I started out enjoying this book but a little bit further I to it i found some disturbing co tent and decided to stop reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc. I went in blind, I just saw the cover and loved it and wanted to read it. This was a really good and fun read. I enjoyed it very much. I would rate this book a 4.5 stars.

Author Rose Keating has written an immensely entertaining and thought provoking series of short stories in her work Oddbody. This will not be everyone's cup of tea, but like with any great endeavor, the journey matters most. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Oddbody is a deeply unsettling book, but that is done with intention. I think Rose Keating has really nailed the anxiety, the trauma, and the terror of losing control of your own body in ways that are poignant and at times hard to look at. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with most of the stories in this collection and some are stronger than others, but overall... if you don't mind existential dilemmas and a bit of body horror, these tales are enthralling and hard to turn away from despite the subject matter.

Oddbody by Rose Keating is a chilling and thought-provoking exploration of body horror, driven by the author’s exceptional writing. Keating's narrative weaves a gripping tale of transformation, where the protagonist, whose body begins to change in grotesque and unexplainable ways, is forced to confront the terrifying implications of losing control over one's own physical form.

The writing in Oddbody is superb—immersive, detailed, and laced with an eerie tension that keeps readers on edge. Keating’s prose captures both the visceral horror of the protagonist’s deteriorating body and the emotional turmoil of living in a body that no longer feels like one's own. The descriptions are vivid and disturbing, creating a palpable sense of discomfort that lingers long after turning the page. The horror here is not just about grotesque physical transformation, but also about the psychological unraveling that accompanies it.

In terms of body horror, Keating excels by examining the fragility of the human body in a way that is deeply unsettling yet compelling. The book raises profound questions about identity, autonomy, and the horror of losing control over one's most intimate self—our bodies. Oddbody is a striking, disturbing read, showcasing Rose Keating's talent for crafting both psychological and physical terror.

Oddbody: Stories by Rose Keating is an impressive debut collection made up of ten relatively short stories. As you can probably infer from the title, most of these stories are focused on the body and there’s a good dose of visceral body horror in almost every one. The protagonists are of the slant so popular in a lot of contemporary litfic today: the seemingly apathetic, burdened, and often bafflingly passive young woman/girl. While this gives the collection a tone of sameness throughout many of the stories, each one has its own startling take (which is often where the body horror comes in) that makes it unique. The tone of apathy comes in in the way shocking and often grotesque realities surrounding these characters (and their bodies) are related to the reader through minimal prose and scant description of emotions. And yet, Keating displays a striking ability to convey a lot in a very few words.

The descriptions of bodily functions, trauma, and injuries that make up the horror of these stories often made reading them an uncomfortable experience, but once I sat with them and took the time to process the meaning and message of each work, they became that much more impactful and appreciated. Of course, I won’t say that I “got” them all, but I do love the use of body horror to reflect emotional and psychological trauma and Keating does it well.

My favorites included:

“Oddbody” – This is probably the most on the nose story in the collection, a metaphor for depression and mental illness, but it was still pretty devastating.

“Pineapple” - A woman in a stifling relationship undertakes of new hobby of extreme body modification.

“The Vegetable” - A woman living alone tends the isolated family farm which has an unusual harvest, when a potentially threatening stranger sets up camp nearby. This is the story from which the beautiful cover art is taken.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a digital advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. Oddbody: Stories is set for release July 1, 2025. I’d highly recommend this one for fans of weird girl lit and body horror. I’m excited to see what Rose Keating comes out with next.

Releasing July 1st is Oddbody, the intriguing, and sometimes downright bizarre, debut short story collection from Rose Keating.

