This review starts with a caveat: the moose’s presence in this novel is not a quirky, funny plot device like the moose that strolls into town in the TV series “Northern Exposure.” Instead, the book opens with a depiction of animal suffering that was so well-written that I was furious with the author for shoving this imagery into my brain. I seriously considered stopping right there and not giving any feedback. Instead I turned up the narration speed and blasted through the opening.

This story of the Roys, the Kimbroughs, and the Sibleys is pretty standard fare – family conflicts, convenient surprise plot twists. Still, the story is engaging, and I attribute this to Butler’s excellent character development.
Claude and Celine Roy, parents of the child Pierre, have their faults. Either of them could have been painted purely as a villain but instead, the author presents them in their completeness; they love each other, they fail each other, they fail Pierre, they love Pierre. They fail themselves. Pierre is the character around whom the entire novel revolves; he is painted with skill and compassion.

Jim and Sandra Kimbrough also have backstories, and their marriage is complex. Jim has his faults. The character we know the less about is Sandra; although certainly human in her emotions, she is an observer rather than a participant. Claude refers to her as the saint, and Claude and I are in agreement. (Sandra bears a remarkable resemblance to the author, herself a musician and, based on her public photos, similar in appearance to Sandra.)

We know less about the Sibleys, who are necessary and convenient characters with secrets of their own.

Narrator Charlie Thurston is a bright spot in this audiobook; his narration is unhurried and rings true. Volume is consistent.

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review. ( )

Twelve-year-old Pierre Roy, because of a head injury, suffers memory issues. His father Claude has difficulty accepting the changes in his son while his mother Celine numbs herself with pills. Their neighbour, Sandra Kimbrough, teaches Pierre how to play the violin, and he proves to have exceptional talent. Music becomes his solace while life swirls around him.

The narrative moves among Claude and Celine, Sandra and her husband Jim, and two other residents in Oslo: Edna Sibley and her grandson Luc who has intellectual challenges. All the adults have secrets which the reader gradually learns. Connections among various characters are also revealed. Another character who makes periodic appearances and whose perspective is given is a moose who roams the area around Oslo.

One cannot but feel a lot of sympathy for Pierre. Because of an accident, he has difficulty remembering for even short periods of time. As a result, he is bullied at school. His parents are little help; they are more concerned about themselves. Claude is despicable; when he first appears in the novel, he mulls over “the specific disappointments he felt with regard to his son”: he thinks of Pierre as weak and hates that his son loves to read and play the violin. For Claude, Pierre is “an embarrassment.” In addition, Claude’s illegal activities and his behaviour in the past are deplorable. Celine is very much an absent mother; she takes pills so she doesn’t have to face reality. Not only does she neglect her son, but she is deceitful and disloyal to “the best person Celine had ever known.” The moose’s care and concern for her calf exceeds the care Pierre receives from his parents.

The book touches on a number of difficult topics: physical violence, sexual violence, adultery, animal cruelty. My issue is not the novel’s subject matter but its purpose. What is it trying to say? A theme could be the power of music. Another could be the interconnectedness of the human and natural world because every time the two worlds collide, there are major consequences. If the moose had been left alone, Pierre’s family might not have disintegrated. Is the message that the natural world has much to teach humans? Is the message that we need to focus on the present? Things turn around when Claude takes responsibility for his actions. Is that supposed to be a moral?

The portrayal of the moose is not convincing. I don’t believe in heaven for humans so have difficulty accepting a “risen-animal world.” We are to accept that a moose would worry about the fate of a dead calf: “Would he rise? Would he ever enter the animal world beyond?” It’s not clear why disposing of an animal in a dump means “her calf would rise.” And then we are to believe that an animal can commit suicide? The anthropomorphism just doesn’t work.

What also does not work is the ending. The epilogue offers too much of a happily-ever-after ending. Edna solves everything for virtually everyone? A moose “brought [Pierre] to understand the beauty of now”? So the capture of an animal is acceptable if it inadvertently teaches someone to not worry about the past or the future but to see the value of the present?

