Oddity
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PHOENIX (SEE EMBER)
PISTOL, ITEM #W17, Confirmed
A single-shot handgun with a flint-strike hammer and walrus-ivory grip. The Pistol never misses its target. The user need only imagine the target before pulling the trigger, and the Pistol will send a bullet along a curved or even knotted trajectory if necessary. While the Pistol cannot miss a nearby target, those out of range will be spared, as the bullet cannot fly indefinitely. The Pistol will fire any bullet that fits its caliber.
POWDER (SEE PESTLE)
ROOSTER, AKA HANNIBAL FURLONG, FAUNA #FP1, Confirmed
A red leghorn cock. Sometimes referred to as the “bird that saved New Manchester,” the Rooster is physically identical to any other bird of its pedigree, with the exception that it can talk and has the intelligence and personality of a grown man and proven tactical talents that led to US victories during the Louisiana War. The Rooster prefers to be addressed as Colonel Hannibal Furlong and, as a sentient being with its own agenda, is not subject to collection or study. The controversies over how to catalogue this rare living oddity have led to schisms within the Society, which will not be resolved in this publication.
SEAMSTRESS, AKA THE WITCH IN THE MOUNTAIN, WRAITH #P6, Confirmed
A frail crone wearing rags and a necklace of human teeth, the Seamstress disturbs the vision of any witness, appearing as through a broken window, though some say she is sewn together like a quilt. The Seamstress, though called a witch, is presumably a human being in the grip of a savage oddity, just as Smalt is enthralled by the Hat and Hieronymus K. Willow is subject to the Long Coat. She is said to have hoarded a large collection of oddities somewhere south of the Wine Marsh. Though the exact nature of these items is unclear, they have granted her the ability to reanimate creatures (see Vermin), which do her bidding. She has an unexplained craving for human teeth, and all children know that they should place lost teeth on the windowsill or risk the witch coming into their bedroom while they sleep. The Seamstress has been spotted in the Centurion Mountains, collecting dead-animal pelts and singing strange songs. The Seamstress has been blamed for the New Manchester fire that claimed the life of Miniver Elkin. Those events have led to increased secrecy and security around oddity collections.
SMALT (SEE HAT), WRAITH #P4, Confirmed
A tall, very thin gentleman dressed in the elaborate fashion of the macaroni dandies. Smalt is a powerful manipulator of politics, using dirty secrets as currency. He has stationed messengers and lawyers in every major city under orders to deliver envelopes of secrets to the newspapers if Smalt suffers injury. Politicians have gone to great lengths to keep Smalt safe for fear that these secrets will come to public scrutiny. Smalt has been under the influence of the Hat for so long that even his body has withered, leaving him little more than a scarecrow. A carriage driver who once helped Smalt into his seat reported that he weighed “no more than a wet sock.” Smalt survives entirely on a diet of white vinegar.
SUSANNA (SEE DOLL)
TEAPOT, ITEM #O92, Confirmed
A white china teapot with blue glazing. The Teapot will provide any amount of hot chamomile tea and has never been emptied.
THIMBLE, ITEM #O101, Partially Confirmed
A dimpled brass sewing Thimble. The Thimble, when worn in the usual manner, renders the user’s body impervious to any kind of piercing. Needles, knives, and swords bounce harmlessly off anyone who wears the Thimble on their finger. Many believe that the Thimble would render the user bulletproof as well. This has not been confirmed, as a safe test of the theory has not yet been devised.
UMBRELLA, ITEM #AP13, Unconfirmed
Green silk over steel framework, with polished teak handle. The Umbrella is said to weather lightning strikes undamaged, protecting the user from even the most violent bolts. It may also store bolts indefinitely and then discharge them at the user’s whim, which, if true, would make it a powerful and potentially dangerous object indeed. Previously catalogued as “confirmed” by Society member Thadeus Pendergrasse, the item is now of uncertain status. Tragically, Mr. Pendergrasse died of a lightning strike while holding a green umbrella. Whether he was holding a forgery or was mistaken about the power of the oddity entirely is uncertain. The Umbrella currently in Mr. X’s collection is thought to be the genuine article but awaits confirmation. A safe test of the item has yet to be devised.
VERMIN (SEE SEAMSTRESS), FAUNA-PHENOMENON #FM3, Confirmed
Reanimated corpses of small animals, such as rats and raccoons, suspended on skeletons of twisted metal and miscellaneous materials, the vermin are autonomous creatures who serve their creator, the Seamstress. They are capable of speech but generally lurk about, spying or stealing objects for the Seamstress. They have been known to attack and should be considered extremely dangerous. Vermin should be utterly destroyed, preferably with fire, at every opportunity. The latest consensus is that vermin are not, themselves, oddities but are products of some unknown oddity used by the Seamstress. Their numbers have been increasing steadily over time and constitute a civic menace.
WINEGLASS, ITEM #O67, Confirmed
A long-stemmed, blown wineglass. The Wineglass is perpetually full of red wine no matter how much has been drunk from it. Some members believe this glass fueled the debauches of certain Roman emperors. The Wineglass was lost in the Sojourner Valley, which has since become the Wine Marsh. Some say it was buried intentionally during the Louisiana War. If so, it is one of the first instances of an oddity used for purposes of war. The Wine Marsh grew relentlessly, causing panic that it would eventually drown the world. In 1809, the evaporation rate matched the pace of the Wineglass’s outflow. The Wine Marsh is no longer expanding, but the Wineglass will likely never be recovered. Some members have suggested sinking explosives into the marsh in an attempt to shatter the Wineglass and drain the marsh. This is a controversial proposal.
Without the support of the following people and institutions, this novel would not be what it is:
Beth Ryan, BREW Coffee and Beer House, Cadence Godwin, Catherine Armsden, Cheryl Klein, Dr. Crystal Feimster, David Goldstone, Davida Brown, Davon Godwin, Harold Brown, Karin Rytter, Laurie Fox, Nova Brown, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Teagan White, Tony Guaraldi-Brown, Tonya Hersch, Ulli and Scott Klein of KLEINeFARM, and Yaddo.
I’m especially indebted to Melissa Michaud, Stephen Barr, and Susan Van Metre.
With sincere gratitude, I thank you all.
As a child, ELI BROWN thought he would have definitely befriended a sasquatch by now. His most recent novel, Cinnamon and Gunpowder, about a chef kidnapped by pirates, was a finalist for the California Book Award, a San Francisco Public Library One City One Book selection, and an NPR Book Concierge Great Read selection. Eli Brown lives with his family in California, where the squirrels bury acorns in his garden and the cats bury worse.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
The geography, events, and people of Oddity are invented, though sometimes inspired by reality. The Native groups included in the Sehanna Confederation are fictional, though inspired by the political organization of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois of the Northeast. I chose to craft fictional groups rather than misrepresent the legitimate figures and history of Native groups by placing them in a magical, alternate history. I do not have the same reservation regarding Napoléon Bonaparte, the only historical figure featured, whose story and character I have manipulated to my own ends. Inventing Native cultures is problematic, especially as I am a white man, and my solution is not a perfect one. I am humbled by the complexity and import of our shared history and direct you to https://americanindian.si.edu/sites/1/files/pdf
/education/HaudenosauneeGuide.pdf for information on the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois.
Though I consulted with an expert on the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois while writing this novel, mistakes and missteps are mine alone.
Text copyright © 2021 by Eli Brown
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Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Karin Rytter
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recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First electronic edition 2021
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number pending
The illustrations in this book are linocut engravings.
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A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION