together in an almost ineluctible way. I think the understanding of choice could have been better portrayed without changing the tune of the story quite so much. I was also looking forward to a more conclusive ending--not necessarily a closed ending, but not quite as sudden and open as it was. I wanted an ending that had a stronger bite to it, no matter what that bite was like.