There will be murders.
Can you risk your life to save people?
이 글은 <Odd Thomas>를 읽고 영어로 쓴 독후감이다. 우리말로 된 독후감은 아래 링크에 있다.
Title: Odd Thomas
Written by: Dean Koontz
Note: This is the first of <Odd Thomas> series. There's a movie <Odd Thomas> based on this book.
'Odd Thomas' cover image. Source: Goodreads.When I first saw the title, I thought it was a book about 'weird Thomas', just like the title said. I found out, however, 'Odd' was the hero's name. What an odd name, and how suitable name for the character!
Odd Thomas is a twenty-year-old fry cook. And he sees dead people. Because of his proactive strategy, his life is filled with unexpected turns, adventures, and sometimes terror. When a ghost approaches him with unfinished business in this world, he tries to help resolve it. For some unknown reasons, ghosts cannot say a word to him. He has to figure out what the ghosts want all by himself.
Sometimes he can sense that there's going to be a murder. There's a supernatural being in this book called 'Bodach'. It's black like a shadow and cannot be seen as a ghost. But it's neither a shadow nor a ghost. It's just an ominous omen that can tell you there going to be murders – yes, plural – and only Odd can see the Bodach.
These Bodachs don't appear if it's just natural deaths or ordinary car accidents. But if it's mass killing, a disaster or a catastrophe, you, or rather Odd, can sure see them all around the place. They don't come to do any harm to people. They just want to enjoy this feast of massacre, terror, and blood.
Then one day a Bodach was spotted in the town where Odd lived in. At first it was one, then two, then soon tens and hundreds of them. The small and peaceful town was swarmed by Bodachs. What's going on? What will happen? Odd cannot turn to police since only he can see Bodachs; there's no physical proof about this horrible omen. He knows there will be mass killing but he doesn't know who the killer might be, or where it might happen for that matter. So begins the journey to stop the disaster.
The moment you open this book, you will follow this tragic yet mesmerizing story nonstop. There are some gross scenes but don't worry. The narrator tried his best to keep the tone of the story light, thanks to his six-fingered mentor(You'll see what this means once you read the book).
Odd himself is definitely one of the charms of this book. He's odd just like his name in so many ways. Not typical, not ordinary. But he's wonderfully odd, not weirdly odd, if you know what I mean. He can see dead people and supernatural beings. But what makes him special is not that gift, but his personality. He's a genuine, honest, and noble man. So rare kind of man in these days. If you read this story, you can't help but love him.
Another edition of 'Odd Thomas' cover image. Source: Goodreads.This was not an easy book to read in English. There were many words that I didn't know, many sentences that I couldn't figure out what they meant until I read them several times. This is a very interesting book, nonetheless. This series has total 7 books, and I'd like to read them all. That's how much I enjoyed this book.
