So unique and beautiful. Very moving, yet written like nothing else. I found the evocation of grief and guilt very well done.

Not sure why, but this book gave me some major Coraline vibes. It must’ve been the cover. I didn’t get to finish this book because it didn’t keep my interest until the end but from what I read it seems like it would be a good read. I will more than likely reread this in the future.

Poor Deer packs quite the emotional punch within its slim pages! It's a tender, moving, haunting novel about a young girl's life and how she comes to terms with the role she played in a devastating tragedy. Told in a sort of dual-timeline fashion, the spareness of the writing and the powerful imagery knock you down with their devastating and savage beauty. Oshetsky tackles grief in such a fresh and kind of odd way that I couldn't help but be compelled to finish this story in one sitting. I can honestly say its unlike anything I've read in a long, long time, but I think that is this book's superpower. Here I am a week later, and I'm still thinking about it.

Poor deer tells the story of Margaret as she grows into a young woman; her first memory is her most formative and is of the day her best friend Agnes died when she was four years old.
This book was so poignant and honestly hard to read at times. The book examines the way children perceive the world and how things adults say to them can so easily be misconstrued. Weaving childhood perceptions with fairy tales and religion, Poor Deer is a story that I will think about for a long time.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC!

Pro:
* Captivating beginning
* Surrealism is very well done.
* Tense, singular narrative
Con:
* Moves almost too quickly
* The last part loses some of the intensity and cohesion of the rest.

Thank you to Claire Oshetsky, Ecco, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to find any attachment to the characters. The story was hard for me to follow and it just didn’t set well with me. I didn’t absolutely dislike it but it just wasn’t for me.

Haunting in every sense of the word, Poor Deer is a quiet, mesmerizing look at the way grief shapes memories. Oshetsky’s writing is arresting and utterly devastating. A truly unforgettable read.

4.5⭐️

🦌Has anyone ever described guilt, the kind that chases and possesses you like Claire Oshetsky has done in Poor Deer? I have never read words that made me feel the emotion like Poor Deer.

🦌Poor Deer is about Margaret Murphy, a 4-year-old girl, who is involved in a traumatic situation. That trauma is thrust away and never dealt with by the adults in her life who want to ignore it. It is an exploration of what happens when trauma festers and is unexplored and how that can break a person. Poor Deer is a creature (of Margaret’s imagination?) who will not rest until Margaret faces what happened head on and deals with it. There are fantastically elements here, but they work.

🦌I am a huge Claire Oshetsky fan. As a mother of an autistic son, I loved and appreciated her debut, Chouette, so much. Poor Deer is of the same vein. I’m adding a new author to my auto-buy list.

4.5⭐

Sixteen-year-old Margaret Murphy has spent most of her young life haunted by the memories of a tragic episode from her childhood – an event that resulted in the death of her friend Agnes when they were both only four years old. The whispers, the rumors and her mother’s silent judgment would have made Margaret’s reality even more difficult to bear, but Margaret is an imaginative child with a love for fairy tales. The stories she weaves – the alternate realities in which she chooses to live in her own mind, stories with happy endings, help her cope with her trauma. But her respite, of sorts, is short-lived because an unwelcome character “Poor Deer” has found its way into her life and her story, reminding her of all she wants to forget.

Margaret is pushed by Poor Deer, a magical manifestation of her conscience, to confront her past and come to terms with the tragedy that has shaped her life. As Margaret struggles to separate truth from fiction we follow Margaret through the years, the people, places, and events that have led her to the present day – in a hotel room near Niagara Falls, sharing a room with the ever-present Poor Deer and two strangers who just might become a part of her story.

Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky is a compelling work of fiction. The author deftly weaves past and present timelines into a fluid narrative that tells a tale of grief, trauma, guilt and hope that is both deeply emotional and profoundly thought-provoking. The author has done a brilliant job of penning Margaret’s thoughts and emotions as she evolves from a confused four-year-old child to the sixteen-year-old we meet at the beginning of the book from the perspective of present-day Margaret Well-thought-out characters, the fairy-tale/fable-like narrative (with dark overtones) that uses magical realism to depict very realistic and complex human emotions and the author’s sparse, yet evocative prose had me immersed in the story from the very first page.

Margaret is an endearing protagonist and her story is one that will stay with you.

Many thanks to Ecco for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A short, powerful novel of grief with humanity bursting forth through the cracks. The magical way in which this novel infuses reality, invented truths, and rickety deer monsters and constantly jolts you between the three is a triumph of storytelling giving the novel a feeling all its own. The invented truths inserted into the story that Margaret is telling the world, and herself, give such a clear grasp of the interiority of this unfortunate child, and woefully, it is an interiority that those closest to her seem unable to possibly give credence to. As Margaret grows and continues to live her quiet life we are there as she feels the full-weight of her guilt, and as she makes weighty decision after weighty decision, in search of a version of herself where forgiveness is possible.

