The Brood Rebecca Baum
207 pages, Paperback
I admit the first time I heard of this author was when an e-mail appeared in my inbox asking if I would check out a pre-release arc. I have to admit that I didn’t read the e-mail closely. She had me at eco-horror. I am not sure I would’ve named my novel the same as an all-time classic David Cronenberg film, but in a vacuum, The Brood is the correct title.
The Mary Whelton who rose through the ranks at a powerful for being the fixer for a Harvey Weinstein/ Epstein type. Infamous and guilt-ridden Mary is the main character in a horror novel so you know she is about to face a reckoning. She heads out of the city to escape the press who is chasing her down.
After an accident, she wakes up in a remote cabin, prisoner of a young woman just named girl, who sees her as mother to a brood of supernaturally weird Cicadas who are about to awaken themselves…
Baum is not a debut author and won awards and praise for her debut novel, but writing a horror novel requires entirely different muscles. This is a short read, and Baum kept the pages turning. She did a great job of building suspense and seemed to relish those moments of horror. One of the best examples is a moment when Mary thinks she has escaped to her car.
“A stream of insects crawled from the floor vents.
And the dash vents.
And beneath the back seat.
In seconds, the car's interior was crowded with flickering, fluttering movement. A chorus of thousands blasted the small space with an eerie cry, a breathy, grating, almost metallic sound:
Oweeee-ooo. Oweeooo.”
The feminist metaphor and the ecological elements were the things that most hooked me about this novel. Girl as a character is frustrating, but she is supposed to be. Baum’s lifetime of consuming southern Gothic helps with the backwoods monster vibes coming off Girl.
“I need you to focus, Girl. to hear me loud and clear. Unless you release me, and by this, I mean either call an ambulance or bring me to the nearest hospital - I will starve myself and by extension…” she swallowed her distaste. “the babies.”
Girl shook her head. Her fingers slid up and down her corduroys. “Hospital don't know about this,” she breathed. The loose skin of her chest quivered. “ain't no doctor ever seen her in The Cave. For the miracle of the cicada babies born of our woman. You know that."
Is this novel perfect? No, it is a horror debut, and Baum’s horror is not entirely without growing pains. The novel starts off with an info dump and way to much information about Mary. The novel should’ve started with mystery about her. People hate this woman! What did she do? Hell we could’ve learned this with Girl, towards the end of the first act.
Mary’s role as fixer was actually very interesting, and I think if it was woven throughout the narrative, it would’ve made for a stronger push and pull with the body/eco horror stuff.
That said The Brood is a compelling horror novel, that expresses the author’s affection for these surreal creatures that really exist. She found a way to weave these neat critters into a novel that combines suspense and message. A cool combination.
“During the few peaceful hours when she pretended to be Girl’s mother, Girl had shown her the source of the insects’ relentless drone. Two hateful little accordion-like structures on each side of the male’s abdomen, evolved expressly for ear-splitting serenade. Now, with rage burning through her, she imagined pressing her fingernails into the ribbed membranes, silencing each of the multitude of tiny beasts, one by one.”
