Odd One Out

by Lissa Evans

Some are born odd, some achieve oddness, and some are just in the wrong place at the wrong time The Devon family's a good example: there's thirty-nine-year-old Glenn, whose main interest in life is rubbish collection; his mother, Bel, who teaches tap steps to eight-year-olds but acts as if she's running the Kirov; and his sister, Netta, who spent her early life simply being considered mad by association. Which is why she's dreading six weeks back in their company, helping them move house. Also struggling to conform are Paul Gooding, a newly qualified doctor with a highly embarrassing past; his flatmate, Armand, who's obsessed with foot hygiene; and his colleague, Carrie, who (inadvertently) keeps killing people.

Odd One Out. When enough people are out of step, they can form an army of their own...

Genres: Fiction, Humor

327 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2004

About the author

After a brief career in medicine, and an even briefer one in stand-up, Lissa Evans became a comedy producer, first in radio and then in television. Her first novel, Spencer's List, was published in 2002, and since then she has written three more books for adults (two of them longlisted for the Orange/Baileys Prize) and two for children (the first of them shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Her two most recent books for adults were set in London during the Second World War; one of them, 'Their Finest Hour and a Half' has now been made into a film entitled 'Their Finest', starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy

Reviews

[lethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book by Lissa Evans that I read, back in 2009. I borrowed it from the library in this edition:

The blurb 'When enough people are out of step, they can form an army of their own…' brought back fond memories of the film They Might Be Giants , but turned out to be rather misleading. At no point do the misfits in Odd One Out organize themselves. Never mind, I enjoyed it very much and gave it a high 3 stars, later rounded up to 4.

Both the blurb and the ugly cover annoyed me enough that when I went looking to buy my own copy, I wanted to have the Penguin edition with the cartoonish illustration on the front.

A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time for a reread, and I found it entertaining, but not as fun as I remembered. For example, I thought that the sarcastic Mr Gorman (whom I think of as a British version of Dr. Cox from Scrubs) had a much bigger role than he actually has. Also, not every character and storyline are equally interesting.

All in all, I think Evans's debut novel Spencer's List is more tightly written. That said, if you want a light, humorous, but non-chicklitty read, you could do a lot worse than picking up this book.


A couple of quotes I hadn't been able to post in the updates:

For once, he didn't say, 'You're looking as lovely as ever, Netta,' which she found rather comforting, since it implied that he might be being sincere on all the other occasions. (p. 175-176)

Armand's lunchtime lecture had been long, thorough and crashingly dull, illustrated by a number of spidery diagrams shown on an overhead projector and ending mid-sentence with a cry of anguish and a frantic, fruitless search for the missing final page. 'And thank you to Dr Roux,' as Mr Gorman had put it, 'for the thrilling cliffhanger finale. I, for one, shall not sleep tonight.' (p. 257-258)

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mildly entertaining. While I love quirkyness IRL I often have some isuess reading about it. But it wasn't terrible and I quite enjoyed it however I lost focus on it by the end.

[Samah (samahcanread_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a real laugh while reading the book. It put a lot of characters that are somehow connected into embarrassing situation, and you just get amazed by how they managed. They were this set of odd people with serious jobs, who are far from ordinary.
It was confusing at first since a lot of characters were introduced at once, but later, I got to understand that they were related somwhow and it was all planned.
If you like sitcoms, you'll love this one.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

funny and relaxing...

[Tia Raina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy, simple book. NOT a rom-com, and that's probably why I enjoyed it.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! Evans is a master of characterization.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as her previous book Spencer's List but a simple, light read on a winter's eve!

[Laurena Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's a bit of an 'odd one out' itself, not really fitting into a genre - it's quite quirky and very enjoyable. It deals with the theme of those who don't fit in to a social circle; who are bullied and made to feel unacceptable, and explores (in a light but compassionate way) how different people deal with this. I found that I identified more with those who were the 'odd ones out' than those who were the popular crowd but who were also the bullies. Some of the writing and descriptions made me smile and even laugh out loud.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was initially unsure about this one. I generally have a problem with novels in which the characters are so hapless that they repeatedly stumble into embarrassing situations; I don't really like stories with a high squirm factor. But I stuck with it--because I love her later books--and it ended up being enjoyable and actually pretty funny.

[Martina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I read it almost twenty after it had been published, I found it interesting, humorous and relaxing. The way it is written gives hints of a funny family movie, which made perfect sense after I read the authors short biography.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved it as Craig Revel Horwood would say.
I loved the story itself and I loved the way the characters all interwove, and I was glad for Crispin to get his comeuppance. Definitely her best book by far.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t say I came away from this book with a story but loved the situation comedy.

[Bronwyn Mcloughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and genuinely fun book, where the only real romance is a married couple. A refreshingly humorous tale of family intersecting with hospital life in quite a unique way. Really enjoyed it.

[Wendy Ransome · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Great characters you could picture and empathise with & very funny dialogue.

[C M Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sorry I have finished it!

Lovely, comfortable, and well written. I believed in all the characters and what to know what came next, although the story did conclude satisfactorily.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not on the same level as the outstanding Crooked Heart or Old Baggage, but very funny and humane.

[N R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. The best type of humour.

[Jaqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a complete and utter joy of a book. Wonderful delightful warm witty funny and brilliant. One of my favourite writers ... you fall completely in love with the brilliancy of her characters and feel for them they are so rich in their portrayal.......I love everything she has written. This one is super. 5 shiny stars from me. More please.......

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. It was fun and interesting. I liked to see how the characters came together in the story.

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book Club
DNF