Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love femgore as a genre and some of these stories really hit, but the amount of animal death in here bothered me too much to rate this higher.
Some of my favorite stories in the collection:
- "Oddbody" - A woman deals with a codependent ghost that has latched onto her.
- "Squirm" - A daughter takes care of her father that has turned into a worm.
- "Pineapple" - A woman gets a series of animal-like body modifications done by an artist.
From heavy-handed metaphors about womanhood to outright gross body horror, this collection has it all. It was certainly an experience to read, but one that I very much enjoyed. As I mentioned though, I have to talk about the fact that there is quite a bit of animal death in multiple of the stories. I'm not someone who appreciates when writers put that in their horror novels, so unfortunately it really hurt the rating of this collection.
Some of my favorite stories in the collection:
- "Oddbody" - A woman deals with a codependent ghost that has latched onto her.
- "Squirm" - A daughter takes care of her father that has turned into a worm.
- "Pineapple" - A woman gets a series of animal-like body modifications done by an artist.
From heavy-handed metaphors about womanhood to outright gross body horror, this collection has it all. It was certainly an experience to read, but one that I very much enjoyed. As I mentioned though, I have to talk about the fact that there is quite a bit of animal death in multiple of the stories. I'm not someone who appreciates when writers put that in their horror novels, so unfortunately it really hurt the rating of this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Odd is the perfect albeit understating word to describe the collection. I believe the goal of all the stories was to show a slice-of-life of a weird alternative/speculative fantastical and horrifying world, while creeping out and disturbing the reader: that goal was definitely reached for me. After all the stories I needed a bit of a breather to catch my breath and my thoughts, def not a bingeable book. I wouldn’t say there is meant to be a profound moral of the story for all the stories, since they barely are stories, not in the traditional sense with an arch of a plot. But all of the “stories” still definitely had something to say, and I wouldn’t be surprised to catch myself thinking back to some of them later. I felt things while reading, which I guess is ultimately the point. Also a gorgeous cover!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Medical content
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Blood
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I absolutely loved Oddbody. Each story left me wanting more. Rose Keating has a way of dropping you into a fantastical world with no explanation but making it feel completely normal. The stories were visceral, fascinating and bizarre. They had a great element of body horror that left you squirming but not absolutely disgusted. Anyone who is a fan of weird girl literature will love this collection as much as I did. The writing was superb. My favorite stories were definitely Pineapple and Mouthful but really they were all incredible. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future. Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy
I think too much of this went over my head to be a five but I’ve been thinking about it a lot so maybe it is. This short story collection is bizarre and visceral I could not look away. Lots of body horror and commentary on the human experience packed into these tales. My favorites were “squirm” in which a woman takes care of her father who has turned into a worm and “pineapple” where a woman undergoes more and more extreme body modifications. Oh hell I’m just going to go for a five. I already want to reread some of them.
Thank you to net galley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. One I want to own physically for sure.
Thank you to net galley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. One I want to own physically for sure.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s always tough to rate anthologies but I felt this one was quite uneven yet saved by a couple of shining stories.
thank you netgalley and simon & schuster for an arc of this title! these weird little stories really channel some dark, abject themes, exploring the limits of the body. as it seems with any collection, some stories were stronger than others—my favorites were “pineapple” and “notes on performance.” some of the language was a bit superfluous and extravagant, but it fed the narratives well.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.
Oddbody is a very impressive short story collection. The writing is so strong that I was very surprised to see that this is a debut collection. The stories are unabashedly weird - "literary bizarro" is the term that keeps coming to mind. Absolutely bonkers situations are presented in a very mundane way, making them all the more unsettling. 4 stars
Oddbody ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Squirm ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Mouthful ⭐⭐⭐
Bela Lugosi Isn't Dead ⭐⭐⭐
Pineapple ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Next to Cleanliness ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Notes on Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eggshells ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
The Test ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Vegetable ⭐⭐⭐
Oddbody is a very impressive short story collection. The writing is so strong that I was very surprised to see that this is a debut collection. The stories are unabashedly weird - "literary bizarro" is the term that keeps coming to mind. Absolutely bonkers situations are presented in a very mundane way, making them all the more unsettling. 4 stars
Oddbody ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Squirm ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Mouthful ⭐⭐⭐
Bela Lugosi Isn't Dead ⭐⭐⭐
Pineapple ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Next to Cleanliness ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Notes on Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eggshells ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
The Test ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Vegetable ⭐⭐⭐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Sexual assault