Credit: Reid Murray | Managing Editor for Design
“Poor Deer: A Novel” by Claire Oshetsky, “Wakenhyrst” by Michelle Paver and “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
Lucy’s Little Library is a monthly book column that recommends three must-reads to Ohio State’s literature lovers.
Dear reader, it’s time to embrace darkness and decay with open arms.
When thunder booms or lightning strikes, nothing beats cracking open a gothic novel for some company. Luckily, these three titles are prepped and poised to be readers’ brooding buddies.
Please note the featured books are arranged in ascending order from lowest to highest page number. In-state students can apply for a free Columbus Metropolitan Library card online or at Thompson Library’s Circulation Desk, according to the University Libraries’ website.
“Poor Deer: A Novel” (2024)
Genre(s): literary fiction, magical realism
Page count: 240
Core qualities: alluring, innovative and vulnerable
Deeply bizarre yet somehow comforting, “Poor Deer” gives childhood grief a new skin — or rather, a pelt.
The plot follows Margaret Murphy, a timid girl whose naïveté indirectly causes the death of her close friend Agnes. Her gnawing guilt — coupled with a struggle to grasp mortality — soon manifests as Poor Deer, an illusory animal companion that stalks Margaret and persistently urges her to “tell the truth” about that hazy day in Agnes’ tool shed.
Even as she ages, Margaret remains trapped by an excruciating series of what-ifs. Oshetsky’s wise decision to make “Poor Deer” a frame story, in which the outer frame sees a grown-up Margaret attempt to pen her confession, paints these regrets in stark colors.
Consuming “Poor Deer” means encountering gothic theme ideas, particularly isolation and psychological turmoil, page after page at top speed. Never has an imaginary “friend” been so superbly haunting.
Standout quote: “On this day the girl feels so much love pouring out of her mother that she is certain her mother has the power to save her. Soon she will come to understand she can’t be saved.”
“Wakenhyrst” (2019)
Genre(s): gothic thriller
Page count: 304
Core qualities: contemplative, eerie and woeful
Stumbling through “Wakenhyrst” feels like wading into a drunken stupor that doesn’t quite belong to you.
Maud Sterne — a lonesome, misunderstood young woman — resides in a Suffolk, England manor house with her authoritative father Edmund. Surrounded by misty wetlands, she finds fragments of peace within marsh wildlife and a gentle gardener named Clem; this sparse tranquility, however, is soon threatened when Edmund begins descending into religious madness.
Beyond its stunning use of Edwardian aesthetics, this tale boldly examines repressive family dynamics and powerful self-discovery. Even the most stone-faced bookworms are bound to gasp, sigh and shed some tears while devouring “Wakenhyrst.”
Standout quote: “How can blood wash away sin? Because God says so? Well, it doesn’t! My mother’s blood didn’t wash away my father’s sin!”
(Left to right) “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë and “Wakenhyrst” by Michelle Paver. Credit: Lucy Lawler | Managing Editor for Content
“Jane Eyre” (1847)
Genre(s): gothic fiction, coming-of-age story
Page count: approximately 400, will vary based on edition
Core qualities: atmospheric, passionate and timeless
I’m fully aware “Jane Eyre” can be a hard sell for modern audiences, but there are innumerable reasons as to why it’s a gothic classic. Even this column’s initial address, “dear reader,” is a direct allusion to Brontë’s magnum opus.
Set in Victorian England, “Jane Eyre” centers around the titular character, an orphan who experiences abuse and neglect across her troubled adolescence. Jane eventually accepts a governess position at the grand but enigmatic Thornfield Hall, becoming entwined with its troubled master Edward Rochester.
As Rochester’s various secrets unravel, Jane is torn between her personal desires and moral compass, making for a darkly dramatic narrative that begs for critical interpretation. Having read “Jane Eyre” for the first time at age 17, I can confidently declare it only gets richer with age — whether you love it or love to hate it.
Standout quote: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.”
Check back in next month for another entry of “Lucy’s Little Library,” the column that recommends three must-reads to Ohio State’s literature lovers. Credit: Lucy Lawler | Managing Editor for Content
