It takes us on a journey from childhood to marriage, parenthood and back again.įrom the very beginning and, indeed the title story, these stories pack an emotional punch. This is a collection which gets to the heart of families and their complexities. All opinions included herein are my own.And welcome to my blog tour review for the brand new flash collection from Keely O’Shaughnessy A Baby is a Thing Best Whispered.įirst off I am going to ask if you have ever heard a better title for a flash collection?! Because I love this one and it alone would be enough to pull me in and make me want to read this book!!!īut believe me there is so much more to this collection than a cracking title. My sincerest appreciation to Claire Oshetsky, Ecco, and NetGalley for the electronic Advance Review Copy. It’s about how to live a true life.Ĭhouette is thoughtful and raw. For not only is the novel a tale of the trials of motherhood, but it’s also a story of acceptance and authenticity. The isolation of being left home with a baby It’s motherhood from the perspective of a woman who sees the world differently, as she views it from her somewhat skewed reality. To me, Chouette is one big metaphor for motherhood. (I think.) But some may read it either as a tale of fantasy and magical realism or as an examination of a woman’s fragile mental state. The blood, sweat, and tears of it.Ĭhouette is meant to be read as a parable. And it’s an incisive, provocative exploration of what it really means to be a mother. Claire Oshetsky’s debut novel about a woman who gives birth to an owl-baby is one of the oddest – yet most captivating – books I’ve ever read.
“It’s a wonder that any woman ever agrees to be a mother, when the fruits of motherhood are inevitably conflict and remorse, to be followed by death and disembowelment.”Ĭhouette is not for the faint of motherhood.
When she discovers that her husband is on an obsessive and increasingly dangerous quest to find a “cure” for their daughter, Tiny must decide whether Chouette should be raised to fit in or to be herself-and learn what it truly means to be a mother.Īrresting, darkly funny, and unsettling, Chouette is a brilliant exploration of ambition, sacrifice, perceptions of ability, and the ferocity of motherly love. Even in those times when Chouette’s behaviors grow violent and strange, Tiny’s loving commitment to her daughter is unwavering. Left on her own to care for a child who seems more predatory bird than baby, Tiny vows to raise Chouette to be her authentic self. When Chouette is born small and broken-winged, Tiny works around the clock to meet her daughter’s needs. “You think this baby is going to be like you, but it’s not like you at all,” she warns him. An exhilarating, provocative novel of motherhood in extremis
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