#claire oshetsky

[llovelymoonn]

claire oshetsky chouette

kofi

[exhaled-spirals]

— Claire Oshetsky, Chouette

[mythologyofblue]

"I prefer to speak in metaphor: That way, no logic can trap me, and no rule can bind me, and no fact can limit me or decide for me what’s possible."

-Claire Oshetsky, Chouette

[litandroses]

Very late post but here are my favorite reads of 2024 🫶

(* = reread)

[agnesandhilda]

reading goodreads reviews for a book I just finished has really put in perspective how far removed I've gotten from what most people find disturbing

[haveyoureadthispoll]

Margaret Murphy is a weaver of fantastic tales, growing up in a world where the truth is too much for one little girl to endure. Her first memory is of the day her friend Agnes died. No one blames Margaret. Not in so many words. Her mother insists to everyone who will listen that her daughter never even left the house that day. Left alone to make sense of tragedy, Margaret wills herself to forget these unbearable memories, replacing them with imagined stories full of faith and magic—that always end happily. Enter Poor Deer: a strange and formidable creature who winds her way uninvited into Margaret’s made-up tales. Poor Deer will not rest until Margaret faces the truth about her past and atones for her role in Agnes’s death.

[ckidarchive]

Did you see Jeff Vandermeer is making a new souther reach book?

yes ^_^ i knew he was working on it but theres a release date now i think? october this year? also saw the cover reveal + rerelease of the original trilogy. im not sure what to think yet, not sure how i feel (nervous) about extra things getting added onto something i like but also vandermeer makes interesting stuff so ill for sure be reading it

[yvesdot]

re: folgers incest commercial, have you seen this video about it? its quite the engrossing watch i swear https://youtu.be/wjdrUksw8b0?si=gPPONGDInapbSTdF

(under cut due to content)

That's actually where I started! A coworker suggested it after I mentioned the GQ article, which was a tactical error, as much of the video is just a verbal presentation of (information from) that article, before CJ gets to the fanfiction... which, and I will only say this because it is anonymous, is not quite Dante's Inferno. And that is alright! That is the nature of writing fanfiction; the most popular thing is rarely trying to get deep with it. Most people most often head to AO3 with the intention to Feel Things and naught more, and this is simply how art works. (Also why most fics in the tag, as CJ notes, are "extremely horny.")

However, because the video is focused on a fanfiction which doesn't really accomplish anything for me emotionally (I'm sorry!), even the analysis CJ does there doesn't touch on what's really interesting to me, which is the base question of what is and is not appropriate for a brother and sister to do, and why.

For example, at 21:00, CJ acknowledges that it sounds like they're "defending incest" but instead of engaging with that fact and why what they're saying sounds like that and whether they are or not and if so, why, they just crack a joke ("I'm not defending incest! I'm defending incest between these two!") and move on. Which, to be clear, is fair not only because this is their video and their channel and they're having a good time talking at us but also because this is the Internet and why in the world would anyone seriously engage with this discourse on the Internet... but it does leave me unsatisfied.

Now, this is not an analytical video—it is a "friend telling you about something weird on the Internet" video. This is a time-honored tradition on YouTube and one I have been frequently disappointed to see maligned! (It's also the only kind of video I make on my own time.) This is just my explanation for why it didn't satisfy my specific desire, you understand, which is an irritating obsession with The Family Structure.

For reference, a Whatsapp message I sent to my family groupchat after they said I was insane for talking about the inherent incestuous underpinnings of the father/daughter relationship:

[In the historical construction of the family as a tool of empire, all members are crucial tools of labor production.] Women are producers of tools of labor-production—producers of people. An individual woman is therefore more akin (societally speaking) to a domestic-laboring barn animal than a person (persons being men, those who perform “real” respectable physical or intellectual labor). It is incumbent upon the father, owner and master of the family unit, to ensure the market value of his asset, his daughter, by preventing her chastity (the source of her value to a prospective husband, the father’s business partner) from being damaged (including by the daughter herself). He can subcontract out this task to the brother, who, being the father’s heir, has a vested interest in maintaining all of his assets (including, in this case, the daughter). This is the reason for the brother’s possessiveness and protectiveness over his sister—he is imitating the primary master’s behavior both to curry favor with the man who is still his master and in preparation to become the master himself. When the daughter is married off, she becomes the property of the husband. She is an essential part of his household, performing domestic labor and producing the new “workers” of his estate: the sons and daughters of their home. Obviously, this makes a wife a lucrative asset, which explains why the father is so intent on preserving her value for future sale.

