Book Review - 'Unbury Carol' by Josh Malerman

‘Unbury Carol’ by Josh Malerman

‘Only three people know Carol Evers’ secret.
Her best friend, who’s dead.
Her husband, who hates her.
Her ex-lover, who left her.
Carol suffers from a dreadful affliction which makes her fall into long comas: waking slumbers indistinguishable from death.
Her husband Dwight wants her next “death” to be her last. He will claim her fortune by pronouncing her dead… and burying her alive.
The infamous outlaw James Moxie, once Carol’s lover, rides the Trail again – pursued by murder and mayhem – to save the woman he loves.
And all the while, Carol is a prisoner in her own body, hearing her funeral plans, summoning every ounce of will to survive…’

This is the first book I’ve read by Josh Malerman, who’s more known for one of his previous books, ‘Bird Box’, which was made into the 2018 film starring Sandra Bullock.

I first heard about this book back in 2019 when I’d written a post about adult fairy tales.

And it’s taken me this long to actually get hold of a copy.

The reason I was so looking forward to reading this is because it’s a loose retelling of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ set in the Wild West.

I believe this is what is called a weird western because of some otherworldly elements.

The beginning of the book introduces us to the town of Harrows and Carol and her husband, Dwight, at the funeral of Carol’s best friend, John Bowie, ‘one of Harrows most likeable men’.

We discover that John was the ‘only person outside her husband whom Carol had told of her lifelong condition.’

And as she remembers the times she spoke to John about it, we learn of that condition, one that doctors ‘had no name for…’

But, when she was 8 years old, Carol began calling it ‘“Howltown… To someone outside the coma… I appear… dead. Hardly a heartbeat. Far from fogging a mirror. And a pulse as slow as a slug. There’s no light… I can hear the world around me, but I can’t move. And the wind in there… it howls… From the second it starts, I’m falling… and I don’t touch ground until I wake.”’

After the funeral, as they make their way home, Carol tells Dwight that now John is dead, she needs someone else to know about her condition, a little annoyed that he hadn’t mentioned it himself.

She decides she wants to tell their maid, Farrah.

Back home, Carol goes for a walk around the garden with Farrah.

But instead of telling the girl of her condition, Carol talks of other things, and mentions her former lover, James Moxie.

After their walk, as they step through the back door into the house, Carol tells Farrah she has a condition, a sickness.

In that moment, Carol notices the warning signs that her condition is about to envelop her…
‘“Hell’s heaven, Farrah. It’s here.” Then Carol collapsed. And Farrah’s scream followed Carol into Howltown.’

That, more or less, is what happens in the first chapter.

I appreciated that Malerman showed us Carol in Howltown, and how she dealt with that.

This story had the potential to be quite creepy, especially when one particular character was introduced.

But… I could not get into this at all.

I hadn’t even finished the second chapter, and I was already starting to have doubts.

I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters, not even to Carol.

It just seemed to drag.

For me, too many of the chapters didn’t have that much going for them; I admit to skim-reading, wondering what the point of them was, and how they were progressing the story.

That one character I alluded to earlier, whom I thought would bring a disturbing element to the story, I ended up finding annoying and not at all disturbing.

And goodness me, the repetition of certain phrases.

I mentioned one earlier – ‘hell’s heaven’ – everyone, and I mean everyone says this way too often, and each time ratcheted up the annoyance factor.

Also, in case you weren’t aware this was set in the West, we had another overused word – outlaws.

Another thing that didn’t help – I had an inkling as to how the story was going to end.

I was hoping I was wrong, but no; the ending was an anti-climax, and I found it somewhat muddled and rushed as well.

There were quite a few characters for a book that’s just over 360 pages, and the only ones I didn’t mind were the mortician and the sheriff.

Also, the one thing I thought Malerman did well was Carol’s condition.

I’d had high hopes for this book, and I’m sad that my first choice back into fantasy has been a disappointing one.

Ah well, onwards, as they say.

And as I sometimes say, don’t just rely on my opinion of this book – if the storyline interests you, give it a go; you might enjoy it.

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Putting aside my thoughts on the story, I much prefer this cover.

‘Unbury Carol’ by Josh Malerman (alternative cover)