The Odyssey Of Mrs Naomi Billingsley is the first novel by American author, Sally Stevens. Fifty-seven-year-old Mrs Naomi Billingsley is a new patient for respected psychiatrist, Dr Leonardo Birnteller, but he believes her symptoms, somewhere between psychiatric and supernatural or mystical, perhaps even religious hysteria, might make her an interesting subject for a new study.

She has already presented with wounds on the back of her hands, but when she comes in with a bullet wound to her forehead, he begins to wonder, especially when the police turn up to arrest her for killing her husband. She’s back for the next appointment, though, after an explosion at the jail allows her to slip away and reconcile with her resurrected husband.

At this point, the reader will understandably be wondering just where the story is going. Only the reader can judge if this is satisfactorily resolved. With each chapter, the story gets weirder and weirder.

On her way home from her appointment, she takes an exit off freeway to Central America while Mr Billingsley at his tango lesson, has a quick fling with a handsome vaquero, then drives back home. Next appointment, she brings a bag of garbage for review fails to garner Dr Birnteller’s interest, but he does greet Naomi in the hallway one day mounted on a white horse, clad in shining armour.

While volunteering at the hospital, Naomi is asked to give an opinion on a patient who succumbs to an unenviable fate upon her diagnosis; driving home from an appointment through snow ends up with a charismatic evangelist’s show washed into the belly of a whale.

When Naomi is concerned by Mr Billingsley becoming entranced by the seafood served in the Cat & Fiddle bar, Dr Birnteller diagnoses a longing to return to the ocean and prescribes a cure involving a lot of salt. And at a certain point, there seems to be a role reversal, with Naomi counselling Dr Birnteller.

Naomi is charged with the notification to a non-winner of a competition that ends badly; she organises a massive yard renovation; new, worrisome neighbours move in next door, the wife offering Naomi some special ingredient brownies; there’s a faceless young man in her peripheral vision; there’s a school reunion; and a ghost. This is a story that will likely appeal to fans of the bizarre.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Atmosphere Press.

I really struggled to really understand the point of this book. I felt that she lived in a blend of fantasy, reality, magic, and psychosis and it doesn't just affect her unfortunately. She somehow changes her surroundings and the lives of others. It was like she didn't see people as they actually were and that they were changed by what she thought. She has the best of intentions in things she intends to do though. I ended up feeling that this book was ok. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Magical and illusions of Mr.Naomi journey. Good book to read. Worth the time spend to read it. The plot building was too good.

Naomi is bored. That’s really what this story comes down to, but in such a wonderful way. Naomi is bored - and so she creates her own adventure. Delightful, absurd, interesting adventures in which anyone paying attention is bound to learn something, while also enjoying a laugh. Stevens’s excellent use of satire made this book a fun, but thought-provoking read. However, it’s not your typical “quick read.” You can read it as fast as you’d like, but if you don’t take the time to process what Stevens is actually trying to say, you’re going to miss it. And maybe even be a little frustrated at the oddity of the tales. Pay attention. There’s more than meets the eye to this one. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to Sally Stevens, Atmosphere Press and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

I was so excited for this one - the premise was intriguing and sounding original and quirky. Unfortunately when I started reading, I quickly realized that while it was those things, it was also confusing and disconnected and oddly flat for all the weirdness. I couldn't make any sense of what I was reading here... I kept trying to find the threads, and then when I couldn't, to read just for the experience (although that's never my preference), but this one never gelled for me. I was confused from the opening salvo and unable to keep reading despite multiple efforts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for allowing me to read an ARC of The Odyssey of Mrs. Naomi Billingsley by Sally Stevens in exchange for my honest review.

This was quite an excursion into Naomi Billinsgley's world! Farfetched, yet also intriguing. Mrs. Billingsley was certainly quirky, but definitely well-intentioned.

This was an enjoyable, yet befuddling, escape read.

This is a very strange book to read. I couldn’t relate to anything and the characters were uninspired. Definitely not one to finish.

It's difficult to review this one because I really struggled to understand the point of it. I found it amusing and I quite enjoyed the anecdotal style, but it was just so strange. I thought it would be a Walter Mitty kind of story, but Mrs Billingsley's daydreams (I think that's what they are) often spill over into reality so I was left wondering if this was magical realism or just a fairytale. Some of it was quite clever, but a lot went over my head, which was a shame. Three stars because I enjoyed the ride, but prepare to be totally baffled.

I'd like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for kindly providing me with an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this as much as I was hoping to. The language was inviting, but unfortunately that wasn't enough for me.
This book was like if a fever dream and psychedelics had a baby. I was forced to suspend my disbelief to such a level that it took away from the overall experience. Events felt disconnected from one another, which just left me feeling confused and frustrated. There were also certain events that I felt weren't handled as well as they could have been.

TW: Suicide.