You can see this in the fic CJ discusses, and yet they don't address it. It's maddening, if you're mad to begin with, which I am. Otherwise it's just a human being focusing on the things that interest them personally, which is completely reasonable and fine.

The only other things I've read that reference the Folger's commercial are the coffin game (which is similarly uninterested in overturning these [grave]stones for investigation; fair enough) and a self-published piece by a traditionally published author whose piece also did not interrogate this—in that case seemingly due to restrictions on discussing certain subject matter in publishing, which was very disappointing but unavoidable. And there is such thing as a different audience from me. I'm just waiting on something that compels me on the specific dynamic question of how brothers (should) act with their sisters and why. And do you know what has done this best, so far?

User cassieclaire's fic The Mortal Instruments.

[librarycards]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any book recs for fictional books with plural characters/narrators? I feel like these are quite rare, so any genre is fine. Thank you so much!!

rare indeed - anon, if you're in a system, please consider writing this/encouraging friends to! there is a massive dearth of even non-canonically plural work out there.

below, i'm going to recommend some books that contend with multiplicity and plurality in a meaningful way, though honestly, apart from extremely harmful depictions of "multiple personality disorder" etc., I'm struggling to recall any book that explicitly 1) id's characters as plural and 2) does so in a positive/non-shitty way.

some plurality-flavored books:

Failure to Comply by Cavar. This is my book. I (we) wrote it as a plural-egg, and it's, uh. Well, it's not not obvious

Veniss Underground by Jeff Vandermeer

Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer

Embassytown by China Miéville

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky

Overall, I wish I could recommend more - or any - books with plural characters/narrators that were just...banal? Slice-of-life? Not purposefully trying to be a "mindfuck"? Don't get me wrong, I'm a mindfucky writer and reader. But I'd like to see books featuring systems with everyday problems, not trying to use plurality to make some grand genre-bending statement. So far, I haven't found anything (my own work included) that does this, but really hope that changes soon.

[annotatedgrief]

chouette, claire oshetsky // interview with the vampire

[jbbartram-illu]

Hey! It's time for my Top Books of 2024 list! Also, this is the earliest I've ever posted it!!

Horse - Geraldine Brooks

No One Will Come Back for Us - Premee Mohamed

Toad - Katherine Dunn

The Vegetarian - Han Kang

The Tiger’s Wife - Téa Obreht

Dandelion Daughter - Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay

Whalefall - Daniel Kraus

8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster - Mirinae Lee

Chouette - Claire Oshetsky

The Centre - Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

The Morningside - Téa Obreht

The Extinction of Irena Rey - Jennifer Croft

Penric’s Progress - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Broken Earth Trilogy - N.K. Jemisin

Bones & All - Camille DeAngelis

Anomia - Jade Wallace

The Good Lord Bird - James McBride

Curiosity - Joan Thomas

The Bee Sting - Paul Murray

North Woods - Daniel Mason

Butter - Asako Yuzuki

The West Passage - Jared Pechaček

To see all 82 books I read this year, go here: jessicabartram.ca/books2024

& here are the disorganized screenshots of my top books from my instagram stories where I add very mini impressions once each book is done (if you like my book-picks & want to see them throughout the year, feel free to follow me over there @ jbbartram!).

