Review: Poor Deer, by Claire Oshetsky (Ecco)

I recommend Claire Oshetsky’s novel, Chouette, to pretty much every reader I know. It’s a weird little tale about motherhood, humanity, and an owl baby. Oshetsky’s follow-up, Poor Deer, is another strange and beautiful tale.

The novel is narrated by Margaret, who, at the age of four, is involved in a horrific accident, one which shapes the course of her future. As Margaret tries to confess the truth behind the aforementioned accident, she is rebuked by Poor Deer, a strange figure with sharp yellow teeth, who will not allow Margaret lie to herself about her past. We follow Margaret through her tragic young life, as she constantly tries to deal with her trauma.

Oh, Margaret. I loved her so much. As the mother of a young girl, it was easy for me to understand how emotionally ill-equipped a child is to deal with tragedy. As Margaret’s relationship with her mother deteriorated, my heart broke. As displayed so well in Chouette, Oshetsky is a master at capturing the many complexities of parent/child relationships, especially from the perspective of a mother.

For me, there were hints of Merricat Blackwood in Margaret. A young girl with little control over her surroundings, haunted by tragedy, finds comfort in strange rituals (or cyphers, in Margaret’s case), but clearly very special. Similarly, Oshetsky’s knack for the uncanny is not too far from Shirley Jackson.

Poor Deer is a very different work from Chouette, but still amazing. A devastating and moving novel about lost childhood, with an irresistible central character. Truly wonderful.

Poor Deer is published on January 9th, 2024.

Huge thanks to Ecco for the ARC.