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Oslo, Maine
A moose walks into a rural Maine town called Oslo. Pierre Roy, a brilliant twelve-year-old, loses his memory in an accident. Three families are changed for worse and better as they grapple with trauma, marriage, ambition, and their fraught relationship with the natural world.
Meet Claude Roy, Pierre’s blustery and proud fourth-generation Maine father who cannot, or will not, acknowledge the too real and frightening fact of his son’s injury. And his wife, Celine, a once-upon-a-time traditional housewife and mother who descends into pills as a way of coping. Enter Sandra and Jim Kimbrough, musicians and recent Maine transplants who scrape together a meager living as performers while shoring up the loose ends by attempting to live off the grid. Finally, the wealthy widow from away, Edna Sibley, whose dependent adult grandson is addicted to 1980’s Family Feud episodes. Their disparate backgrounds and views on life make for, at times, uneasy neighbors. But when Sandra begins to teach Pierre the violin, forces beyond their control converge. The boy discovers that through sound he can enter a world without pain from the past nor worry for the future. He becomes a pre-adolescent existentialist and invents an unconventional method to come to terms with his memory loss, all the while attempting to protect, and then forgive, those who’ve failed him.
Oslo, Maine is a character driven novel exploring class and economic disparity. It inspects the strengths and limitations of seven average yet extraordinary people as they reckon with their considerable collective failure around Pierre’s accident. Alliances unravel. Long held secrets are exposed. And throughout, the ever-present moose is the linchpin that drives this richly drawn story, filled with heartbreak and hope, to its unexpected conclusion.
High praise for Oslo, Maine!
“Wildly plotted, astutely observed, and brimming with wit."—Adrienne Brodeur
“I raced through this novel in one breathless sitting!"—Karen Dionne
”Marcia Butler is a master dramatist, a sorceress, and extraordinary novelist."—E.J. Levy
“Oslo, Maine is richly satisfying."—Bill Roorbach
Meet Claude Roy, Pierre’s blustery and proud fourth-generation Maine father who cannot, or will not, acknowledge the too real and frightening fact of his son’s injury. And his wife, Celine, a once-upon-a-time traditional housewife and mother who descends into pills as a way of coping. Enter Sandra and Jim Kimbrough, musicians and recent Maine transplants who scrape together a meager living as performers while shoring up the loose ends by attempting to live off the grid. Finally, the wealthy widow from away, Edna Sibley, whose dependent adult grandson is addicted to 1980’s Family Feud episodes. Their disparate backgrounds and views on life make for, at times, uneasy neighbors. But when Sandra begins to teach Pierre the violin, forces beyond their control converge. The boy discovers that through sound he can enter a world without pain from the past nor worry for the future. He becomes a pre-adolescent existentialist and invents an unconventional method to come to terms with his memory loss, all the while attempting to protect, and then forgive, those who’ve failed him.
Oslo, Maine is a character driven novel exploring class and economic disparity. It inspects the strengths and limitations of seven average yet extraordinary people as they reckon with their considerable collective failure around Pierre’s accident. Alliances unravel. Long held secrets are exposed. And throughout, the ever-present moose is the linchpin that drives this richly drawn story, filled with heartbreak and hope, to its unexpected conclusion.
High praise for Oslo, Maine!
“Wildly plotted, astutely observed, and brimming with wit."—Adrienne Brodeur
“I raced through this novel in one breathless sitting!"—Karen Dionne
”Marcia Butler is a master dramatist, a sorceress, and extraordinary novelist."—E.J. Levy
“Oslo, Maine is richly satisfying."—Bill Roorbach
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 2, 2021
73 people are currently reading
2114 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Butler
5 books80 followersMarcia Butler’s nationally acclaimed memoir, The Skin Above My Knee, was one of the Washington Post’s “Top ten noteworthy moments in classical music in 2017”. Her debut novel, Pickle’s Progress, was hailed by Michael Schaub of NPR: “Surprising and audacious, Pickle’s Progress succeeds because of Butler’s willingness to take risks and her considerable charisma. She’s a gifted storyteller with a uniquely dry sense of humor and a real sympathy for her characters.” And Richard Russo said: "The four main characters in Pickle's Progress seems more alive than most of the people we know in real life because their fears and desires are so nakedly exposed." Her third book, Oslo, Maine, draws on indelible memories of performing for many years at a chamber music festival in central Maine. While there, Marcia came to love the majestic moose who roam at their perpetual peril among the humans. Bethanne Patrick of Literary Hub noted, “The author’s deep compassion for a different species means that you will wonder why more writers don’t choose to include all manner of beasts in their narratives.” In her stunning new novel (5/6/25) Dear Virginia, Wait For Me, Marcia draws a sensitive portrait of a not quite formed, vulnerable yet resilient, young woman who, with the help of her inner voice who she believes is Virginia Woolf, attempts to overcome the psychological damages wrought by her troubled upbringing. Best-selling author, Jonathan Lee, writes: “Her protagonist believes she's being guided by the voice of Virginia Woolf, but it is Butler's voice -- comforting and astute, alive to the music of kindness as well as betrayal -- that holds you to the end.”
Prior to becoming an author, Marcia had several creative careers: professional musician, interior designer, and documentary filmmaker. During her thirty-year musical career, she performed as a principal oboist and soloist on the most renowned of New York and international stages, with many high-profile musicians and orchestras – including pianist Andre Watts and composer/pianist Keith Jarrett. The New York Times hailed her as a “first rate artist”. Her interior design projects have been published in numerous shelter magazines and range up and down the East Coast, from Boston to NYC to Miami. The Creative Imperative, her documentary film exploring the essence of creativity, premiered in 2019 at The New York Society Library and is now available on YouTube.
Marcia’s writing has been published in The Washington Post, Literary Hub, PANK Magazine, Psychology Today, Aspen Ideas Magazine, Catapult, Bio-Stories, Kenyon Review, and others. She was a 2015 recipient of a Writer-in-Residence through Aspen Words and the Catto Shaw Foundation and was a writing fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2018 and 2019. After four decades in New York City, Marcia now calls New Mexico home.
