Todd Becomes Odd*

"I wrote this manuscript nonetheless, as writing is my therapy."

The reviews were right. Dean’s Odd Thomas is hilarious. He seems odd, but he’s good. They are both good.

The story is presented in a first person point-of-view which is what I mostly prefer. Although I haven’t read the first two books, this 2006 book still makes the new readers catch up if ever that they start with the third book, just like what I did. I was able to watch the movie adaptation of the first book and I can’t tell for sure of its closeness to the book but the way I see it, the essence was preserved.

The reason why Odd went some place away from hometown is to find new meaning, purpose, to his life, to think about how to go after what happened in his first manuscript. I get it. I can relate to that. There are times that we need to think, to re-evaluate things, perspectives; somehow, to take a break and start over.

At St. Bartholomew’s, he met new friends. Like anything else we experience, he found it right to share what makes him different over time. He took the risk because he grew to trust them and although it’s not something easy to grasp, they were patient and open-minded. It was worth it for Odd.

For us, when we think of sharing a big part of us, there’s the tendency to be doubtful, to be scared, because of uncertainty. Admit it or not, we cannot say how it will go until we do it, until we are at the moment. It’s kind of how will we handle what happens next if people react negatively. It’s hard but the choice will come from us.

I admire Odd’s courage to face what’s unknown to most people. It is something we need. Although it is far from comparison to what Odd sees, I am speaking in general.

I also like the way he converse with people, it is formal and intellectual, the degree of respect is present. It amuses me. I’m sort of formal myself. I’ll say this is a good book.

Notable Ideas

~The only thing I know for sure is how much I do not know. Maybe there is wisdom in that recognition.
~I had only asked God for a time-out, which had been granted, but now the clock was ticking again.
~He incorporated the hiss to remind himself that in every human enterprise, no matter with what virtuous intentions it is undertaken, a serpent lurks.
~Although I had no idea what he meant by that, I didn’t press him for an explanation. He said many things I didn’t fully understand, and I didn’t want our relationship to become a verbal sonata to which a rhythmic Huh? Huh? Huh? was my only contribution.
~“…That’s what I’m afraid of. The things I’ll have to do.”
~As a desert-town boy, I was raised in fierce dry heat, which does not distract, but tends to enervate or to toughen the sinews of the mind and focus thought. I felt displaced in this cold and whirling chaos, and not entirely myself.
~Some people like to hear themselves talk, but I like to hear myself silent.
~You can’t fix things with a hug, but you can’t make them any worse, either.
~Irrational fear feeds on itself and grows. You must deny it.
~“…I was just, you know, overcome by a sense of the unknown.”
~“I didn’t open the door,“ I said. “ I just showed him where the knob was and which way it turned.”
~That is the best of all things we can do for one another: Make the dark small.
~“I may come back one day,” I said, “but now this isn’t the place for me.”

--------------------------------------------------

*His name is supposed to be Todd but there was a mistake and it became Odd, according to his parents.