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A review by somewheregirl7
The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy
3.0
I almost put this book down after making it through the first quarter of the book. The premise and characters and every little thing was wacky and absurd with seemingly little purpose. I don't like that style of writing and never have - odd for odd's sake doesn't appeal to me and *gasp* I am one of the few who is not a fervent fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This book feels quite similar in tone and content with a bit of Lewis Carrol's whimsy thrown in.
However, after that first dismal quarter, I was firmly snagged and couldn't put the book down. The story only really started for me when Jo and Lilly reach Eldritch City. The character development, progression and conflict from that point forward are well done and more than offset the absurdity.
Kennedy's writing is full of rich details and grand sweeping gestures - boldly painted pictures that drip with description and detail. The dialogue is one of the strongest areas of the book and he captured many of the characters very well. Jo's character is the most interesting to me and the most developed.
The absurd tone and bizarre details and events continued throughout the story. Often doing little to add to the main narrative. Large passages were devoted to very graphic descriptions of bodily functions, carnage, etc. It was almost loving done and a bit disturbing.
Also, as an adult reader, I felt as though there was a lot of subtext beneath the main story. Some of it pretty disturbing. The Belgian Prankster, the book's villain, is psychotically over-done in the grand tradition of comic book villains and his interactions with Jo later in the book made me very uncomfortable.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
IN
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In the scene in the insane asylum where Jo goes to the Belgian Prankster it almost felt like a rape scene and that was the subtext I was reading into it. Also, the way that Ian is treated by Una, the mobster boss, is really disturbing. He's around Jo's age, so about 13, and here this middle-aged woman is actively pursing him and almost sexually assaulting the kid in public while openly saying how much she wants to have sex with him. And none of the characters other than Jo and Ian seem at all uncomfortable with that - it's just lightly passed off. Also, the redemption of Ken Kiang felt contrived as did most of the sections that involved him. Kiang is one characters that was very 2-dimensional and never really achieved any depth.
Despite my gripes above this was a fun, quick read and it had me smiling often. Kennedy occasionally surprises with an insightful statement hidden in a tangle of satirical comments. I was also glad that Kennedy did not magically bring Lily back to life - it would have cheapened her death scene which was very poignant.
However, after that first dismal quarter, I was firmly snagged and couldn't put the book down. The story only really started for me when Jo and Lilly reach Eldritch City. The character development, progression and conflict from that point forward are well done and more than offset the absurdity.
Kennedy's writing is full of rich details and grand sweeping gestures - boldly painted pictures that drip with description and detail. The dialogue is one of the strongest areas of the book and he captured many of the characters very well. Jo's character is the most interesting to me and the most developed.
The absurd tone and bizarre details and events continued throughout the story. Often doing little to add to the main narrative. Large passages were devoted to very graphic descriptions of bodily functions, carnage, etc. It was almost loving done and a bit disturbing.
Also, as an adult reader, I felt as though there was a lot of subtext beneath the main story. Some of it pretty disturbing. The Belgian Prankster, the book's villain, is psychotically over-done in the grand tradition of comic book villains and his interactions with Jo later in the book made me very uncomfortable.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
IN
1
2
3
In the scene in the insane asylum where Jo goes to the Belgian Prankster it almost felt like a rape scene and that was the subtext I was reading into it. Also, the way that Ian is treated by Una, the mobster boss, is really disturbing. He's around Jo's age, so about 13, and here this middle-aged woman is actively pursing him and almost sexually assaulting the kid in public while openly saying how much she wants to have sex with him. And none of the characters other than Jo and Ian seem at all uncomfortable with that - it's just lightly passed off. Also, the redemption of Ken Kiang felt contrived as did most of the sections that involved him. Kiang is one characters that was very 2-dimensional and never really achieved any depth.
Despite my gripes above this was a fun, quick read and it had me smiling often. Kennedy occasionally surprises with an insightful statement hidden in a tangle of satirical comments. I was also glad that Kennedy did not magically bring Lily back to life - it would have cheapened her death scene which was very poignant.