SUMMARY:
On page 31, Odd Thomas finishes up some background information and begins telling his odd tale. He states that it all happened on the hot Summer day of July 14th, 1972. He starts off by describing his entire day and what he had done. Starting with his constant daily routine of waking up to the same sound of his alarm at 5 o'clock in the morning. He says that that day felt like every other day, and he continued his routine of going into his jack and jill bathroom, which he shared with the guest bedroom which was unoccupied, and began taking a shower. He notes that most of the substances like soap and shampoo were practically empty, but he made use of them as best he could. After his shower he got dressed in his diner uniform and put on his Slaton Diner cap, and went out on his daily stroll to work.
Thomas claims that it takes him approximately 15 minutes to get from his house to the diner. Every morning he arrives at the diner in time to work his breakfast shift and cook food for any inhabitants of Slaton or tourists. Thomas goes off on a tangent here, however, and on his daily walk he explains his thoughts and why people found him to be odd. As it turns out, Odd Thomas was actually a genius, but his distraught view on humanity and social acceptance makes him feel the need to shelter himself in a small environment rather than carry on to a professional career. Thomas explains that in high school he flunked all his classes due to lack of commitment, but on the standardize tests he received a 36 on the ACT, and a 2370 on the SAT. However, although colleges sent him mail he refused to apply anywhere.
Thomas makes it to the diner and goes in and puts on his apron to begin his shift. He starts frying eggs and sausage and ham for the early birds of the diner. The smell of grease and polyester seats fills the air as he continues his daily grind. He describes how the over joyful elderly people try to engage in conversation with him, but he slyly avoids their seemingly "hours" of when I was younger chat. the hours roll by and its about noon time when Thomas notices something peculiar. Thomas is making a BLT for a tourist from Alabama when he notices that a man in a blue wool trench coat with a rimmed hat has been sitting at a table sipping his cup of coffee and glancing at Thomas for the past 2 hours of so. Thomas is under the feeling that he is being watched by this shady figure, but continues working behind the counter. Finally, Thomas' shift is over and he takes his apron off and departs out to begin his walk tot he junkyard. However, as he leaves he notices the man get out of the booth and go to his 1970 Ford Torino. Nervous, Thomas begins walking down the road, but feels relieved when the man turns the opposite direction out of diner. Thomas tells the reader that he had a strange feeling about this man, but at the time had labeled the occurrence as a coincidence. Thomas then continues walking to the junkyard.
REACTION:
This book has gotten better. In a way it builds up suspense in the dinner which is what I enjoy the most when I am reading a book. However, a will admit that the plot is sort of slow, and details seem to be a main thing that Dean Koontz enjoys putting in his books because it appears that they are a little too discriptive. Overall, I'm going to give this book a try, but I may have to put it away if it continues so slow.
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