[notmorbid]

poor deer.

dialogue prompts from poor deer: a novel by claire oshetsky.

enough of your pretty lies. it's time to tell the truth.

here, the boundary between the practical and the supernatural is razor-thin.

stop stalling. it's time to confess what you did.

don't go far.

time for you to go home, then.

i'll be very sad if you go to a better place without me.

what an old stick in the mud you are.

you're the same liar you've always been.

what are you staring at? go.

didn't you ever come to bed?

a nap will do you good.

you are full of surprises.

time moves sideways, through the most important moments of our lives.

it's been so long since i met any new people.

i don't know how to behave, or where to put my eyes.

i admire your panache.

you haven't been out of this room all day, have you?

run away. run straight home.

you ought not to be alone. please stay.

come here, funny bunny.

do you miss ____?

that was a wicked thing to say.

you are never to repeat that awful lie again.

i just want to shut my eyes and sleep forever.

i hadn't expected to meet you.

why are you so kind to me?

whenever i'm happy, something bad is sure to follow.

i don't understand you one bit.

my little changeling child.

you don't have a shred of compassion.

did your mother tell you that?

[name] isn't an angel. [name] is in the ground.

i will never think what those other people think about you.

please, dear. please look at me. i love you.

you know as well as i do what true memories feel like.

buck up. the worst is over.

do you understand what you did? do you even know what you've done?

you can't lie to me. you can't hide from the truth.

you'll be seeing me.

everything is always better in the morning. i promise.

everything is the same as it ever was.

cat got your tongue?

what you need is a good hug.

you're home now. you're safe.

the days kept happening. the world kept turning.

would you like to tell your story to me? i'd love to hear it.

you can be a remarkable little liar sometimes.

you're old enough to know heaven is just a pretty story, aren't you?

go home to your mother. your mother will know what to do.

some things are forever, and other things are never again.

you can't help me. i know that now.

this is my secret hideout. i made it.

what happened to you?

do you think you're being charming?

it looks like it's going to be just you and me, for the time being.

i think we should go on a little vacation somewhere special. just us two. what do you think?

i'm not asking your permission. i'll be back when i'm back.

any old fool can drive a car.

given enough faith, you can do the impossible. and don't you forget it.

you will change the world for the better, i know it.

can you tell me, please, how to get to [place]?

you once said i'd be the death of you, and you were right.

i've always imagined purgatory was the kind of place you could stumble into by accident.

will you ever let me try to make it up to you?

i've traveled this route before, in my dreams.

it couldn't have been ___ you saw. you must have seen somebody else.

i'm running out of time to find my happy ending.

did the light wake you?

you are the strangest girl i have ever met.

there is very little goodness or love in this story.

you never need to worry about ____, ever again.

your story isn't over yet.

are you my angel, or my devil?

you're still young. when you're my age, you'll understand.

you never can tell what a child will grow up to be.

i admire you for accepting life as it comes.

you're never coming back, are you?

i'm here. i'm not going anywhere. here is my hand.

is that you, out so early?

we're approaching the end of our necessary small talk.

i've come to ask for your forgiveness.

you're welcome to stay as long as you like.

one day, i might forgive myself.

[cerullos]

mid-year book freakout

tagged by @sapphicscience

number of books you’ve read so far: 57, i set my reading goal for 25 this year hoping it would push me to take my time with each book & be more reflective but then the unemployment hit and i got a little manic

best book you’ve read so far in 2024: poor deer by claire oshetsky is probably my sentimental fav so far! objectively the best were the spear cuts through water by simon jimenez and kindred by octavia butler both of which completely blew me away.

best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024: i very rarely read sequels, i think the only series i’ve read this year are dungeon meshi and beastars. i did read the first installments of dune, interview with the vampire (reread…shut up lmao) and the tainted cup by robert jackson bennett and will probably continue with all three!

new release you haven’t read yet but want to: i’ve had sociopath: a memoir by patrick gagne on hold at the library for months now, so that one comes to mind lol also really interested in picking up craft: stories i wrote for the devil by amanda lima, the haar by david sodergren, little rot by akwaeke emezi and private rites by julia armfield!