I appreciate the storytelling, and the beautiful writing in Poor Deer. The story itself was very difficult for me, and I found no redemption in it. I think Claire Oshetsky is an immense talent, and with a different subject and characters, I would love to read her again.

What an incredibly unique story! The way Margaret's story was told felt hauntingly real. I was left guessing throughout the book as to what was true and what was imagined until I gave in and let it all blend together. As a reader of this particular story, I learned to accept each piece of the narrative on its own terms and release the urge to distinguish fact from fiction. Poor Deer is a quiet yet powerful exploration of grief, guilt, and the stories we tell ourselves (for better or worse) to make sense of all the awful things in this world. But we can also learn to appreciate the shocking beauty we stumble upon, as Margaret does, and also find a path to forgiving ourselves.

This was a wonderfully eye-opening short novel from an extremely talented writer, the author of Chouette, one of my favorites from 2022. Oshetsky presents a story of a young childhood haunted with an oppressive form of guilt, and explores the possibilities for expiation. In a bleak Maine mill town in the mid-20th century, 4-year-old Margaret Murphy is responsible for the death of her playmate during a game of make-believe, and compensates by creating an imaginary friend (the titular Poor Deer) to externalize and personify her guilt.. To her great credit, Oshetsky presents the least sentimentalized view of a child character I've ever read, and the magic-realist elements are played straight. Highly recommended!

This is a strange little book about a girl who feels guilty about her friend's death when they are both young children. Recommended for people who like reading about grief, and especially for those who like weird books.

This is such a good craft book. Hard to read, but the challenge is kind of the point of the narrative. I love this fairy tale and the layers of writing craft and creativity in such a slim and unassuming package. Five stars.

In a Nutshell: A dark and quirky literary fiction about a poor dear who is haunted by a “Poor Deer”. Grief and hope intermingled with magical realism and atmospheric writing. If all this intrigues you, this book is for you.

Story Synopsis:
Margaret’s first memory is of the day the local school ground flooded. This was also the day when four-year-old Margaret’s life changed forever. With a burden too great for her little shoulders to bear, she turned to fairy tales, both on paper and in her mind, to escape her loneliness.
Now at sixteen, Margaret is penning her confession, goaded by Poor Deer, a strange creature who seems to have great power over Margaret, as she knows her too well.
How much of the confession is true? Is Margaret able to differentiate between fact and fiction in her mind? Who is Poor Deer and why does she have such a hold over Margaret?
Most of the plot comes to us through the frame story of Margaret writing her 'confession' about the past from the contemporary time.

I had first experienced Claire Oshetsky’s writing when I read her debut novel, Chouette – a one-of-a-kind work. It was so visceral an experience that I was mesmerized by its prose though I didn't grasp the allegorical writing in its entirety. (I read the whole book front to back twice!) Chouette is the only book that I've advocated to my friends despite rating it just 3.25 stars. So when I saw Oshetsky’s second book on NetGalley, I didn't hesitate before opting for it.

In almost all ways, this has been a better reading experience than Chouette, not because the writing has improved (it was already excellent!), but because the reality level of this book is more my cup of tea. The surrealism is much toned down, the metaphors are more grounded (my brain can't process too much of 'abstract'), and the pacing is steadier (though not faster, which is expected in literary fiction.)

Where the author truly shines is in her creation of the setting. She has an unbelievable style of writing that helps us regenerate every scene in our minds clearly. At the same time, the descriptions don't go overboard in such a way that you feel drowned under the strain of pure atmosphere with no core content. The text balances plot and prose beautifully.

I liked the decision of presenting this innovative plot as a frame story, and also the style of presentation. The present time is written in Margaret’s first person voice, but she writes about her past using the third person syntax for herself. It is almost as if Margaret of the present wants to distance herself from four-year-old Margaret and the crime she committed.

The basic plot could have been rooted in reality, but the author imbues her lead character with a fanciful creative faculty. Margaret is an unreliable narrator, but not in the way you would imagine. She misguides not to trick you but to present a better picture of herself and to put to paper what she wanted than what she got. Margaret thus has the habit of interweaving facts and fantasy in such a way that you won't be able to spot the seam in between. ”Poor Deer” (I loved the origin of this nomenclature – the unintentionally hilarious creation of a child’s mind!) is the best example of how bizarre her mind gets, and yet, Poor Deer is compelling enough to be considered a tangible part of the storyline. Keeping in mind that contemporary Margaret is just a teenager is vital, as her writing indicates her self-absorption, with her wishful redemption being the nucleus of her confession.

The characters are also memorable, though it is very tough to connect with all of them completely. Margaret's character development is excellent. Her flashback begins when she is four years old, and as is common with adult narrators talking of their childhood, the memories are inaccurate. However, while the typical tone of such writing is nostalgic, Margaret's are varnished with the tint of haunting loss, focussing on the grief and hurts that she tries to offset with her wild imagination. Right from her creative prayers to her habit of seeking escape in books to her chats with “Poor Deer”, she makes for an intriguing lead – an unusual combination of vulnerable yet strong.