Prior to becoming an author, Marcia had several creative careers: professional musician, interior designer, and documentary filmmaker. During her thirty-year musical career, she performed as a principal oboist and soloist on the most renowned of New York and international stages, with many high-profile musicians and orchestras – including pianist Andre Watts and composer/pianist Keith Jarrett. The New York Times hailed her as a “first rate artist”. Her interior design projects have been published in numerous shelter magazines and range up and down the East Coast, from Boston to NYC to Miami. The Creative Imperative, her documentary film exploring the essence of creativity, premiered in 2019 at The New York Society Library and is now available on YouTube.
Marcia’s writing has been published in The Washington Post, Literary Hub, PANK Magazine, Psychology Today, Aspen Ideas Magazine, Catapult, Bio-Stories, Kenyon Review, and others. She was a 2015 recipient of a Writer-in-Residence through Aspen Words and the Catto Shaw Foundation and was a writing fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in 2018 and 2019. After four decades in New York City, Marcia now calls New Mexico home.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
August 11, 2022
Nope, don't care to read about the killing of a moose and it's newborn calf. Not at all what I thought it would be as I liked the cover and the title.
DNF 12%
DNF 12%
Read
March 26, 2021DNF
February 28, 2021
If you like quirky stories with dysfunctional yet lovable and very relatable characters set in small towns, this might be a cool next read for you.
The moose’s presence in this novel is not a quirky, funny plot device like the moose that finds itself on Africa‘s shores in Doug Sacrison‘s The Gelatin Coast. Instead, the book opens with a depiction of animal suffering that was very well-written and harrowing. Suffice to say all characters in this book are relatable, even the moose.
This story of the Roys, the Kimbroughs, and the Sibleys is what drives this story, each individual back story is explored and makes their actions understandable and the characters of not likable definitely highly relatable. The story is engaging, and I attribute this to Butler’s excellent character development.
Every character has their villainous side or actions, except for the child Pierre whose accident sets the story off, but the author presents them in their completeness; they love, they hurt, they fail each other, they try to do the best they can and know to do. Butler peels back their layers with such sympathy that I ended up feeling soft toward all of them all before long. After all, when you truly get to know someone—the way brave and greathearted novelists like Butler get to know their characters—you see their struggles and realize they just want to help their families and improve their lives, same as any of us. I was telling my husband about every character in the book which is not something I usually do.
Narrator Charlie Thurston is great for this audiobook; his narration is unhurried and fits the story wonderfully.
Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.
The moose’s presence in this novel is not a quirky, funny plot device like the moose that finds itself on Africa‘s shores in Doug Sacrison‘s The Gelatin Coast. Instead, the book opens with a depiction of animal suffering that was very well-written and harrowing. Suffice to say all characters in this book are relatable, even the moose.
This story of the Roys, the Kimbroughs, and the Sibleys is what drives this story, each individual back story is explored and makes their actions understandable and the characters of not likable definitely highly relatable. The story is engaging, and I attribute this to Butler’s excellent character development.
Every character has their villainous side or actions, except for the child Pierre whose accident sets the story off, but the author presents them in their completeness; they love, they hurt, they fail each other, they try to do the best they can and know to do. Butler peels back their layers with such sympathy that I ended up feeling soft toward all of them all before long. After all, when you truly get to know someone—the way brave and greathearted novelists like Butler get to know their characters—you see their struggles and realize they just want to help their families and improve their lives, same as any of us. I was telling my husband about every character in the book which is not something I usually do.
Narrator Charlie Thurston is great for this audiobook; his narration is unhurried and fits the story wonderfully.
Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for providing me with an ARC in return for my honest review.
August 10, 2021
I might move to Cabot Cove, but trust me on this---- I WILL NOT MOVE TO OSLO, MAINE.. ever!
I thought I was going to love Oslo, Maine, and based on the cover I thought it was going to be something completely different than a depiction of profound immorality. There seemed to be few redeeming characteristics of the citizens we glimpsed, with the exception of the boy and the moose. Although I felt the moose committed suicide, people were scamming the insurance company and their employer, cheating on their marriage, hating their children, working illegally, and just displaying their worse sides. Evidently, there are few places to work, and most live hand to mouth, the lifestyle is bleak, so maybe that excuses bad behavior?
In the end, I remained confused as the POV jumped around a great deal just like the timeline. I bet that Butler thought there was a clear message, but it really flew over my head. I thank goodness this was a short book... it was a 2. 5 read for sure
2.5 stars
Happy Reading!
I thought I was going to love Oslo, Maine, and based on the cover I thought it was going to be something completely different than a depiction of profound immorality. There seemed to be few redeeming characteristics of the citizens we glimpsed, with the exception of the boy and the moose. Although I felt the moose committed suicide, people were scamming the insurance company and their employer, cheating on their marriage, hating their children, working illegally, and just displaying their worse sides. Evidently, there are few places to work, and most live hand to mouth, the lifestyle is bleak, so maybe that excuses bad behavior?
In the end, I remained confused as the POV jumped around a great deal just like the timeline. I bet that Butler thought there was a clear message, but it really flew over my head. I thank goodness this was a short book... it was a 2. 5 read for sure
2.5 stars
Happy Reading!
November 10, 2020
I enjoyed Butler’s debut Pickle’s Progress, so I figured I’d check out latest. With this sophomore effort, the author switches gears significantly and takes readers from NYC of Pickle to Oslo, Maine. A town too small to register with anyone but its occupants, seven of which are the protagonists of this novel, comprising three very different, complexly interconnected families.
There are the Roys, a couple with a young son, the star of the show, a smart bookish musically inclined boy who is so radically different from his gun toting macho man butcher (literally) of a father, that is causes the man great consternation, while his wife is quietly sedating herself into oblivion.
