This is an odd 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. 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. This was an interesting read and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. but I will definitely read more by Marcia Butler!

This was the third time that I had tried to read this book and I finally made it through the very graphic first section of the book. It was very off putting to say the least and I was not sure I would ever get past that point in the book. The story that follows is the repercussions of that event. There was a lot that I did not care for with this book, especially toward the end. There was an event there that was just completely uncalled for. The saving grace for this book was Pierre and his interactions with Sandra and the ways he finds to deal with his world. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This book didn't hold my attention. I found the expedient to tell the story from the point of view of the moose a bit gimmick-y and I could not finish it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me me with a copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I very much enjoyed this story. It was wonderfully written. I look forward to the author’s next book!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF at 20%. There was some strange pacing and structural issues and I just didn’t care much for the story or characters (of which there were many!)

This book was weird. The writing was great, and I loved the moose throughout the whole story, but I didn't care much about the characters or what happened to them and the epilogue was just too...neat for the rest of the story. Quick read, though, and a different reader might wind up loving it.

DNF at 30%. I couldn't read more when the story started talking about a child being possessed by the devil and an embarrassment to his family because he liked to read. I just don't need to know how that story ends.

This book is about a small town in Maine where it seems that everyone knows everything about everyone. I'm sure the book would dive more into the happenings of the violin teacher and her husband, as well as Pierre, but I was not attached to them in the slightest so I couldn't bother to keep reading.

The story begins through the eyes of a moose who was captured by a group of men. The moose is able to escape, but their story meanders through the lives of the other characters in Oslo, first by causing a case of amnesia in a small boy, making him a "disgrace" to his family.

I found the writing to be upsettingly pretentious and I had a difficult time deciphering the point of the narrative. I just don't think this book (or author) is for me.

Also -- the cover is SO ugly.

A quirky story about a small town in Maine. Pierre, a 12 year old boy, loses his memory in an accident with a moose. As the people in the town, and his family, deal with his accident, the moose becomes a central fixture.

Butler is great at character development, but she does nothing with the story itself. I found myself at several points trying to figure out what the point of the story was. It was a fun, easy read, I just didn't love it.

Thank You Net Galley for an advanced copy of this e-galley.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book - there were too many characters introduced too early for me to keep up with and I didn’t like the concept of reading being a negative thing.

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

The intense and vivid ensnaring of a pregnant moose sets in motion a chain of events that highlights Marcia Butler's shining character work in Oslo, Maine. Relationships are at the forefront in a town where news travels swiftly and secrets are hard kept. Husbands and wives, parents and children, neighbors and friends intertwine with the doomed moose, one of the novel's briefest but most poignant narrators.

Twelve-year-old Pierre Roy suffers severe memory loss following an encounter with the trapped moose. His injury puts additional stress on his parents, Claude and Celine, who now "fling synonyms at each other" over what kind of boy Pierre is. Man's man Claude, already eaten alive by Pierre's disturbing love of books ("They'd abducted his son with stealth and breathtaking speed from the day he'd started kindergarten"), becomes more despondent when Pierre finds solace in violin lessons and the crevasse between Claude and Celine widens.

Neighbors Sandra and Jim, professional musicians, have issues and secrets of their own. Sandra is not only teaching Pierre but doing much of the housework while at Pierre's since Celine is adrift in a haze of drugs. The more Sandra helps, the closer things come to spinning out of everyone's control. Butler (Pickle's Progress) writes beautifully and with depth, each character mined for internal gems. Story is secondary, and while some plot arcs are dropped and the rest are tied up a bit too abruptly in an epilogue, the personalities that occupy Oslo, Maine are sufficiently intriguing to buoy this peculiarly engrossing tale.

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.

The writing style is heavy on description and exposition with big blocky paragraphs. I keep wanting to skim.
Great premise but I prefer more subtlety and subtext in relationships between characters. DNF

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.

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 thoroughly delightful tale.

Pierre is a shining star in a highly dysfunctional family.

Brilliant Storytelling !

Like stepping back in time to The Beans of Egypt, Maine, only this time it’s Pierre and his friends and family and a moose from Oslo, Maine. The author realistically blends those ‘from away’ with the lifelong residents of Oslo to create a story arc of a pregnant moose, it’s ill-fated offspring, and pointless death and butchery told through the experience of various residents of Oslo. Moving and original story-telling of intertwined lives and fates. Tersely compelling.

I received an ARC of Oslo, Maine by Marcia Butler. #OsloMaine #NetGalley to review.

I wanted to like this tale of three families in a small Maine town who are linked to one another despite their economic and educational disparities, It revolves in large part around Pierre, an adolescent who has lost his memory, It failed for me, however, on several levels because I didn't like the characters (save Pierre and Luc) and the plot wasn't enough to carry me through. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, This one just struck me wrong- that's on me, not on the author, who presents a portrait of a group of people struggling to move forward,

I loved the way this story started and slowly unfolded, but ultimately Butler tried too hard to tie it all up neatly. It would've been infinitely better without the epilogue, or weaving some of the most crucial bits of it into the ending more effectively.

This book was extremely disappointing. It should have been a good one for me with small town vibes and fun characters that make you feel good. Not so. The best character in the book was the momma moose and they keep trying to kill her! Some of the characters were straight up unpleasant making you want to put the book down. It was a struggle to get through. So much it should of/could of been but wasn't.

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.