The Oddfits

Told in a long narrative style with minimal dialogue (or action for that matter), this feels much more like a fairy tale fantasy than more traditional works- which is probably why it is billed as "Literary Fantasy" (a new one on me). Although not a translated work- the author is multi-lingual- it does have the style and rhythm I've found in translated Asian novels.

Overall the story was just... odd. From the Singapore setting to the bizarre and unpleasant people in Murgatroyd's life everything is off-kilter. It's like a Dali painting- beautiful, vivid, detailed but everything uncomfortably askew. And although it ultimately makes sense, it is uncomfortable to witness Murgatroyd's torment. Which is pretty much the entire book. Another author might have told this whole story in two or three chapters and moved on to "More Known World" adventures but this one is all about the journey with only glimpses of the "More Known World".

I hate to repeat myself but I wish Amazon had more star ratings. One, two and five stars are pretty easy but there are just too many variations of "I Like it" and "It's OK". On the one hand, this is beautifully written and I would like to see how Murgatroyd develops. And in spite of having recently loaded up on books (yea gift card!), I couldn't stop reading this. But on the other, none of the other characters were very interesting nor were the glimpses of More Known World. I just don't think it engaged me enough that I'll look for more.

So I'll have to say that for me this was just OK but those who prefer general fiction to genre fiction may enjoy it more.