At face value, the Book of Goose is a wistful, reminiscent story about a whirlwind period in a young teen’s life. A girl from rural France with a misunderstood best friend, they decide to write a book which becomes a bestseller. The friend decides the main character take all the credit, and she is shepherded away to an English finishing school to become the protege of an overbearing headmistress. 

Unfortunately this book is plagued by a few major things that make it a slog of a read, despite an otherwise interesting premise. 

1. The writing is tepid, overly complicated, and seems like it’s trying too hard to be high-literature. “You can not cut an apple with an apple.” Is one of the many nonsense lines we’re fed from the adult protagonist. 

2. The best friend is so over the top terrible. While she’s supposed to be an unloved, uncouth peasant girl she comes off as a raging sociopath who is horribly abusive to Agnès. You’re left wondering, “really? This is who the whole world spins for?” 

The way the author portrays the obsession and overwhelming preoccupation with Fabienne that borders on Sapphic interest is the best part of the book. It is so accurate for those young female friendships that burn brightly but then putter out. Unfortunately you’re left wondering WHY is the obsession so great between the characters as they very often seem to dislike each other when they’re not writing love letters.  

3. Agnès, our narrator, had about as much agency and decisiveness as a pool noodle. She’s completely passive unless it’s obsessing over Fabienne. She has truly no personal qualities besides being more pleasant than her friend. 



My final qualm (a joke, but worth mentioning) is that there are only 2 or 3 mere mentions of Geese. Barely enough goose content to be called the Book of Goose.