By David Dent
Author Carson Faust is “two spirit, and an enrolled member of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso tribe of South Carolina.” And it’s Faust’s upbringing and beliefs that permeate and enrich his debut novel.
If the Dead Belong Here begins with the disappearance of six-year old Laurel Taylor from the family home. Older sister Nadine, whose narrative voice carries the book, struggles to make sense of the situation while coping with her alcoholic mother and experiencing a series of nightmares which potentially tie contemporary events into history.
Only her Aunt Rosebud seems to understand what may have happened, and Nadine later learns that an Indian legend of ‘The Little People’ may in fact be a clear and present danger to the family.
Faust interweaves the often heartbreaking story of the impact of Laurel’s absence with sections which trace the antecedents of the Taylor family over successive generations; it’s impressive writing, but Faust is so keen to shoehorn in the detail that it sometimes becomes an overwhelming read; less here could sometimes mean more.
But there’s no denying the force of the story, the strength of Faust’s characters, and his pride at the myth and magic that fuels his ancestry. There’s a popular phrase that suggests there’s more to fear from the living than the dead; in the case of If the Dead Belong Here it’s both.
If The Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust is available now in various formats from Titan Books.
Bloody Flicks 