Chouette : A Novel

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FOR FICTION

"Claire Oshetskys novel is a marvel: its language a joy, its imagination dizzying." Rumaan Alam, New York Times bestselling author of Leave the World Behind

An exhilarating, provocative novel of motherhood in extremis

Tiny is pregnant. Her husband is delighted. You think this baby is going to be like you, but its not like you at all, she warns him. This baby is an owl-baby.

When Chouette is born small and broken-winged, Tiny works around the clock to meet her daughters needs. 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. Even in those times when Chouettes behaviors grow violent and strange, Tinys loving commitment to her daughter is unwavering. 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 herselfand learn what it truly means to be a mother.

Arresting, darkly funny,andunsettling,Chouetteis a brilliant exploration of ambition, sacrifice, perceptions of ability, and the ferocity of motherly love.