most anticipated release for the second half of the year: excited for the new charlotte mcconaghy, wild dark shore! honestly after migrations i’d pay to read her grocery list. also looking forward to hum by helen phillips (i loved the need, also by her!)

biggest surprise: this may just be recency bias but i picked up a good happy girl by marissa higgins not expecting to feel too strongly about it and wow, i felt seen (derogatory) lmao strongly recommend to all lesbians with dad and/or grandma trauma and a penchant for emotional self-sabotage ✌️

favorite new author (debut or new to you): so many! for a few not mentioned above: adora nworah, layla martínez, jennifer marie thorn, neil sharpson and andrew joseph white!

newest fictional crush: oh absolutely catherine from a good happy girl lol the second coming of lydia tár. etain larkin from knock knock, open wide is also up there (final girl turned shitty bitter traumatized mother? obsessed obsessed obsessed with her)

books that made you cry: i’m a robot, i don’t cry over media, i’m sorry! ducks: two years in the oil sands by kate beaton did make me a little misty.

most beautiful books you’ve bought so far this year (or received): working at the public library (and also having no money <\3) has sadly cured me of my compulsive book-buying habit ): i did buy a few physical volumes of dungeon meshi and all of them are gorgeous.

books that made you happy: again, dungeon meshi! & i had a really great time with the tainted cup by robert jackson bennett (fantasy + page-turning mystery with the most endearing cast of characters!) also found come and get it by kiley reid to be oddly delightful despite dealing with some pretty heavy topics.

what books do you need to read by the end of the year?: i’d like to finish emily wilson’s translations of the iliad and the odyssey. also parable of the sower by octavia butler, butter honey pig bread by francesca ekwuyasi and the first installment in the earthsea cycle by ursula k. le guin (all of which have been on my tbr for ages)

tagging @dykes4knights, @strangesmallbard, @thefinalpaperheart, @nicollekidman, @raffaella-cerullo, @jonismitchell , @tennesseewillams , @khukri and whoever else wants to do it!

[heartyearning]

☀️ SUMMER READING WRAP UP ☀️

i read like 30+ books in july & august & wanted to do a quick little summary of that here bc i read some absolute bangers. in no partic order + these are only the good ones bc i dont need to talk about [title redacted bc im nice]

headshot by rita bullwinkel: i got this in a bookstore near my sister's art uni & you could tell it was an artunibookstore bc there were so many books i'd never heard of but this one is SO up my alley. it's about a group of teenage girls in a boxing competition and follows each of their matches from the perspectives of the girls. they don't talk to each other so they each have this really skewed vision of the other person, especially considering that there's a competitive aspect to what they're doing anyway & the fact that none of these girls feel like they're respected in their day-to-day lives. if you're a teen following me you NEED to pick up this book, i felt like it so perfectly encapsulates that feeling of being 15-17 esp if you're socialised as a girl. everything is both grandiose and gritty at the same time, these girls have FEELINGS pouring out of their ears and it is so so so well written. absolutely loved it. also look at this cover:

LOVED!

big swiss by jen beagin: this is kind of in the same vein as headshot & generally in the same vein of a lot of general fiction i've been into lately. i've known about it for a while but did wonder whether it was worth getting it / whether it would do more than just scratch the itch that i already had scratched after reading headshot & let me tell you it absolutely did. big swiss follows a transcriber of a new york sex therapist who accidentally meets and becomes involved with one of his patients. greta, the protagonist, has got a lot of weird habits and thought-patterns but since the book is written from her pov it's easy to go along with the idea that this all isn't THAT weird until it really starts to be reflected back at her through other people when big swiss starts talking about her in the therapy sessions greta transcribes and onwards. it's really good, i also love that greta's a bit older than a lot of the protagonists in books like these that i've read. i also love this cover with the painting on it but i personally had a copy with an illustration of big swiss & greta's dogs (even tho piñon was brown on the cover, not black, but i'm letting it go) which was very cute as well.