There are their neighbors, a couple of outsiders (i.e. not originally from Maine like the Roys), classical musicians who came to Oslo to live a quiet life, but now they can barely afford it.
And then there is a 29 year old mentally different/simple/slow (whatever the proper definition du jour is and it is du jour isn’t it, changing way faster than social language is meant to evolve) man living with his wealthy grandmother.
This is a story about them and their lives. It’s quiet, unassuming (presumably like Mainers themselves), but also fraught with all sorts of drama, romantic, parental, etc.
Marcia Butler is a very, very good character writer, of that there is no question. But the characters themselves here, for all their complexities, aren’t especially engaging or likeable for that matter. In fact, the most engaging and likeable character is quadrupedal and viciously victimized throughout the entire novel by the bipeds. I mean, seriously it’s almost odd. It’s like Butler watched Bambi and thought, well, that is neither sad enough nor messed up enough, let’s Moose it up into proper butchery. So yeah, if animal cruelty disturbs you…prepare to be disturbed.
But it says something about a novel, doesn’t it, when a character study of seven individuals is outshone and outdone by an animal doing her best to survive them. I mean, I can understand how the author used that as a sort of plot driving device the entire narrative is framed around, but still…and also, the ending is all too neat and happy, for the story itself and at least for some of them, it seems, undeservingly so. Not sure. Who are we to judge the imaginary people of Oslo, Maine, doing their level best and coming up short time after time…until the epilogue.
So anyway, there it is. I liked it, didn’t love it. It’s an objectively well written book, it read easily and quickly and, again, first rate character development. But it didn’t really wow on any level, although profoundly disturbed on one. Middle of the road, really. Not quite Pickle’s Progress, but author’s progress remains compelling enough for potential future reads. Thanks Netgalley.
There are the Roys, a couple with a young son, the star of the show, a smart bookish musically inclined boy who is so radically different from his gun toting macho man butcher (literally) of a father, that is causes the man great consternation, while his wife is quietly sedating herself into oblivion.
There are their neighbors, a couple of outsiders (i.e. not originally from Maine like the Roys), classical musicians who came to Oslo to live a quiet life, but now they can barely afford it.
And then there is a 29 year old mentally different/simple/slow (whatever the proper definition du jour is and it is du jour isn’t it, changing way faster than social language is meant to evolve) man living with his wealthy grandmother.
This is a story about them and their lives. It’s quiet, unassuming (presumably like Mainers themselves), but also fraught with all sorts of drama, romantic, parental, etc.
Marcia Butler is a very, very good character writer, of that there is no question. But the characters themselves here, for all their complexities, aren’t especially engaging or likeable for that matter. In fact, the most engaging and likeable character is quadrupedal and viciously victimized throughout the entire novel by the bipeds. I mean, seriously it’s almost odd. It’s like Butler watched Bambi and thought, well, that is neither sad enough nor messed up enough, let’s Moose it up into proper butchery. So yeah, if animal cruelty disturbs you…prepare to be disturbed.
But it says something about a novel, doesn’t it, when a character study of seven individuals is outshone and outdone by an animal doing her best to survive them. I mean, I can understand how the author used that as a sort of plot driving device the entire narrative is framed around, but still…and also, the ending is all too neat and happy, for the story itself and at least for some of them, it seems, undeservingly so. Not sure. Who are we to judge the imaginary people of Oslo, Maine, doing their level best and coming up short time after time…until the epilogue.
So anyway, there it is. I liked it, didn’t love it. It’s an objectively well written book, it read easily and quickly and, again, first rate character development. But it didn’t really wow on any level, although profoundly disturbed on one. Middle of the road, really. Not quite Pickle’s Progress, but author’s progress remains compelling enough for potential future reads. Thanks Netgalley.
February 25, 2021
This is a wacky tale about Oslo Maine and it somewhat revolves around a moose and her calf. Pierre is a young boy who gets injured by the moose and ends up with short term memory loss. Pierre faces struggles with his mother who takes pills to get by, and with his father who is embarrassed by Pierre not being the type of male he wants him to be.
The big takeaway I got from this odd tale is from Pierre. He is afraid to get his memories back because all memories seem to do is cause pain. People are either looking back at what they have lost or looking ahead knowing things won’t ever be the same. Without memories, everyday can be your best day. This was not a major part of the story but it is what stuck with me the most.
The big takeaway I got from this odd tale is from Pierre. He is afraid to get his memories back because all memories seem to do is cause pain. People are either looking back at what they have lost or looking ahead knowing things won’t ever be the same. Without memories, everyday can be your best day. This was not a major part of the story but it is what stuck with me the most.
February 2, 2021
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐬𝐥𝐨, 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
This is one of those novels that makes you feel raw from the ugliness of some of the characters. Without a doubt they are flawed. If Pierre is an embarrassment to his father Claude, then others are disappointments, dragging their spouse into debt, and forced ‘thriftiness’, or meddlesome, busybodies trying to interfere in others’ lives. In the middle of this, a pregnant moose sets things in motion when she forages for food in town of Oslo. A prize for the trappers who make the happy discovery when they stumble upon her.
Pierre Roy, Claude and Celine’s 12-year-old son, has lost his memory after an accident. A bigger worry, considering he can’t even remember how his injury happened. A boy whose bookish ways, very intelligence and tenderness exudes weakness in Claude’s mind, who knows all too well without tough masculinity the boy doesn’t stand a chance in life. Celine spends her days in a moody, pill induced fog of escape, broken by the reality of her son’s injury. Raking over the facts of her husband’s incompetency, and his part in the accident, she spends time blaming herself, for being a failure as a mother, whose first and most important job is to protect their child from harm. She seeks comfort in others, including a friendship with a woman named Sandra Kimbrough, their neighbor. Sandra is a music teacher who further pushes her way into the Roy’s lives by teaching Pierre to play violin. It’s bad enough that Sandra and her husband Jim bought the land (many many years ago) Claude “as a born and bred Mainer”, should have had the chance to obtain but aligning herself with Celine is too much! He suspects her of corrupting his son with too many uppity ideas, and damn if the whole town doesn’t love Sandra too. Sandra isn’t Celine’s only friend, she seeks refuge and comfort in the arms of Jim.
