Odder than Ever by Bruce Coville

Every once in a great while, I’ll read a book and just wonder, ‘where the fuck has this author been this whole time?’

Imagine my surprise when I searched for Bruce Coville and found hundreds of results.

Odder than Ever is one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve encountered in a long while.

I wasn’t expecting much because first, I bought this book because I liked the cover and when I do that I’m pretty much always disappointed.

Second, short story collections, even from the greatest authors, are usually hit and miss.

And lastly, it’s children’s fiction and while some of the greatest literature ever written falls under this category, there are at least a thousand shitty kids books for every one profound work of art.

Odder than Ever is one of those rare works. There are nine stories in this collection and not a single misfire.

Coville approaches the universe he has created as if the world were a carnival and each protagonist had his own little booth in a side freak show.

Some of the stories are truly unsettling, (There’s Nothing Under the Bed & The Japanese Mirror) while others are hysterical (The Giant’s Tooth & Am I Blue) while others are filled with simple wonder (The Metamorphosis of Justin Jones & I, Earthling)

As far as children’s literature goes, this belongs up there with the best works of Carroll and Dahl.

And it ranks up there with Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkeyhouse & Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes when it comes to short fiction anthologies.

So run, run to Half Price Books and you might still find this on an endcap for only $6.

Go on.

Coraline by the great Neil Gaiman

We have eyes and we have nervses
We have tails we have teeth
You’ll all get what you deservses
When we rise from underneath

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Any list of the greatest minds of the 20th century would have to include, along with people like Einstein and Hawking, Dr. Seuss and I am officially declaring Neil Gaiman to be his successor. You can see parts of Seuss, Clive Barker, E E Cummings, Lewis Carrol and Kafka in Gaiman’s work, but it is not at all derivative. His vision is fresh and full of imagination. And it’s a tightrope Gaiman walks, painting genuinely frightening images that are still suitable for children. Coraline is made from the same stuff as nightmares and beautiful fantasies alike. Yes, it’s a kids book, but suck it up and read it anyway because, like The Cat and the Hat, it is also a work of art.

Grimm's Grimmest

Grimm’s Grimmest is a collection of some of the Brothers’ Grimm’s stories with an introduction by Maria Tatar and illustrated by Tracy Arah Dockray. Evidently, these fairy tales, as originally told were hardly suitable for children. I have to say, it’s been quite a while since I’ve laughed out loud this hard at a book. The scenarios are horrifying, grotesque and simply hilarious. It’s awesome how casually they are with the brutality. You’ll just be reading a nice little fairy tale and then, all of a sudden, you’re reading something like, “After this, he caught a cat and gouged his eyes out.” How can you not like that? My favorites were The Juniper Tree and The Goose Maid. Fucking hysterical.

The Books of the Abarat

Books #1 & #2 of the Abarat by Clive Barker are a kind of odd mixture in tone between The Thief of Always and Imajica. Much like Thief, it has a very innocent and childlike quality, making it three books total that I can have Ethan read (Ethan is my 14 year old son, for those of you who don't know me.) but Barker also develops a rich, fascinating world like he did with Imajica.. Also, the Books of the Abarat feature some of his greatest villains and monsters to date. Christopher Carrion, who wears his nightmares, translucent eel-like creatures, around his face in a tank, breathing them in and out is both frightening and pitiful. He's kind of a mix between The Jaff & Kissoon from The Great and Secret Show, only without the shit & cum worms. (If you've read Show, you know what I'm talking about, if you haven't, don't ask.)

And then there's Mater Mosley, Carrion's grandmother with her army of stitchlings, creatures sewn together, filled with mud and brought to life. When Carrion was a child, she sewed his mouth shut because he said the word 'love.' Now that's a fucking grandma.