Human Oddities

by Noria Jablonski

In Human Oddities, by newcomer Noria Jablonski, we meet Siamese twins, newly separated, drag queens, and seedy hospital orderlies. A corpse washed up on the beach, cancer diagnoses, and tummy tuck operations all intrude abruptly into characters’ lives; sadness is interrupted by hilarity. Jablonski’s characters cope with the drama of the body and what it means, what it feels like, to be marked as different.

If Ludwig Wittgenstein’s belief that “the human body is the best picture of the human soul” is right, what does that say about the diseased body, the less-than-perfect body? Without flinching, Noria Jablonski shows us the passions and longings of her characters, made more vivid by their bodies in doubt, on hold, in transit. Her earthy, pungent characters and deadpan narrative style leave their mark on a reader.

With the blunt, gritty impact of a Diane Arbus photograph, these are stories of lives not commonly recorded, and the characters—often physically unique, some might say monstrous—are delivered with compassion, dignity, and a hopeful, therapeutic humor. Brought to light, they deepen our understanding of the human condition, revealing us to ourselves.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2005

About the author

NORIA JABLONSKI is the author of the story collection Human Oddities. Her stories have recently appeared in FiveChapters.com, Swink, Monkeybicycle, KGB Bar Lit, and the anthology Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories.

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

From reading reviews of this book, I assumed it would be dark and psychologically complex, like Katherine Dunn's Geek Love. Unfortunately, it's a rather unremarkable book of domestic fiction, with a few classic freak show performers tossed into the mix. Do we really need two completely unrelated stories about conjoined twins? Is the "freak" theme really necessary? Has Noria Jablonski never heard two human beings speak with one another?

[Yvette Niles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book got me hooked on short story books. Noria writes with a oceanic rhythm and understands the small details of being odd. The stories, aside from "Big Guy", could be read by even my mother and appreciated. I loved some stories more than others but all are well written and hold a magic coin. It is about conjoined twins, a drag queen, a little girl without legs, and love.
It is in no way like Geek Love- which I hated. By the way.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Are drag queens really "human oddities?"
Gay people?
People with plastic surgery?

I was hoping for a book about actual human oddities.

I only give it 2/5 stars because some parts were beautifully written. But as far as content, I was pretty disappointed.

I guess her chosen subject matter just doesn't strike me as "odd"

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent stories. Just weird enough to be interesting, and just interesting enough to never feel weird.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really, really good writing... Jablonski’s level of detail makes her characters vividly alive. Whether we can like them is another question. An anthology of pain and strangeness.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had written this! It's so strange but at the same time really precious and thoughtful. All these bizarre characters are somehow made to seem strikingly normal: Siamese twins, brutal fags, three generations of bruised women. All of these queer vignettes are so fucking PRECIOUS. Jablonski illustrates how humanity and all of its flawed little eccentricities are so beautiful in their weirdness.

[Carly Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could not continue reading this 'book'. Each short story is quite shallow - the plot, the characters, the descriptions. The book could have been really awesome focussing on 'human oddities' as the theme, but I have no idea what the author was writing about with any character in each story a majority of the time. Don't waste your time on this one.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaks. Siamese twins. The maimed. The deformed. The all-too-human struggles of society's cast outs. Amazing book. Clever. Well written. Other worldly. Parts of it took my breath away. All of it left me wanting to be a better writer.

[Stephanie Spines · Rating 2 out of 5]

"This was pretty good. I liked the main theme of well, as the title says, ""Human Oddities"". Between conjoined twins and cross-dressers, her characters are lovable and easy to relate to despite their differences.

Decent!

[Jenna Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about the oddity of being human. These are a few of my favorite things: Tight and spare but still spacious sentences, deadpan humor that sometimes breaks into a vaudevillian flourish, unflinching observations, hauntingly acute moments of being alive. Unforgettable.

[Lynette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noria is a relative and it was fun to read her short-story fiction, even though I haven't seen her for more than two decards.

[Sae-chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was praised in such a way I kept my hopes too high. Tried a little too hard to be quirky.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few stories were great, some too odd they didn't make sense.