Sandra sees potential in Pierre, giving him the gift of music to see him through life’s trials and tribulations. It isn’t music alone Pierre needs from her, and she can’t help but invest herself in the Roy family but she has problems of her own with her level-headed husband, and the many marital accommodations as he works to fix their home. Tired of being a professional musician, she enjoys teaching children but she doesn’t much like her husband attempting to be Mr. Fix It around their home, a place far more off the grid than they can manage. She misses hot water to bathe in, the simple pleasures they seem to have forsaken. Teaching children is her escape. Can she really be naïve enough to think music lessons will heal a child’s brain trauma? That she can fix his broken family? A childless woman what does she know of motherhood and the problems Celine is facing?
Pierre knows everything is going wrong. His brain trauma scares him, he just wants to recover his memories. One thing he is most certain of, he is the cause of everyone’s unhappiness. It is breaking him to watch his mother fall apart, not even caring about the basics like her hygiene. He misses the caring mother she used to be, the perfect mother who cooked meals and checked his homework. If only things could go back to the way the were before. He has been keeping little coded notes, using logic to remember, it is Sandra he shares these things with.
Edna loves her adult grandson Luc with ‘religious devotion’, despite his deficits. He works hard for Claude at the March, as his ‘pet project’. What Edna desires is a mentor for the boy, whose slowness and malleability is a perfect fit for the place. Luc’s mother died giving birth to him when she was only sixteen, no one understands hardship and pain more than Edna, the wealthy widow. All she wants is for her grandson to be safe when she is dead and gone, her wealthy upbringing hasn’t spared her suffering. Her wealth hasn’t exactly spared her grandson of ridicule either, known as the town’s simpleton. Since his birth, her state of being has been one of hypervigilance with a grandson no one has ever properly diagnosed. When he messes up, as he often does, she doesn’t know what to do, and his latest fiasco is tangled up in Claude. It doesn’t bode well for anyone.
As pieces of the puzzle come into place for Pierre, he wants to protect the fragility of the adults but remembering comes at a price. Memories to be hoarded and others to discard, how much safer it is in the cocoon of not knowing. Everyone has their secrets, and their reasons for protecting the truth, usually for the sake of their loved ones. Class doesn’t protect anyone from failure, loss, illness nor tragedy. Sometimes we don’t even know the secrets of our own story, as Claude learns. Some of the characters are brutish, with edges that only lessons can smooth, others are dedicated saints who can’t help but make the world better, but all of them are lost and through Pierre may well figure themselves out. Jim was my moment of humor, because with so many people moving to places that are somewhat off the grid, away from the city, they bite off so much more than they can chew and let’s face it the locals often are laughing at them or resenting their sucking up the land. Sandra is the long suffering wife you can’t help but shake your head at what she puts up with.
This novel has several stories to keep track of, but I had to know what happened in Pierre’s future and while Claude is the sort of overly proud man who puts a lot of stock in masculinity you are forced to take into account how he grew up. That is his world, as we read early on neither he nor Celine grew up in homes of education and privilege. His ugly thoughts about his son being different, a freak if you will, is more about him and how he will be judged and his manliness questioned, as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is how the world can be, sad to say. People get too caught up in worrying about the ever present eyes of society and its expectations on you, at the expense of happiness. Nothing gives away Claude more than that part of the novel, exposes who he is and why he behaves as he does. A real man’s man. The novel is also a peek into the lives of transplants and it is interesting, how regardless of decades spent in some places you are still just ‘from somewhere else’. It is a sad book, though it has spots of joy. The moose, aw the poor moose, that was the darkest spot of all and hard to stomach. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was engaging enough to keep me reading and there are moments that made my gut ache. I could relate to Edna and her devoted love for Luc. Some characters you love, some you despise but do they grow? I think with the epilogue the answer is yes.
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Central Avenue Publishing
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐬𝐥𝐨, 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞, 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
This is one of those novels that makes you feel raw from the ugliness of some of the characters. Without a doubt they are flawed. If Pierre is an embarrassment to his father Claude, then others are disappointments, dragging their spouse into debt, and forced ‘thriftiness’, or meddlesome, busybodies trying to interfere in others’ lives. In the middle of this, a pregnant moose sets things in motion when she forages for food in town of Oslo. A prize for the trappers who make the happy discovery when they stumble upon her.
Pierre Roy, Claude and Celine’s 12-year-old son, has lost his memory after an accident. A bigger worry, considering he can’t even remember how his injury happened. A boy whose bookish ways, very intelligence and tenderness exudes weakness in Claude’s mind, who knows all too well without tough masculinity the boy doesn’t stand a chance in life. Celine spends her days in a moody, pill induced fog of escape, broken by the reality of her son’s injury. Raking over the facts of her husband’s incompetency, and his part in the accident, she spends time blaming herself, for being a failure as a mother, whose first and most important job is to protect their child from harm. She seeks comfort in others, including a friendship with a woman named Sandra Kimbrough, their neighbor. Sandra is a music teacher who further pushes her way into the Roy’s lives by teaching Pierre to play violin. It’s bad enough that Sandra and her husband Jim bought the land (many many years ago) Claude “as a born and bred Mainer”, should have had the chance to obtain but aligning herself with Celine is too much! He suspects her of corrupting his son with too many uppity ideas, and damn if the whole town doesn’t love Sandra too. Sandra isn’t Celine’s only friend, she seeks refuge and comfort in the arms of Jim.
