Scan barcode
A review by madeline
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
5.0
This book made me cry on an Amtrak. It's one of my favorite books I've read all year.
Hart is a marshal in a strange part of the world where corpses, if not properly buried, can become reanimated into drudges, which are essentially zombies. In order to prevent these corpses from becoming drudges, he's got to bring them to a funeral home to ensure their safe disposition. Mercy is the unofficial undertaker at her family's funeral home, and she and Hart are each other's least favorite people. But one night, Hart's feeling lonely and sends off a letter addressed to no one but "A Friend"... and several days later, that same letter shows up in Mercy's hands. The dangers of Tanria grow, as does their affection for their anonymous pen pal, but when everything boils over, Hart and Mercy might just find some common ground.
This is like the fantasy western folklore zombie cowboy mashup of my dreams, and I didn't even know I was in the market for one of those. The whole book is <i>fun</i>: Hart is a lovable grump with the gooiest of marshmallow centers, and Mercy is desperately trying to keep the wheels on the bus for her family. The two bring out the worst in each other in person, but in their letters and then when they realize who their correspondent is, gently tease out the best. It's tender and delicate and funny and sweet and such a joy to read.
Hart, in particular, is a real stand-out character here. He's dealing with personal loss and insecurity about his parentage and the last thing he wants is anyone paying attention to him, and then he gets Mercy and an apprentice, Duckers. Duckers is so key to Hart's growth without ever feeling like the wise assistant or anything, and also just a freaking delight.
There's a lot of death in this book (see above re: zombies), a lot of thinking about how we care for the dead and where the dead go in this world. I feel like I'm sensitive to that sort of discussion and I think all of it was really careful and well-done.
After I finished this book, I had to stop myself from starting the whole thing over immediately because I loved it so much. I'd read anything else in this world.
Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC!
Hart is a marshal in a strange part of the world where corpses, if not properly buried, can become reanimated into drudges, which are essentially zombies. In order to prevent these corpses from becoming drudges, he's got to bring them to a funeral home to ensure their safe disposition. Mercy is the unofficial undertaker at her family's funeral home, and she and Hart are each other's least favorite people. But one night, Hart's feeling lonely and sends off a letter addressed to no one but "A Friend"... and several days later, that same letter shows up in Mercy's hands. The dangers of Tanria grow, as does their affection for their anonymous pen pal, but when everything boils over, Hart and Mercy might just find some common ground.
This is like the fantasy western folklore zombie cowboy mashup of my dreams, and I didn't even know I was in the market for one of those. The whole book is <i>fun</i>: Hart is a lovable grump with the gooiest of marshmallow centers, and Mercy is desperately trying to keep the wheels on the bus for her family. The two bring out the worst in each other in person, but in their letters and then when they realize who their correspondent is, gently tease out the best. It's tender and delicate and funny and sweet and such a joy to read.
Hart, in particular, is a real stand-out character here. He's dealing with personal loss and insecurity about his parentage and the last thing he wants is anyone paying attention to him, and then he gets Mercy and an apprentice, Duckers. Duckers is so key to Hart's growth without ever feeling like the wise assistant or anything, and also just a freaking delight.
There's a lot of death in this book (see above re: zombies), a lot of thinking about how we care for the dead and where the dead go in this world. I feel like I'm sensitive to that sort of discussion and I think all of it was really careful and well-done.
After I finished this book, I had to stop myself from starting the whole thing over immediately because I loved it so much. I'd read anything else in this world.
Thank you Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC!