Poor Dear by Claire Oshetsky

Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky– 240 pages

ARC from Ecco Books and Netgalley for an honest review

Book Blurb:

Margaret Murphy is a natural-born weaver of fantastic tales, growing up in a world where the truth is too much for one little girl to endure. Margaret’s first memory is of the day her friend Agnes died. Left on her own to make sense of the tragedy, Margaret invents ever more imaginative and superstitious fictions as a way to avoid thinking about what really happened that day. Enter Poor Deer: a strange, austere creature who winds her way uninvited into Margaret’s made-up tales. Poor Deer won’t rest until Margaret faces the truth about her past and atones for her role in Agnes’s death. The creature offers Margaret a sudden chance to sweep the ledger clean—but the stakes are terribly high. Is Poor Deer’s offer to be trusted? Or is it just another one of Margaret’s made-up stories, too good to be true?

My Review: 4.5 stars

Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky is an inventive story and is written in the vein of a dark fairytale that the reader can’t look away from.

Margaret is a peculiar young girl whose first memory is of an unfortunate accident that ultimately kills her playmate. Margaret remembers this event, yet her mother continues to negate her memories. From age four on, Margaret, (affectionally called Bunny) is plagued with guilt that she has no idea how to deal with. That’s when her imaginary friend comes into play.

Her imaginary friend comes in the form of a deer; one she calls Poor Deer. Poor Deer acts as Margaret’s conscious and urges her to own her truth. There’s a lot of blurring between the real and the imagined. She’s a bright girl, teaching herself to read and write and kept a book of her notes, written in code, that tell her tale.

Themes of guilt, forgiveness, agency and overcoming shame are woven through the story. The writing of this book is lush and often poetic. There are quotes that carry immense meaning. I adored this unusual and somewhat existential story.

Quotes I liked:

Sometimes guilt looks like a sad thing weeping in the corner. Never leaving. Always blaming.”

“Time moves sideways through the most important moments of our lives.”

“She has just learned that some things are forever, and other things are never again.”