Sandra sees potential in Pierre, giving him the gift of music to see him through life’s trials and tribulations. It isn’t music alone Pierre needs from her, and she can’t help but invest herself in the Roy family but she has problems of her own with her level-headed husband, and the many marital accommodations as he works to fix their home. Tired of being a professional musician, she enjoys teaching children but she doesn’t much like her husband attempting to be Mr. Fix It around their home, a place far more off the grid than they can manage. She misses hot water to bathe in, the simple pleasures they seem to have forsaken. Teaching children is her escape. Can she really be naïve enough to think music lessons will heal a child’s brain trauma? That she can fix his broken family? A childless woman what does she know of motherhood and the problems Celine is facing?
Pierre knows everything is going wrong. His brain trauma scares him, he just wants to recover his memories. One thing he is most certain of, he is the cause of everyone’s unhappiness. It is breaking him to watch his mother fall apart, not even caring about the basics like her hygiene. He misses the caring mother she used to be, the perfect mother who cooked meals and checked his homework. If only things could go back to the way the were before. He has been keeping little coded notes, using logic to remember, it is Sandra he shares these things with.
Edna loves her adult grandson Luc with ‘religious devotion’, despite his deficits. He works hard for Claude at the March, as his ‘pet project’. What Edna desires is a mentor for the boy, whose slowness and malleability is a perfect fit for the place. Luc’s mother died giving birth to him when she was only sixteen, no one understands hardship and pain more than Edna, the wealthy widow. All she wants is for her grandson to be safe when she is dead and gone, her wealthy upbringing hasn’t spared her suffering. Her wealth hasn’t exactly spared her grandson of ridicule either, known as the town’s simpleton. Since his birth, her state of being has been one of hypervigilance with a grandson no one has ever properly diagnosed. When he messes up, as he often does, she doesn’t know what to do, and his latest fiasco is tangled up in Claude. It doesn’t bode well for anyone.
As pieces of the puzzle come into place for Pierre, he wants to protect the fragility of the adults but remembering comes at a price. Memories to be hoarded and others to discard, how much safer it is in the cocoon of not knowing. Everyone has their secrets, and their reasons for protecting the truth, usually for the sake of their loved ones. Class doesn’t protect anyone from failure, loss, illness nor tragedy. Sometimes we don’t even know the secrets of our own story, as Claude learns. Some of the characters are brutish, with edges that only lessons can smooth, others are dedicated saints who can’t help but make the world better, but all of them are lost and through Pierre may well figure themselves out. Jim was my moment of humor, because with so many people moving to places that are somewhat off the grid, away from the city, they bite off so much more than they can chew and let’s face it the locals often are laughing at them or resenting their sucking up the land. Sandra is the long suffering wife you can’t help but shake your head at what she puts up with.
This novel has several stories to keep track of, but I had to know what happened in Pierre’s future and while Claude is the sort of overly proud man who puts a lot of stock in masculinity you are forced to take into account how he grew up. That is his world, as we read early on neither he nor Celine grew up in homes of education and privilege. His ugly thoughts about his son being different, a freak if you will, is more about him and how he will be judged and his manliness questioned, as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is how the world can be, sad to say. People get too caught up in worrying about the ever present eyes of society and its expectations on you, at the expense of happiness. Nothing gives away Claude more than that part of the novel, exposes who he is and why he behaves as he does. A real man’s man. The novel is also a peek into the lives of transplants and it is interesting, how regardless of decades spent in some places you are still just ‘from somewhere else’. It is a sad book, though it has spots of joy. The moose, aw the poor moose, that was the darkest spot of all and hard to stomach. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but it was engaging enough to keep me reading and there are moments that made my gut ache. I could relate to Edna and her devoted love for Luc. Some characters you love, some you despise but do they grow? I think with the epilogue the answer is yes.
Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Central Avenue Publishing
May 1, 2021
Marcia Butler and I became friendly after meeting at an author event a few years ago, and so I have known for a while now that she was writing a book about a moose. That was how she put it when we would meet for coffee sometimes before the pandemic and talk about writing: "the moose book." Sometimes she would regale me with moose trivia: how they subsist on twigs during the long Maine winters, etc. She was clearly very serious about the moose.
I was wary: how was this going this work? Any story with an animal in it is always in danger of being too sweet, or too sad, or maybe just cartoonish, so compromised are humans' relations with the natural world.
But I was curious too, and so I am happy to finally have read the moose book, and I remain in awe of Marcia's wonderfully strange vision, her talent and her drive. I am honored to know her.
It is not too sweet. It is not cartoonish. It is moving but at points very sad, and spoiler alert, does not end well for the moose. Also, the story is only perhaps 20 percent about the moose. I am glad the publishers chose not to put a moose on the cover, or to give the book a title in any way hinting at the moose within.
And here I am struck by the coincidence that the novel I read just before this one also took its title from its setting (Cobble Hill). Like Cobble Hill, Oslo, Maine features several families whose lives intersect in unexpected ways, and the kinds of things that happen in the story are informed by the setting. Lice outbreaks, package theft and a wild party in one case; out-of-season hunting, vehicle accidents and violin lessons in another. The events in Cobble Hill seem too often driven by improbable chance meetings, while the events in Oslo feel more solidly rooted in its character.
To me the heart of the book is not the moose but Pierre, the young son of one of the stories' main couples, taking violin lessons from another main character, sort-of friends with the grandson of another. When the story opens he has suffered a serious head injury that as readers we realize was inflicted (unintentionally) by the moose, but remains a mystery to most of the characters, including Pierre, since a result of his injury is memory loss. Amnesia could be a gimmick, but here it is used effectively, both to create suspense that drives the plot, and to make a larger philosophical point about the nature of consciousness and what it means to be happy.
Pierre is brilliant and precocious, but not annoyingly so; we see what it costs him. His love of music feels authentic, as do his efforts to deal with his troubled parents. I was also very taken by the character of his violin teacher and the account of her marriage to another musician of great charm but inferior talent. Although nearly everyone is dysfunctional, it's in a way that feels real; some people are worse than others, but there is nuance even in the more villainous ones.
