about me

I like to read a lot. Online you can find me on Goodreads, where I review contemporary fiction enthusiastically (or sometimes cantankerously) while in the guise of my fashion-conscious alter-ego, 'lark benobi,' here.

 

I like to go to art museums. I like to watch the people as much as see the art. Here are some recent photos I've taken of people in art museums.

 

My author's bio might read like this:

 

Claire Oshetsky is the author of the novels EVIL GENIUS (February 2026) POOR DEER (January 2024) and CHOUETTE (November 2021).

 

EVIL GENIUS is a comic novel about a young woman who fantasizes about how to rid herself of her abusive husband, little knowing that the universe is listening.

 

POOR DEER is about a girl learning to forgive herself for a fatal mistake she made as a child. It was named a "Best Book of 2024" by the New Yorker and the audiobook adaptation, read by Sophie Amoss, is a finalist for the 2025 Audie Award Audiobook of the Year.

 

CHOUETTE is about a woman who gives birth to an owl. It was longlisted for the Pen/Faulkner award for fiction and won the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. It was a finalist for the Barbellion Prize, dedicated to the furtherance of disabled voices in literature, and a finalist for the 2022 Otherwise Prize, awarded to works of science fiction or fantasy that explore gender roles.

 

Claire's short fiction has been featured in Fiction International, Chicago Quarterly Review, Catamaran, Alaska Quarterly, Hayden's Ferry, North American Review, Massachusetts Review, and others. 

 

Claire also wrote THE BOOK OF DOG BY LARK BENOBI, an apocalyptic romp that was named one of the ten best eco-fiction books of 2018 by Brit & Co.

 

Claire lives in Santa Cruz, California.