I find this collection to be aptly named as the stories are a bit odd and the main focus of it all is body horror. Even weeks later, I am still trying to work out if I enjoyed these stories and like them in a strictly traditional sense, but there is no denying that this collection, as a whole, has impact. These stories are not easily shaken off—especially “The Vegetable”, which provides the collection with an admirably strong finish. These tales will work their way into the deepest crevices of the back of your mind and set up camp for as long as they want to. Another thing I will say confidently: Not only would I re-read Oddbody, but I would also gladly read more from Keating and recommend Oddbody to the right readers. One of the best things an author can do, to get me reading, is to pique my curiosity and Oddbody has definitely managed that. I suppose, then, I’ll be hopefully looking forward to more releases from Rose Keating.

Many thanks to Simon Books for the digital ARC!

Oddbody is a strange and unique collection of ten short stories that all revolve around women and women’s bodies. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. I don’t read a lot of weird lit, but I am drawn to the genre. These stories were very odd and a little too weird for me, but I did think they were very imaginative, and the writing was visceral and captivating. Some of the stories were very sexual in nature. There is also a lot of body horror.

My favorite stories in this collection are Oddbody, Bella Lugosi Isn’t Dead, and Next To Cleanliness.

I would recommend this short story collection to lovers of weird fiction. I did enjoy the author’s writing style, so I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

3.5⭐️

David Cronenberg + Junji Ito, Oddbody is a potent collection of short stories observing the female experience in today's society (relationship, sex, beauty standard, etc), through the wonderfully grotesque imagination of Rose Keating. Thoughtfully written with intense frankness, this might not be suitable for the faint of heart, as the stories and description involve a lot of body distortion, violence, and very detailed, textural description of unearthly things. (the cover art is beautiful and peculiar, but how this 'thing' actually shows up in its story is much more monstrous and unsettling.)

My only small gripe is the overall curation; there's a bit of redundancy with some of the stories featuring very similar characters and scenarios—it's as if the author has written versions of the same story, and simply put all the iterations here to beef up the page count. Still, overall this is an excellent introduction to a new-to-me author, and definitely a fresh literary voice I will keep my eye on in the future. Personal favorites from the collection: Oddbody, Squirm, Pineapple.

- - -

Oddbody: 4.5 stars
A great opener, a dark comedy about a woman and her 'third wheel' ghost. Very candid and readable. It can easily be interpreted metaphorically.

Squirm: 5 stars
This is some Junji Ito level weirdness and I love it!

Mouthful: 4 stars
Kirby comes to mind! Another enjoyable, visceral read, if very short and ends rather abruptly.

Bela Lugosi Isn't Dead: 3.75 stars
Quite a fever dream, a whirlwind of ideas and interesting juxtapositions, feels a little frenzy and unfocused as a whole.

Pineapple: 5 stars
Exploring being comfortable in one's skin in a literal sense—has some very unsettling scenes that give me goosebumps.

Next to Cleanliness: 4 stars
Still really good, but feels like a remix of elements already seen in some of the previous stories. At this point the impact is not hitting as hard.

Notes on Performance: 3.5 stars
An interesting reversal focusing on the 'non-final' girls in a slasher, but could've gone much deeper.

Eggshells: 4 stars
A very outlandish, fascinating premise, it's more vibe than plot, but I really enjoyed it.

The Test: 3.75 stars
Really like the fairy tale elements (vastly different from all the previous stories), the ending is a little strange and inconclusive.

The Vegetable: 4 stars
Similar to my reaction to Eggshells, containing a very memorable key visual, but the narrative surrounding it emphasizes more on vibe than plot.

Interesting in premise, I found the writing to be hard to follow and I was not a fan of the main character. there were one or two supporting characters that stood out to me but all in all, one that I will not revisit.

A collection of horror and speculative fiction stories that draw from a feminist perspective. The stories were all very different and encourage us to rethink our relationship to our bodies, femininity, and relationships.

This book is for the weird litfic girly pops! It’s a dark short story collection about women; bodily/psychological functions, shame, sex, the spectrum of emotion, outsider/outcast perceptions, and all of it in relation to other people and circumstances. Next to Cleanliness, Notes on Performance, and The Test were my favorites! I really enjoyed this book. All the stories packed a punch and some of them make you feel a little squeamish, either from relatability or description. There’s literally a story called Squirm. It’s a very intricate weirdness, horrific, but worth the ride. I’ve definitely not read anything like it! I love Irish writers.