I did not sit down planning to read it in one sitting, but at a certain point I could not stop. Not suspenseful in a murder-mystery way, yet so compelling there was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than to find out what happened to these people, and this moose.
I was wary: how was this going this work? Any story with an animal in it is always in danger of being too sweet, or too sad, or maybe just cartoonish, so compromised are humans' relations with the natural world.
But I was curious too, and so I am happy to finally have read the moose book, and I remain in awe of Marcia's wonderfully strange vision, her talent and her drive. I am honored to know her.
It is not too sweet. It is not cartoonish. It is moving but at points very sad, and spoiler alert, does not end well for the moose. Also, the story is only perhaps 20 percent about the moose. I am glad the publishers chose not to put a moose on the cover, or to give the book a title in any way hinting at the moose within.
And here I am struck by the coincidence that the novel I read just before this one also took its title from its setting (Cobble Hill). Like Cobble Hill, Oslo, Maine features several families whose lives intersect in unexpected ways, and the kinds of things that happen in the story are informed by the setting. Lice outbreaks, package theft and a wild party in one case; out-of-season hunting, vehicle accidents and violin lessons in another. The events in Cobble Hill seem too often driven by improbable chance meetings, while the events in Oslo feel more solidly rooted in its character.
To me the heart of the book is not the moose but Pierre, the young son of one of the stories' main couples, taking violin lessons from another main character, sort-of friends with the grandson of another. When the story opens he has suffered a serious head injury that as readers we realize was inflicted (unintentionally) by the moose, but remains a mystery to most of the characters, including Pierre, since a result of his injury is memory loss. Amnesia could be a gimmick, but here it is used effectively, both to create suspense that drives the plot, and to make a larger philosophical point about the nature of consciousness and what it means to be happy.
Pierre is brilliant and precocious, but not annoyingly so; we see what it costs him. His love of music feels authentic, as do his efforts to deal with his troubled parents. I was also very taken by the character of his violin teacher and the account of her marriage to another musician of great charm but inferior talent. Although nearly everyone is dysfunctional, it's in a way that feels real; some people are worse than others, but there is nuance even in the more villainous ones.
I did not sit down planning to read it in one sitting, but at a certain point I could not stop. Not suspenseful in a murder-mystery way, yet so compelling there was nothing in the world I wanted to do more than to find out what happened to these people, and this moose.
November 18, 2022
Just okay for me. Started off a little odd (a pregnant moose was the first point-of-view character), and then introduced a lot of characters I didn't really care about. You have an amnesiac kid with brain trauma, his pill-addicted mother, his law-breaking father, their neighbors, and more.
Everything blends and starts making sense as it goes, but it kind of reminded me of an episode of Northern Exposure, with a lot more shadiness instead of comedy.
Also, features the oddest sex scene I've read this year. Or maybe ever. Husband and wife in a tub and he pleasures her with the ball of his foot. Umm, okay.
Not sure I would recommend. Would read more from the author, however.
2 out of 5 stars.
Everything blends and starts making sense as it goes, but it kind of reminded me of an episode of Northern Exposure, with a lot more shadiness instead of comedy.
Also, features the oddest sex scene I've read this year. Or maybe ever. Husband and wife in a tub and he pleasures her with the ball of his foot. Umm, okay.
Not sure I would recommend. Would read more from the author, however.
2 out of 5 stars.
February 26, 2021
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.
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.
February 11, 2021
I selected Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler based solely on the cover. I thought the book might be a quaint story about a small community in Maine. Unfortunately by the third paragraph I realized this wasn’t a book I would enjoy. I continued reading.
The author uses changing perspectives to tell the story. We view the events through many different characters including a pregnant moose. It may have been too many perspectives that was confusing. I really disliked the main character Claude. He mistreats animals and his family. It was when he shoots and kills a baby moose I decided to stop reading the book.
I am not the target audience for this book. Perhaps there are others that might enjoy reading about a man who enjoys hunting animals out of season.
The author uses changing perspectives to tell the story. We view the events through many different characters including a pregnant moose. It may have been too many perspectives that was confusing. I really disliked the main character Claude. He mistreats animals and his family. It was when he shoots and kills a baby moose I decided to stop reading the book.
I am not the target audience for this book. Perhaps there are others that might enjoy reading about a man who enjoys hunting animals out of season.
March 2, 2021
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).
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).
February 10, 2021
Oslo, Maine
Marcia Butler
March 2, 2021
Pierre Roy, son of Claude and Celine Roy was a preteen exploring with his father on their wooded acreage near Oslo, Maine. Claude had hoped to teach Pierre the wonders of exploring the outdoors and perhaps the joy of hunting despite the boy’s disinterest in harming any wooded creatures. Aside from working at the local mill, Claude was secretly trying to establish a business by selling animals he killed, cleaned and froze. As Pierre had pointed out on their walk, hunting off season was illegal in Maine. If they by chance hit an animal while practicing with the guns, a fine would result. His father reminded Pierre they were to shoot only toward the sky as Pierre was learning to use the gun after all. Now throughout the book we are advised of a moose, (introduced in the prologue), that wandered around the area. She was due to give birth within the week and was tiring, in need of water and a place to rest. In the process, she was captured and taken to the shelter where Claude slaughtered his beasts. This novel opens with Pierre and Claude discovering the massive creature attached to ropes within the metal shed.
This story continues on with introducing the 3 families that were central characters in this plot.. Next door to the Roys, were Sandra and Jim Kimbough, musicians. Sandra spent days teaching local student violin and some nights in the orchestra at the nearby town of Portland, Maine. Not far down the road we find Edna Sibley and her grandson, Luc. When Luc’s mother passed minutes passed his birth, Edna had taken on the mother/grandmother role in his life. Not an easy task for the older woman but a necessary one. Luc had his fair share of medical issues as well as being a bit slow. Edna being concerned with her health asked Roy to help Luc address the manly needs that she could not help with. Being a manager at the mill, he was able to get Luc work. It was Luc that Claude found to help him with his aside business.
Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler will be published on March 2, 2021 by Central Avenue Publishing in Canada. I appreciate their allowing me to read and review Oslo, Maine via NetGalley. I found Oslo to be a strange little town with equally odd folk who reside there. I struggled initially with getting into the scenario but as I journeyed into the characters curious lives I persisted and found a completely different finish worth the amusing ride.
Marcia Butler
March 2, 2021
Pierre Roy, son of Claude and Celine Roy was a preteen exploring with his father on their wooded acreage near Oslo, Maine. Claude had hoped to teach Pierre the wonders of exploring the outdoors and perhaps the joy of hunting despite the boy’s disinterest in harming any wooded creatures. Aside from working at the local mill, Claude was secretly trying to establish a business by selling animals he killed, cleaned and froze. As Pierre had pointed out on their walk, hunting off season was illegal in Maine. If they by chance hit an animal while practicing with the guns, a fine would result. His father reminded Pierre they were to shoot only toward the sky as Pierre was learning to use the gun after all. Now throughout the book we are advised of a moose, (introduced in the prologue), that wandered around the area. She was due to give birth within the week and was tiring, in need of water and a place to rest. In the process, she was captured and taken to the shelter where Claude slaughtered his beasts. This novel opens with Pierre and Claude discovering the massive creature attached to ropes within the metal shed.
This story continues on with introducing the 3 families that were central characters in this plot.. Next door to the Roys, were Sandra and Jim Kimbough, musicians. Sandra spent days teaching local student violin and some nights in the orchestra at the nearby town of Portland, Maine. Not far down the road we find Edna Sibley and her grandson, Luc. When Luc’s mother passed minutes passed his birth, Edna had taken on the mother/grandmother role in his life. Not an easy task for the older woman but a necessary one. Luc had his fair share of medical issues as well as being a bit slow. Edna being concerned with her health asked Roy to help Luc address the manly needs that she could not help with. Being a manager at the mill, he was able to get Luc work. It was Luc that Claude found to help him with his aside business.
Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler will be published on March 2, 2021 by Central Avenue Publishing in Canada. I appreciate their allowing me to read and review Oslo, Maine via NetGalley. I found Oslo to be a strange little town with equally odd folk who reside there. I struggled initially with getting into the scenario but as I journeyed into the characters curious lives I persisted and found a completely different finish worth the amusing ride.
November 21, 2020
Butler writes really well. Her talent is nicely on display here. The plot is unpredictable and the many characters are superbly drawn. I won't summarize the plot, but I will recommend this to literature fans.
I really appreciate the ARC for review!!
I really appreciate the ARC for review!!
February 11, 2021
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!
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!
February 21, 2021
Darker than I expected, and with a twist that caught me off guard (in a good way) this was a well planned and delivered novel about one small town and a few of it's interwoven families. Different and compelling, it will stick with you. The focus on memories and the importance of the now were well done.
Full disclosure- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure- I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 13, 2021
I admire Marcia Butler so much. I got to meet her once in New York, and she's one of those wonderfully welcoming, insightful people who boosts every artist she meets—and goes out of her way to meet lots. That insight and compassion shines through in her fiction as well.
In this novel, we get to know a cast of characters in a small town, many of whom may not be the kind of people you'd like much if you judged them solely on certain aspects of their behavior, but Butler peels back their layers with such sympathy that I ended up feeling soft toward them all before long. After all, when you truly get to know someone—the way brave and greathearted novelists like Butler get to know their characters—you see their struggles and realize they just want to help their families and improve their lives, same as any of us. And isn't that realization the exact thing this world needs these days?
Plus we get the POV of a moose! Which is something I can't say I've ever read before, and it was especially moving, done in a way that makes the moose as much a proper, suffering character as any of the humans. Poor dear moose.
I'll always look forward to more from Marcia!
In this novel, we get to know a cast of characters in a small town, many of whom may not be the kind of people you'd like much if you judged them solely on certain aspects of their behavior, but Butler peels back their layers with such sympathy that I ended up feeling soft toward them all before long. After all, when you truly get to know someone—the way brave and greathearted novelists like Butler get to know their characters—you see their struggles and realize they just want to help their families and improve their lives, same as any of us. And isn't that realization the exact thing this world needs these days?
Plus we get the POV of a moose! Which is something I can't say I've ever read before, and it was especially moving, done in a way that makes the moose as much a proper, suffering character as any of the humans. Poor dear moose.
I'll always look forward to more from Marcia!
February 17, 2021
Oslo, Maine is the type of small town were everyone knows your business or at least they think they do. This story focus's on Pierre Roy a young man who loses his memory due to an accident and the ramifications and impact on three different families. But that is all as the various have issuses that they are dealing with some as a result of this accident but one thing for sure they all want to keep this secrets hidden. I had some concerns for this book based on other reader ratings but i was pleasantly surprised how good this was. This story did a good job holding my attention and wanting to find out what happens next. So give this a read you will not be disappointed. Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing for an ARC for a fair and honest review.
December 3, 2020
The best I can say about this book, is that it's strange, as I like originality. But the stupidity, the lack of sense and structure, as well as the unclear meaning of it all, make this a bad choice for me.
February 10, 2021
I usually love to read books that take place in New England since they often provide familiar surroundings and are more relatable to me than others. Oslo, Maine centers on the story of a small town in Maine where a young boy named Pierre suffers from an accident and has memory loss. The other characters are adults that have failed Pierre in some way, and each have their own secrets and struggles. The plot is somewhat unpredictable, but the characters are mundane. The biggest disappointment of this book is that the author is clearly talented and provides fantastic descriptions, but the characters come across as unlikeable and feel two dimensional. The only interesting point of view came from the moose whose suffering was heartbreaking. I will say that the book included descriptions of dead and butchered animals that were a little too graphic for my taste. At that point, Butler’s effective descriptions made me a little queasy while reading. Overall, I wish I enjoyed this book more, but it just did not hold my attention to the level that I would expect from a novel. If it was any longer I probably would have not finished it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for my ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for my ARC.
