Paul Tremblay just keeps getting better, and THE PALLBEARERS CLUB may be his most transcendent work to date. It’s a psychological thriller, a horror novel and a coming-of-age tale, and has enough appropriate humor sprinkled in without ever being campy. The book threatens to reach cult status, which is the highest compliment I can give it.

"Paul Tremblay just keeps getting better, and THE PALLBEARERS CLUB may be his most transcendent work to date.... The book threatens to reach cult status, which is the highest compliment I can give it."

Before I discuss the plot, I need to talk about the style. It is treated like a work of “found footage.” The story was written by Art Barbara (not his real name) but is “edited” by his best (and most unique) friend, Mercy Brown. Throughout the novel, you will see the red pen that an editor typically would use to make corrections and comments. There are also lots of notes from Mercy at the conclusion of each chapter. Several pages at the end tie everything up nicely, and are incredibly moving and touching. This is a credit to Tremblay, who is operating at his most effective level.

Seventeen-year-old Art Barbara is not cool, and he is well aware of this. He is six feet tall, extremely thin and lanky, and does not have many friends. So, as a senior in high school, he decides to start the Pallbearers Club. Members will volunteer to act as pallbearers at funerals that are poorly attended. Since Art isn’t very popular, he only gets two people to join at first, but putting up flyers advertising the club gets him an additional member: Mercy Brown. Art and Mercy bond over music and their love of such genres as punk, post-punk and goth.

At the center of the novel is the written interview that is done between Art and Mercy, “Interview with Mercy Brown, a New England Vampire.” While they are obviously working off of the same model that Anne Rice used for her famous work, research and headstones show that there was a person named Mercy Brown in New England. You the reader must decide if Art’s friend is indeed a vampire. Your feelings about this will determine how you approach the last few pages of the book, which are penned by Mercy.

As you hold THE PALLBEARERS CLUB in your hands, you are unwittingly a member of the club as well. It is stated at one point (and quite cleverly, I must add) that a book is a coffin because it holds a body, sometimes more than one, and we are there to witness, mourn and celebrate. I could not have said it better myself. Huzzah!