TW: There's some animal stuff that may be a no-no for some. Not too graphic but if that subject matter is off limits to you, keep it in mind before reading.

Oddbody comes out on July 1st. Thank you so much to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the arc!

This collection of body horror stories is absolutely fantastic. Using the body as a way to explore how women are treated and seen in society, the stories range from tragic and sad to absolutely disgusting (that’s a good thing). The standouts for me were Squirm, maybe the grossest story but still so sad and interesting and Notes on Performance which is just spectacularly disturbing and brilliant. Definitely a writer I will be on the lookout to see what they do next.

I really thought I would enjoy "Oddbody" because I love short story collections, but this one left me feeling psychically ill. Apparently, I'm starting to realize I'm not a fan of body horror. Some of the stories are decent, but very lackluster. And some stories are downright disgusting and too graphic. I felt like the author wanted the "shock and awe" factor, and it just doesn't work. This collection turned me off. A lot of the stories felt unnecessary and redundant. There wasn't enough variety and the ick factor is high for this one. If you don't mind stories that make you squeamish, then you might enjoy this. As for me, it basically grossed me out. The only thing I loved was the stunning cover art.

This one was tough to get through. I’m typically alright with most types of body horror, however when there are aspects of r*pe and animal abuse, I can’t stomach it.

Rose Keating projected some of the most horrific depictions of body horror within Oddbody — a collection of stories that left an unsettlingly bitter taste in my mouth.

Content warnings are necessary for this one — but I am still thankful for the opportunity to try this one out. Thank you to Simon Books, Rose Keating, and Netgalley for the digital access before it hits shelves on July 1, 2025.

this collection of short stories claims to “defy societal norms and invite you to question the conventions and milestones that determine success”. either these stories went over my head or they all failed to accomplish that goal. these stories are definitely odd and i could see many of them had a deeper meaning but they never went deep enough. i wanted to leave every story thinking about the fate of the characters and wonder why they did what they did but i didn’t care for any of the characters at all. the stories ended before i could grasp what the author wanted to say. this was a letdown.

3.5 stars ⭐️

love that somebody finally wrote a story about the age old dilemma of ‘would you still love me if i was a worm’

but on a serious note I usually hate when people say short stories didn’t feel fully fleshed out because I don’t necessarily think they always need to feel complete, however a lot of these stories ended so abruptly despite having a really unique/intriguing premise and I just wish the author had explored those ideas more and followed through with the set ups she created :(

really loved the way the author explored the daily expectations and challenges of womanhood through extreme body horror angles though and if it hadn’t of been for the abrupt endings this would’ve been a 4 star so would definitely read anything the author publishes in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review!!!

I love weird girl lit, and this anthology was super fun to read. Speculative horror fiction is my favorite. These stories had everything from metaphors to dream like narratives. Definitely check this collection out if you love these types of stories!

3.5 rounded up. So odd. Just, so odd and weird and unique. I'm captivated by the writing style, and horrified by the contents of each short story. Keating has masterfully created unique body horror with such a somber, intimate tone. I had to stop and pause after each story to reflect on what I'd just read.

'Oddbody' will not be for every reader. There's body horror, animal abuse, extreme kinks, suicidal ideation, domestic abuse, and animal abuse/death. Lots of blood and fluids. However, with the rise in popularity of splatterpunk, I could see this in libraries that also have books like Tender is the Flesh, or any random Chuck Palahniuk title on the shelf.

I can't say I'd read this again, but it's a solid addition to the horror genre with some unique imagery I've never read before - and hope to never read again.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

This one was a tough read and honestly I couldn't stomach it.. I generally handle body horror and horror in general well, but when it includes animal abuse and r*pe - that's a no for me. This definitely needs some content warnings for people. It was effective in getting its message across I suppose because I was horrified.

This one just wasn't for me.