Unbury Carol: A Bizarre Western, Horror, and Magical Realism Mash-Up

Unbury Carol is a bizarre book. Period. In the copy of the novel I received, there was a letter from the editorial director of Del Rey Books discussing how Josh Malerman’s originality is rewriting the rules of the genre, and that this particular novel is entirely unique. I don’t think I could have said it better. This book doesn’t really fit into any one genre, other than fiction, and that’s just where the weirdness begins.

Carol Evers is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times . . . but her many deaths are not final: They are comas, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death, each lasting days.

Only two people know of Carol’s eerie condition. One is her husband, Dwight, who married Carol for her fortune, and—when she lapses into another coma—plots to seize it by proclaiming her dead and quickly burying her . . . alive. The other is her lost love, the infamous outlaw James Moxie. When word of Carol’s dreadful fate reaches him, Moxie rides the Trail again to save his beloved from an early, unnatural grave.

And all the while, awake and aware, Carol fights to free herself from the crippling darkness that binds her—summoning her own fierce will to survive. As the players in this drama of life and death fight to decide her fate, Carol must in the end battle to save herself.

I received this book for free from Random House in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Instead of giving you three descriptors as I would normally do, I am going to again borrow the editorial director’s words. I think it sums it up perfectly: “Cormac McCarthy rewrites Sleeping Beauty.”

I loved Josh Malerman’s The Bird Box, so when I saw that he had another novel coming out that was Western-themed, I was super excited to get my hands on it. Despite this story being completely different, there are a few traits the two novels share.

For one, this book has the excellent lack-of-information similar to The Bird Box. I love having little information when weird things or people are involved, because it makes everything that much creepier. This novel also has a very sinister character that is lurking behind the scenes throughout most of the story that leaves you feeling a tad-bit unsettled.

Other things I liked about Unbury Carol:

1. The story is told through many of the character’s perspectives, and as such, a lot happens in the span of two days. This also aids in the creepy feeling you get when reading this book, as you will be privy to the deepest thoughts of some vile characters.

2. The novel follows the timeline of an outlaw traveling on the Trail. Each stop he takes is another chapter, and is another pause with his story that we can check on the other characters along the Trail to see how their plot line is resolving. I particularly enjoyed that there is almost a picaresque style to the story of James Moxie, one of our main characters and the “hero” of the story. Each time he stops at one of the Trails there is a micro-story.

3. I adore the plot overall. I mean, this is a book that I picked up purely because of the synopsis, and it did not disappoint in that regard. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book! It’s pacing and sometimes confusing bizarre occurrences prevented this one from a higher rating. I would definitely recommend if the synopsis appeals to you, and you don’t mind a little literary fiction/magical realism in your books.

How does a western/horror/magical realism mash-up sound to you!?

A.S. Thornton

A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.