Using the above definition of “odd,” the nine books below all have odd plots. They all take place in a world that looks, mostly, like the one I live in, but the plot takes us somewhere that we never would have predicted — somewhere wholly unexpected — and these books just continue to turn into increasingly unexpected corners. You think you’re heading for breakfast and you end up in a baby seal beauty pageant, judging the swimsuit competition. Therefore, I am calling them odd. Of course, let me say that I find “odd” to be a truly affectionate term. Literature, no disrespect, can sometimes be predictable — there are, after all, only a finite number of plots out there in the world. These books, which are “different from what is usual or expected” stand out, are ODD — and I think that’s glorious. Now, I think this is a good list, but I haven’t read every book and I certainly haven’t read every ODD book! Find 100 more suggestions for “strange and unusual” novels here.
