Odd Thomas (Post #3)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a complete nerd; I love reading books. However, being in mostly English classes in college slightly turned me into a book snob. I realized this when Mr. Land suggested that I read a book called Odd Thomas written by Dean Koontz. Judging from Koontz’s books that I’d skimmed through and heard about from other people, I had decided that I wouldn’t enjoy reading his work. It was too over-the-top, too fantastical, and too ‘un-literary.’ But, as is often the case with hasty judgments, I was proven wrong. Not only did I greatly enjoy the narrative voice of this book, but I also became a fan of the way that Koontz uses language. Great writing found in a book other than a ‘classic’? No way!

So, here we go—a top ten (well, five because it was taking up the whole page) list of reasons I like the book, Odd Thomas.

1. Koontz makes the narrative funny. Several times, I found myself laughing at the observations of the narrator. For example, while discussing God and his system of rewards and punishes, Odd (the narrator’s first name) recalls his Granny’s perspective. “He’ll cut you some slack if you’re astonishingly stupid in an amusing fashion. Granny claimed that this explains why uncountable millions of breathtakingly stupid people get along just fine in life” (5).

2. Koontz is a great sentence builder. As you read through the book, you can find all sorts of different types of sentences that add amazing variety to the writing. Here’s one of my favorites: “Smelling like a peach, as Stormy likes me, not afraid of Death, having eaten a blueberry muffin, saying good-bye to Elvis with the words ‘Taking care of business’ in a lousy imitation of his voice, I set off for work at the Pico Mundo Grille (8).

3. Speaking of great sentences, I was also able to find lots of examples of figurative language. Believe it or not, all those examples of similes, metaphors, personification, etc, are not just reserved solely for ‘classic’ literature. “Like a pair of looms, using sunshine and their own silhouettes, two enormous California oaks wove veils of gold and purple, which they flung across the driveway” (9).

4. While the book was easy to read and comprehend, Koontz sprinkled some great vocab words throughout the novel. I actually had to stop and pick up a dictionary for a couple of them. They aren’t words I see every day.

5. It’s just a neat story. When I first heard about the book, I was definitely dreading the triteness of another “I see dead people” story. But, Odd Thomas, refreshingly, wasn’t the same old story. How many other “I see dead people” stories use the spirit of Elvis as a minor character who assists the protagonist? It’s great. Also, the story is able to balance a nice blend of hilarious commentary, suspenseful detective work, and serious issues such as moral responsibility, terrorism, and child abuse. Oh, and there’s a big twist at the end. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Koontz totally surprises you, which is very cool.