Book Review: Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

Chouette
by Claire Oshetsky (Oshetsky)

Giving birth to an owl-baby makes Tiny feel like even more of an outcast amongst the dog-people of her husband’s family. She tried to explain to her husband that this pregnancy would not be what he expected, but in his dog-people way, he just wouldn’t listen. When the owl-baby Chouette was born, he didn’t know what to make of this daughter who was unlike anyone he had ever known. Her strangeness causes him to withdraw, leaving Tiny to manage on her own. Her husband and his family, might be “big and strong” but Tiny, is small and fierce, and determined to provide for her little owl.

 

Chouette is a confusing magical musical metaphor of a story. The words are familiar and yet strangely put together. Frequently I’d stop and ask myself, what could be happening here? What is the author trying to say? I was compelled to keep reading.

 

This story resonated with me, because, raising any child is a mystery, and some even more-so. I sympathized with the complete life-altering effect Chouette had on Tiny and her husband’s world. They each struggled to find what’s best for their child and to come to terms with their differing opinions — should they try to train Chouette to be like everyone else or should they embrace her differences? Would “trying” even have any effect? Would Tiny and her dog-people husband ever be on the same page again? What will Chouette’s future hold? Would Chouette’s existence consume Tiny?

 

Of interest especially to music-minded, Oshetsky frequently provides musical backgrounds for scenes. A playlist is available: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7nYbCnB7NnAnWHS9x2PqZv https://www.npr.org/2021/11/23/1058302815/chouette-is-part-owl-part-human-baby-fine-but-how-to-raise-her

NPR discussion with the author: https://www.npr.org/2021/11/14/1055640680/a-parable-about-motherhood-chouette-begins-with-a-human-birth-to-an-owl-baby

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try books that also have a surreal, metaphoric feel or mysterious point of view. (or maybe a “Curious” point of view, like in Alice, “curiouser and curiouser”). Some examples: Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Night Rainbow by Claire King (not available at the libraries presently), Nightbitch: A Novel by Rachel Yoder or Borne by Jeff Vandermeer.)

 

( official Chouette and Claire Oshetsky web site )

 

Recommended by Carrie K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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