Rose Keating’s Oddbody is an inventive and deeply disquieting collection that delivers exactly what it promises - stories that stretch, prod, and dismember the human form and psyche in equal measure. These ten tales are steeped in body horror and brimming with discomfort, creating a reading experience that is as gripping as it is grotesque.

Keating’s writing is accessible and direct, which allows the surrealism and horror to take center stage without stylistic distraction. The collection hits its stride after a somewhat on-the-nose beginning; several early stories felt a bit too heavy-handed in their metaphors, which may discourage some readers from continuing. That would be a shame, as the latter half contains some truly remarkable and unsettling pieces.

Two standouts for me were "Pineapple" - a sharp portrayal of bodily autonomy and unease in intimacy, framed through extreme body modification - and "Squirm," which is, without exaggeration, one of the most disturbing stories I’ve ever read. It’s the kind of horror that latches onto something unspoken and festering in your own subconscious.

While some thematic repetition does creep in - desire, shame, mental unraveling - it doesn’t diminish the impact of each piece. There’s not a single story I would call forgettable or skippable, and that’s no small feat for a debut collection.

Oddbody isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s an easy recommendation for fans of weird lit, body horror, and anyone craving horror that crawls under your skin and stays there. It’s unsettling, yes - but it’s also bold, clever, and painfully human.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oddbody is a striking, offbeat debut that pulls you in with its stunning cover and keeps you slightly off-balance throughout. The stories are surreal, often fragmentary, and written with a dry wit that reminded me slightly of Blindboy Boatclub’s work—though Keating’s focus feels more inward than outward, more emotional than satirical.

There’s a lot of promise here. Some stories were a bit too top level, like they were deliberately keeping the reader at a distance, but others offered these sudden, disarming flashes of clarity. It didn’t all come together for me, but the originality is undeniable.