The supporting cast is also sturdy, though their roles are much limited as the narration is Margaret’s and she focusses mostly on herself. Her mom Florence and her aunt Dolly have a substantial and impressive presence. Some of the minor characters such as young Agnes, the school teacher Mr. Blunt, and the kindergarten teacher Mrs. Rudnicki leave their marks within the little page space they get. That said, I wanted to know much more about Penny and Glo – their arcs seemed rootless, though not pointless.

Why I didn’t go higher in my rating is mainly because of the final quarter or so. Somehow, the climactic scenes didn’t satisfy me the way I expected them to, though they made sense in the flow of the plot. I wanted something more hardhitting but the ending felt quite tame compared to the brilliance of the rest of the story.

If you want something typical or rooted in reality, this isn’t the book for you. But if you are the kind of reader willing to explore the furthest realms of the mind without crossing into the surreal, if you can go with the flow and accept what’s told while grasping what’s untold, if you enjoy character-driven fiction even when the character who drives the story isn’t driving straight - please try this book. This isn't just a novel. It's storytelling!

4.25 stars.

My thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for the DRC of “Poor Deer”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

A heartbreaking meditation on grief and forgiveness, Poor Deer is a fable that follows Margaret, who grows up bearing the weight of the loss of her neighbor, who died during a game the two of them were playing at the age of four. The story focuses itself on the aftereffects on Margaret's psyche- from a young girl watching her mother's love run dry to a young woman whose guilt has taken on a soul-stirring physical form. Themes of isolation, given Margaret's unrepairable reputation, are also expertly woven into this haunting novel.

Oshetsky's writing is absolutely stunning- her choices in regards to perspective were always thoughtful and resonant. Having not read Chouette, this convinced me to give it a try. There were times when the read was difficult, but it always snapped back to life just before it could become tedious.

This is a strange novel, but a great one if you're a fan of the peculiar.

Wow, just wow. I didn’t know what to expect when I started a Poor Deer but wow. Margaret Murphy is an interesting little girl. Some say she was troubled or maybe even trouble. Her first memory is when her best friend died. She can’t remember all the details but she can remember some of it. They were just playing and she doesn’t know how it could happen. No one blames her, well maybe some do. She has a habit of weaving stories around this event and about her life in general. Margarets mom isn’t that supportive of her little girl. She doesn’t speak about the incident and actually tells her own tale about the day Agnes dies. Which confuses Margaret even more. Her aunt can’t console her either. These early years are filled with such tragedy and pain, that Margaret’s world is safe and magical and all the stories have happy endings. As she grows up, Poor Deer enters her made up world. She haunts Margaret and will always try to break her out of her make believe world. Poor Deer won’t rest unless Margaret faces the truth about Agnes’s death. Margaret doesn’t get much peace in life and Poor Deer, a tormenting voice, isn’t going to help her find peace.
This story is heartbreaking and heartwarming. Where a young child is left to her own devices and the adults in her life fail her daily. She is a creative little one and it is no surprise, she has made up these stories, this alternate world to hide in.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a 5 star read for me. This story had all the feels. I was just continuing to root for Margaret. The writing was beautiful and the characters were so real.
I want to thank Netgalley and Claire Oshetsky the author for my copy for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure to read and review this book. I have continued to think about the story days after I read it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A dark fairytale of a novel, the heartbreaking weight of guilt on a small girl, seen through her eyes, burdened by a lack of understanding, by the failure of adults to explain things, by the turning away of a mother who'd once adored her, an aunt who still does. When Margaret Murphy is four and her best friend Agnes dies, Margaret's life changes as she tries to understand what is going on around her. There is wonderful word play here, the notion of "poor dear" becoming poor deer, the manifestation of Margaret's guilt. Grief and Catholicism, signs, rituals, self-harm, animals and birds, a child making her way in her own childhood way. Seeing the world through the child's eyes is not easy to accomplish, to make it feel real, and though all is heightened in this novel - the fairytale aspect of it - it has the core of truth throughout, as well as the notion of writing one's stories over and over to try to get to a place of comfort, to make things make sense.

Thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for the ARC.

While I do believe that this book will appeal to some readers, it was only so-so for me. It’s a dark, atmospheric novel about a young girl who loses her best friend when both are four years old. This one event colors the remainder of her childhood and young adult years. For me, the child’s behavior was weird and stayed that way. Her interactions with the adults around her are weird too. Having said that, the girl seems to be an unreliable narrator of her story, so it’s hard to know if any of the occurrences she describes really happen.
The author’s prose is good and definitely captures the darkness of the story. I think this book would be a good book club choice as it leaves a lot to interpret and discuss.