For such a relatively short novel, Unbury Carol takes a little while to start clicking. Still, the wild mix of genres might have some appeal for audiences.
It’s hard to describe Josh Malerman’s Unbury Carol. There’s a lot of Western in it, what with a former outlaw literally named James Moxie as one of the main characters. But there’s also a bit of the paranormal to it, and even a whole attempted murder plot too. After all, Carol herself has these comas that make her seem like she’s dead, and she also has a lot of money. The dust jacket itself notes that this is actually a take on Sleeping Beauty.
Malerman doesn’t waste time with such little things like exposition, and that might turn off some readers, but if you stick with it, there’s a wildly weird story to be had here.
For having the book named after her, Carol doesn’t actually do much within the story — at least not in the sense of taking action in the physical world. It’s strange that many of the actual events of the book center around the actions of three men: the aforementioned Moxie; Carol’s husband, Dwight; and Smoke, sent to kill Moxie and stop him from saving Carol. Granted, the original fairy tale, even the Disney version, is mostly about the actions of people other than the main character. She does accomplish a few things. But if you’re expecting a sleeping Carol to do some wild stuff, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
At the same time, though, once the story picks up — and it does take a bit to pick up, speaking to some possible pacing issues — it does move at a fair clip, helped along by its multiple perspectives. This is where Malerman shines. Moxie is perhaps the most heroic of the characters. Still, that doesn’t make him nice and that’s reflected in his chapters. Smoke is completely bonkers, and Dwight is close to it as he gets more and more nervous about getting away with murder.
While certain aspects of the world do eventually get explained, quite a lot doesn’t. That seems to be the point; it’s more set dressing for Moxie’s classic quest. But what we do learn ends up leaving a reader wanting more. That’s both a good and a bad thing, to be completely fair.
Next: Review: The Heart Forger
Should you pick up Unbury Carol? There’s not a simple answer, unfortunately. If you’re into books that don’t like to stay in one genre lane, then it’s a definite yes, but if you like books that have women in more prominent roles, then you might be turned back off.