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Okay, this might come as a huge shocker, but I was an English major in college. And I remember talking a lot about metaphors and what that symbol meant and what this other thing represented and all of that. But I don't ever really remember talking about what metaphors were for. As in like, what practical purpose did they

serve? I don't know. Maybe we did and I just slept through it or something, but it's a question

that's never been answered for me in clearer terms than in today's interview. It's with

author Claire Oshetsky and she's got a new book out called Shuet. It's about a mother who gives

birth to an owl. And yeah, a lot of the

reviews of the book talk about how weird that is. But as you'll hear in this interview with NPR's

Danielle Kurtzleben, it is somehow also a very real story. In the U.S., national security news can feel

far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

The new novel Shuet is a lot of things at once. It is by turns poetic, gory, heartbreaking, and strange.

Its author, Kleroschetsky, calls it a parable about motherhood, and it is an engrossing, surreal portrayal of motherhood.

Claire Oshetschetsky is here to tell us about it. Claire, welcome to the show.

Thank you, Danielle.

Now, there may be no better way to introduce this book to our listeners than to just have you read the first few paragraphs.

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