I enjoyed the portrayal of life in rural Maine; the book is realistic in this respect. However, the anthropomorphism of the moose doesn’t work, and the development of theme is scattered. The overall effect is to leave the reader puzzled about what he/she just read.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCYakabuski). ( )

OSLO, MAINE, by Marcia Butler, has a giant beast that is driving force throughout the book, a moose. Everything that happens in the book relates to the moose. But the book is so much more than the moose, it is a story of flawed humanity, of wishes and fears and failures, of finding hope in life by taking chances, not hiding from them. Pierre Roy, a twelve year old boy, is they other key cog in the book. He has lost his memory due to an accident, and the people that he is closely associated with are all affected by his accident and it's aftermath each in their own way. Forced to revaluate what is important in life, each person finds a way forward that isn't necessarily right or wrong, but it works for them.
Butler creates a motley crew of characters, many of which are relatable to people that readers have come across in their lives.. A big theme throughout the book is pride. Pride in appearance, pride in family, pride in morality, etc. Butler seems to posit that we all have pride and it is how we carry that around with us is what's important, because so often pride can be someone's downfall. The book takes a long time to get going and it seemed to meander around the town and the people well into the second half of the book, but as everyone starts to consider what's important to them, coupled with the stakes of the plot growing, the novel becomes quite exciting in the end.
OSLO, MAINE has a little bit of everything: laughter, tears, hope, disappointment, but something it has more than anything else is heart. From the setting, to the characters, to even the moose, this book has a soul, one that cries, loves, and above all, questions the meaning of life.
Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing, Marcia Butler, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler is a recommended quirky character-driven novel set in a small Maine town.

This is a story that involves a moose, a twelve-year-old boy, and three families in a small town in rural Maine named Oslo. The story begins when a female moose enters the rural area of Oslo and is caught in a trap. This event sets into motion a heartbreaking chain of events that result in an accident where twelve-year-old Pierre Roy loses his memory. His parents, Claude and Celine are struggling to cope with their son's memory loss. Claude grapples with acknowledging his son's injury and the cause of it. Celine takes pills to cope. Pierre loves reading and his life changing violin lessons with neighbor Sandra Kimbrough. She and her husband, Jim, are both musicians and live next door. Edna Sibley, is a wealthy widow whose has asked Claude to take her grandson Luc on as a mentor. Luc is a bit slow, perhaps on the spectrum, and Edna thinks he needs a male role model. Edna also advises the Roy's on appropriate books for Pierre to read.

The plot is quite simple as the focus of the narrative is the characters. Their relationships and interactions with one another highlight how very different and disparate these characters are from each other. They are all dealing with to some extent duplicity, trauma, marriage problems, trust, secrets, and health issues. Pierre is the one character that readers will roundly care about and wish the best for him and his recovery. The accident he experienced was unfortunate, but the reactions to it are heartbreaking. Edna is also a sympathetic character, but she is not as present in the story as Pierre. Beyond Pierre, the character that is the most maligned and sympathetic is the moose, but be forewarned this isn't a gentle giant quietly watching the foibles of the humans. This moose, or her calf, is abused or at risk at every turn and it is disturbing, which must be set aside in order to follow the plot.
The desire to see what happens to Pierre is what kept me reading after the first incident of animal abuse occurred. While I appreciated the conclusion of the novel, there were many head-shaking moments of people behaving badly that I had to overcome to get there. Yeah, I think it all turned out better for the characters at the end (not the moose) but I'm not sure I completely enjoyed the journey getting to there.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Central Avenue Publishing
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/02/oslo-maine.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3830476243 ( )

I can not for the life of me to describe this book. Was it a mystery? Was it a coming of age story? Was it a pity party? Was it erotica?
If there was a trope to be found, this author found it and not in a nice way. However, I will say that this was un-put-downable, and it was a swift read.

TRIGGER ALERT--->What, in my opinion, amounts to wild animal abuse, then a very descriptive passage about butchering what amounts to one of the narrators ( a moose cow).

I'm going to leave this one up to you all, folks -I can't say that it is a horrible book because I couldn't put it down. However, I can not say that it was entertainment because it was just one misery after another.

*ARC supplied by publisher author and NetGalley. ( )