This just didn't work for me. I like the idea of introducing ambiguity about whether Mercy is actually a vampire or if Art's imagination is just working overtime to explain why his life isn't going to plan. But Mercy's snarky commentary undermines any opportunity for real suspense or horror in the book. That, combined with the author's choice to clarify the answer to whether Mercy (and by extension Art) is actually a supernatural creature versus choosing to leave us wondering ultimately just left me disinterested and unsatisfied. It's a shame because I enjoyed Cabin at the End of the World and was hoping for a similar experience here. ( )

If you were in the 18-25 age group in the 1980's you will probably not only like this one but will also understand it a lot more than us 'ancient ones". It's described as "A darkly romantic tale of gothic obsession set to a post-punk playlist of the mid to late 80s stumbling into the early alternative rock years and is guaranteed to bring cynical joy to horror loving Gen Xers". The character of Art Barbara is endearing as well as simply frustrating...for lack of a better word. Paul Tremblay manages to bring something new with his take on one of horrors most enduring myths...the vampire. Mercy, the other main character, was hard to read at times. She seemed to me she was less well written than Art... either that or her "anti-cool girl schtick" was simply nerve grating to me since I didn't grow up in that era. Large parts of the story went on forever without adding anything new and frankly could have just been omitted altogether. It's probably one of those books that you need to be a big fan of vampires and zombies to really get into. I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but this one just wasn't for me. ( )

This is advertised as a horror. It is not. It is a memoir. But one I didn’t find interesting at all. I LOVED the concept …. And was so disappointed. It was so dull…nothing happened. Painful to read. Which is sad as I hear such great things about the authors other books. ( )

“The Pallbearers Club” by Paul Tremblay is an intriguing, as well as often, darkly comic, horror novel that blurs the lines between fiction and memory, supernatural and ordinary. And for a book obsessed with death, it has a lot to say about life.

The Pallbearers’ Club is presented as a memoir written by Art Barbara looking back upon his life as his old friend Mercy Brown comments on the manuscript. She contradicts much of his version of events, presents a new perspective, changes things, and challenges him whilst having her own biases, as the pair have had a long and very toxic on/off friendship which lies at the core of the plot. At various times it is implied the text we are reading is fiction rather than a memoir and since Art is obviously an unreliable narrator, it is tricky to tell what is true, embellished or simply fiction.

The basic plot is as follows: The book starts with Art in his final year of high school and although he is academically strong, he doesn't have much to put on his college applications to make himself stand out. He needs some extracurriculars. Due to long-term problems with his back, he does not participate in sport or any other curricular activities and to beef up his applications starts up a pallbearer’s club, effectively himself and a couple of disgruntled classmates who attend the funerals of those with no living relatives to make up the numbers. Via this ‘club’ he meets Mercy Brown and some of these scenes are quite funny, as Art takes his responsibilities very seriously as he is painfully shy and meeting girls at funerals is better than not meeting girls at all! Mercy just so happens to be the coolest girl he's ever met. She turns Art on to Punk Rock! She is fascinated by The Pallbearers Club and decides to tag along, with her Polaroid camera to take pictures — of the corpses. This isn't the only strange thing about her, though — aside from her obsession with New England folklore involving digging up the dead, there are a lot of other bizarre and terrifying things that happen whenever she's around.

The second half of the book takes place decades later, with Art finds himself trying to understand everything that transpired in those teen years by writing it all down in The Pallbearers Club: A Memoir. And a final confrontation with his old friend Mercy. Art becomes more and more suspicious of Mercy and whether she is a supernatural being or not (some sort vampire it is implied), Mercy insists she isn’t and that Art is losing his mind with the help of prescription drugs and alcohol. But, is he? Has he himself been turned into a monster?

Is it a memoir or a novel? Which of the two main characters can we trust? Your enjoyment of The Pallbearers Club may very much depend on how you enjoy Paul Tremblay literary tricks around these questions. Even though Art is very quick to blame others for his problems, the story also covers other areas, including aging, addiction and mental health. The novel repeatedly blurs the lines between fiction and memory. Art is an interesting and mostly sympathetic character. But, he is incredibly mopey and "emo". For some readers this may be an enduring quality for others, Art may get on your nerves.

The Pallbearers Club is a fun and interesting novel but a bit uneven. The opening of The Pallbearers Club is strong, especially as we see Art sets up the eponymous group and start his friendship with Mercy. It is very atmospheric, and often times, funny. The ending was excellent, creepy, sad, and fitting, and I thought it wrapped up things nicely. The middle unfortunately drags, and I think that’s because we’re left waiting for something else creepy to happen while Mercy is out of the picture for a little while and Art is going through his mid-life crisis.

Nevertheless, The PallBearers Club is a fascinating read, and a different take on a vampire story. It encapsulates qualities from many distinctly different areas of writing. Blurring the lines between fiction and memory, supernatural and ordinary, Paul Tremblay's latest work is metatextual horror novel, that while uneven, may stand the test of time and sit next to the works of King, Shelley, Stoker for it's horrific inventiveness. ( )

First, on a personal note, the description of scoliosis surgery is spot-on. I had it done when I was 16. Oh, the memories.

I'm a sucker for vampire lit. Always have been. Was completely tickled by the whole Mercy bit (I've known about Mercy for ages--Food for the Dead is a great book). I saw someone say somewhere that this is not a vampire novel. Hard disagree. There are different types of vampires in the lore. I loved this book. ( )