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Synopsis
In this raw and lyrical folk horror novel, a journalist sent to a small town begins to unravel a dark secret that the women of the town have been keeping for generations.
Marshall is still trying to put the pieces together after the death of her husband. After she is involved in a terrible accident, her editor sends her to the small, backwards town of Raeford to investigate a clearly ridiculous rumor: that a horse has given birth to a healthy, human baby boy.
When Marshall arrives in Raeford, she finds an insular town that is kinder to the horses they are famous for breeding than to their own people. But when two horribly mangled bodies are discovered in a field–one a horse, one a human–she realizes that there might be a real story here.
As she’s pulled deeper into the town and its guarded people, her sense of reality is tipped on its head. Is she losing her grip? Or is this impossible story the key to a dark secret that has haunted the women of Raeford for generations? Unbearably tense and utterly gripping, this atmospheric tale of female rage, bodily autonomy, and generational trauma hails the arrival of a masterful storyteller.
Review
The biggest thanks to Quirk Books for sending an ARC my way!
A small town. An illogical story. One hell of a mystery. Leslie J. Anderson’s debut novel, The Unmothers, is a multi-faceted, confounding look into the insular community of Raeford, a place characterized by its equine industry and many secrets. Marshall finds herself sent to Raeford on assignment from her boss, her task to get the story of a young man whose human child was born of a horse. What becomes quickly apparent in this strange place is the tightness with which everyone holds each other, the whispers behind every door, and the growing darkness that is no longer at bay.
Small towns are best known for their deepest, darkest secrets in horror. There’s an unspoken language that flows through these places that only the locals know, a fact that is made readily apparent to Marshall, the typical outsider. To us readers, this is also demonstrated very bluntly by the rotating cast of characters to whom we are privy. Anderson’s choice to tell this peculiar tale through not only Marshall’s perspective but through the various townsfolk, both helps and hurts this novel tremendously. Sure, we are exposed to a way of life that we wouldn’t fully understand through Marshall alone, but this comes at a cost. With so many perspectives to follow, some facts and themes became murky in the wake of constant shifts, especially in the hands of the male characters. The perspectives I found most compelling for this strange tale are those of the women in this story, both insiders and outsiders like Marshall.
Written with grit and tenacity, she’s the kind of gal who appears to carry the weight of something unspeakable. The central mystery of the novel can easily be labeled as finding the truth about the horse mother/human baby, but equally intriguing is Marshall herself. As events unravel, the parallels between Marshall and the issues in Raeford become more and more apparent. This is where the tempo rises and the stakes rise, keeping investment anchored despite the dizzying array of narrators.
Make no mistake, The Unmothers is a very solid debut juggling some complex themes within a very unique landscape. The horse industry is a quirky place with some truly unique folks interacting with one another. They’re a faithful population devoted to their creatures building an entire world around this striking animal. Of course, there’s more than meets the eye to this reverence as the story progresses, but Anderson crafts a wonderful playground for folk horror to shine. Moreover, the deeply profound burden placed on the women of the community is imparted chillingly. While we don’t come to know the full truth of Raeford, the intensity of the women’s strife is made abundantly clear.
Despite its busyness, this debut novel is admirable for its expedition into the territory of female rage, burden, and sacrifice. Leslie J. Anderson’s writing captures the complex emotions concerning motherhood, showcasing instances of folk horror and a memorable landscape. The Unmothers is lovable for its fierce feminist heart, the intent in its mission to demonstrate the plight of women everywhere.
The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson releases on August 6th from Quirk Books.
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