May 7, 2021
I really enjoyed the exploration of characters and the way they interact and intertwine. Overall, a pretty decent read.
I will give the warning that the ending feels a little rushed and things wrap up almost a little too neatly.
I will give the warning that the ending feels a little rushed and things wrap up almost a little too neatly.
February 26, 2021
Sooooo, a child is believed to be posessed by the devil, he is a disgrace for his family, and everyone hates his because he likes to read????
I'm sorry, book. We're done here.
I'm sorry, book. We're done here.
February 10, 2023
I liked it but really such an overall sad story that left me feeling incomplete. Some good writing depth to the characters as I felt their misery but didn’t get a good grasp on Pierre’s issue, his relationship to Edna and why the moose was the center of the story. And the whole wrapping up at the end……ugh.
March 12, 2022
Rounding up from 3.5 stars…quirky characters fill this novel. The first chapter almost did me in, but I’m so glad I finished it.
March 10, 2021
I would like to give this 3.5 stars, but can't, so I'm rounding up for here.
The story is based around a moose coming to town, an accident involving a 12 year old boy, and the stories of the adults that orbit him.
To be perfectly honest, when I began listening, I really thought this was going to be a DNF for me. I had in my head that this was going to be a "Northern Exposure" (remember that TV show?) type of story. But it most definitely isn't. The opening scenes with the moose were harrowing and graphic and I was not sure I could stomach it. I understand now, this is intentional and shows the true harsh reality of life in Oslo, Maine.
BUT, as I continued to listen and get to know the characters, I became fully invested. They all felt so real. So flawed and honest. I hated some, and loved others, and switched betweeen the two for most - again I believe this is intentional from the Author. I even cried in the epilogue - an indication for me that I had grown so fond of some that I really cared about the outcome.
A very real, honest story about life in a small town.
The story is based around a moose coming to town, an accident involving a 12 year old boy, and the stories of the adults that orbit him.
To be perfectly honest, when I began listening, I really thought this was going to be a DNF for me. I had in my head that this was going to be a "Northern Exposure" (remember that TV show?) type of story. But it most definitely isn't. The opening scenes with the moose were harrowing and graphic and I was not sure I could stomach it. I understand now, this is intentional and shows the true harsh reality of life in Oslo, Maine.
BUT, as I continued to listen and get to know the characters, I became fully invested. They all felt so real. So flawed and honest. I hated some, and loved others, and switched betweeen the two for most - again I believe this is intentional from the Author. I even cried in the epilogue - an indication for me that I had grown so fond of some that I really cared about the outcome.
A very real, honest story about life in a small town.
March 5, 2021
Oslo, Maine is a leisurely paced novel with a variety of characters and narration from multiple perspectives. Rather than the story being driven by the thoughts and experiences of one central character, the book shifts between different points of view. I rather enjoyed getting to see the events of the novel through the eyes of different people, each connected and impacted differently by one another. I was especially intrigued by the incorporation of the narration of a moose, and the unique aspect of getting to see the world through her eyes. There are many interesting elements and topics explored throughout this novel. A tragic accident results in the brain injury of a 12 year old boy named Pierre, and the nature of humanity's preoccupancy with the past is explored. As he works to combat his memory loss, we are left to ponder the interesting relationship between time and happiness. Additionally, as Pierre pursues a passion and natural brilliance for music, he must also face traditional expectations of masculinity brought on by his father. In addition to Pierre's experiences, the adults in the story bring up such topics as marriage, infidelity, financial stability, small town dynamics, addiction, and family. The characters are indeed flawed, but authentic.
Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
March 3, 2021
Quirky, twisty, and a moose.
Really loved the main character, Pierre.
I wasn't sure about this book, then I read a review from someone who gave it one star and who obviously hadn't finished. I'm curious as to whether its fair to rate a book that is not finished. Personally I don't think so. So someone's one star rating spurred me on to finish this one. Probably rounding up to a 4; definitely different.
Version reviewed was the audio version, which isn't listed on GoodReads as a format option.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (HighBridge Audio) and author (Marcia Butler) for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 02 Mar 2021.
Really loved the main character, Pierre.
I wasn't sure about this book, then I read a review from someone who gave it one star and who obviously hadn't finished. I'm curious as to whether its fair to rate a book that is not finished. Personally I don't think so. So someone's one star rating spurred me on to finish this one. Probably rounding up to a 4; definitely different.
Version reviewed was the audio version, which isn't listed on GoodReads as a format option.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher (HighBridge Audio) and author (Marcia Butler) for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 02 Mar 2021.
March 7, 2021
Revolving around a twelve year old boy, a pregnant moose the story is a bit full of quirky characters, a storyline that is not the usual one. The boy loses his memory and does not want to get it back as all it leads to is a lot of pain and confusion.
I found it rather tough going though I did complete the book.
I found it rather tough going though I did complete the book.
February 10, 2021
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/2021/0...
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/2021/0...
March 1, 2021
Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler is a hard book to describe. It definy isn't what I thought it would be.
A moose that seems to know who are the right humans to trust. A little boy, Pierre, who gets hurt my the moose and loses his memory.. A mom who does.pills, a dad who works at the local mill, butchers meat illegally on the side and a son, Pierre, whoblikea to read.
There was so much behind the scenes stuff that happens that does no become clear until the end and even then the ending seemed rushed. All in all, this book did not flow for me and was hard to get in to. 3⭐
A moose that seems to know who are the right humans to trust. A little boy, Pierre, who gets hurt my the moose and loses his memory.. A mom who does.pills, a dad who works at the local mill, butchers meat illegally on the side and a son, Pierre, whoblikea to read.
There was so much behind the scenes stuff that happens that does no become clear until the end and even then the ending seemed rushed. All in all, this book did not flow for me and was hard to get in to. 3⭐
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