chouette by claire oshetsky: iykyk. this book is really good for many reasons but let me introduce it by saying it was good because it handles a VERY tricky subject matter and does so with incredible grace. chouette follows the birth and childhood of chouette, an owl-baby which came about after Tiny had sex with her female owl lover in a dream. (i don't have my copy with me rn but the opening line is something along the lines of "it was a shock to me when i discovered i was pregnant after i dreamt i had sex with an owl lover, especially because my owl lover was a woman." <- that but like. good writing. i wish i could remember the phrasing better) in this book the concept of an "owl baby" is actually a stand in for having a child with mental development issues. chouette is an owl-baby in a world of dog-children, that sort of thing. i was very cautious when reading this book bc it's told from the pov of tiny, who doesn't always love being a mother (and i'm sensitive about that topic so i didn't really know how i'd respond to this) and also the subject matter in general can go wrong in so many different ways. chouette is really good though, at no point does tiny think of her daughter as being anything other than who she is. she's not some genius savant nor is she broken & in need of fixing. she's simply a baby / young toddler with her own needs and desires and her own personality. very sweet, very emotional book. music plays a big role in this book (again, iykyk) and there's an accompanying playlist which i ended up not listening to bc i didn't have wifi but i do also like that aspect of it.

we go around in the night & are consumed by fire by jules grant: pros of moving in with someone who used to work in publishing & book selling: i now have access to a bunch of new books i've never heard of before. we go around in the night is an incredible book about an all-female gang in manchester (at least i think its manchester, i do not recall) and how they deal when one of their members is shot and killed. the plot and concept themselves are really good but what stands out especially is the writing style which is in part stream of consciousness and in a larger part just very particular to the pov character & how their mind works. we follow the povs of the head of the gang and the daughter of the woman who was killed. it's very emotional, very rough to read bc it deals so much with grief and also it's so intimate because with the way it's written you just feel so deeply inside the characters' minds. really cool.

fantasy break: i reread all of my branderson books (or at least the cosmere ones), so that's the first mistborn trilogy, warbreaker & the first 4 stormlights. not gonna summarise those indiv bc i'm pretty sure none of my followers on this blog give a fuck but i am actually very pleased to have re-read them bc 1. i love them and 2. it's made the scope of the cosmere a bit more understandable again. also i get very emotional about fantasy & cried like a baby at the end of mistborn & also at the end of oathbringer. and at the middle of rhythm of war. when adolin's in shadesmar with maya? yeah. sobbing.

little, big by john crowley: i listened to this on audiobook every day for about 2 weeks as i walked my dogs and did my chores and what have you. this audiobook is 24 hours long and usually that's my limit on audiobook length, anything longer than that & i start to check out mentally, but i could honestly listen to little, big forever. if you don't know it's this multi-generational novel about faeries and a family involved with them tangentially through the contact one of the early women had with faeries when she lived in the uk. it's a book about an american family though and though the faeries are ever-present in the actions and consequences that befall this family, it's so much more about love. familial love, romantic love, love for a place, love. it's absolutely incredible and read by the author who has the most wonderful accent (maine, i believe?) which just transports you even more into the world of these people. i'm generally all for a novel read by a trained & skilled narrator, not the author (reading is a skill) but john crowley does a very good job and anyway i didn't mind it when voices sounded alike because you understood who was speaking anyway just by what they were saying and anyway it's a family so it's okay if they sound similar. truly such a wonderful experience, i really loved this book.

others i read and just want to quickly mention: giovanni's room, gut symmetries, the book of elsewhere (i love china miéville etc etc), edinburgh (by alexander chee) & a couple more but these are the ones that i enjoyed most / got most out of

[litandroses]

Favorite reads of the year so far <3

[sleepnoises]

who if anyone on here was Chouetteposting? i liked it and now my mom has snaffled it off my library returns stack for herself

here is a quote i liked from the author claire oshetsky:

"People keep asking me whether the child in the novel Chouette is meant to represent an autistic child, or a trans child, or an autistic trans child, or some other kind of child. The book is fiction. The child in the novel is an owl."