Book Thoughts: The Oddfits by Tiffany Tsao

The Oddfits by Tiffany Tsao
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An odd, interesting book that is a quick read.

The book tells the story of Murgatroyd Floyd, a boy growing up in Singapore, and who is very much out of place. The reason for why he is so out of place is fleshed out through the book, with some of that being inherit (him being an "oddfit"), and some of it environmental (his parents "childrearing techniques"). He eventually finds some semblance of normalcy in his job as a waiter at an upscale, unique restaurant, though he still lives with his parents and is out of place whenever he isn't working. He then is greeted by a woman named Ann, who informs him that he is an Oddfit that doesn't belong in the Known World, but should be exploring the More Known World.

Obviously, the book as fantasy or science-fiction elements to it, but it doesn't really develop those realities as much as many other books in the genre do (at least that I've read). That's not a criticism per se, and it may very well be intentional as this is a first book in a planned series. That said, the book leaves so much unexplained and unexplored that even in subsequent books more world-building and explaining will need to be done, which would effect pacing and plot development. There's no reason given for why any of these different types of people exist. There's no reason given for why the "known world" seems to have agency in the book, or least is portrayed as having agency (and if and why its important).

Also, the characters aren't quite as developed as they could be, which is to be expected considering the brevity of the book. But even the main character, who should be entirely sympathetic to readers, is distant in the pages. There are sections of the book where the author provides lengthy histories of some of the characters, but its difficult as the reader to figure out the purpose. Except for one character, it doesn't help explain their actions or behaviors; it just seems to fill up space. And one of the minor characters decisions near the end of the book, that leads to the climactic point of the story, just has no bearing to reality - so trying to understand it, without further depth to that character, or further understanding of the "world" in which the novel takes place, makes that climactic build up very confusing.

Having said that, the book reads fast (I finished in less than 3 days). This is not because of great pacing and fast-paced plot (though the pacing is not bad), but because the author's writing is solid, and flows very well. Not a book for everyone, probably would not recommend it for anyone who is not planning on reading the rest of the series (whenever published) (and I'm not sure if I will or not), but a decent read nonetheless.

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