Oddbody

The search for love and fulfillment takes bizarre turns in Irish writer Keating’s fearless debut collection. “Pineapple” centers on Jen and her swan wings, surgically attached by controversial artist Mary O’Mahony. Their implanting strains Jen’s relationship with her partner Oisín—whose OCD and fear of Jen’s body already complicate their bond—and draws her closer to Mary. Several stories explore body horror through loss of agency. In the amusing and eerie “Next to Cleanliness,” office worker Catherine submits to her patronizing yet alluring doctor’s extreme detox regimens, from raw meat diets to orgasm restrictions. While some stories feel thematically repetitive, Keating’s assured voice and vivid imagery carry the day. The collection especially shines when it’s grounded in the characters’ desperate bids for connection, even at their own expense. Fourteen-year-old Saoirse befriends the vampire from the 1931 film Dracula in “Bela Lugosi Isn’t Dead,” while the title story finds call center agent Doireann forming a tender bond with a ghost who persistently urges her to end her life. Not only are these stories delightfully weird, but they offer a deeply empathetic exploration of shame, desire, and loneliness. Agent: Ed Wilson, Johnson & Alcock Ltd. (July)