I read this book by prolific and award-winning horror author Stephen Graham Jones on the basis of several glowing reviews. Here is the plot summary from Publishers Weekly's review:
"Bestseller Jones ... astonishes in this ingenious, weird western reimagining of the vampire tale. In a frame narrative set in 2012, academic Etsy Beaucarne learns of the discovery of a 1912 manuscript hidden in the wall of a Montana parsonage, written by her great-great-great-grandfather Arthur. Within lies Arthur's transcription of the personal history told to him during confession by Good Stab, a Blackfeet warrior. Decades earlier, Good Stab was bitten by a being he refers to as "the Cat Man," a caged, feral creature transported by an ill-fated expedition of white settlers. That bite endows Good Stab with supernatural powers of healing and regeneration, but also a voracious thirst for blood, which he slakes by preying on the white hunters ravaging the frontier through their profligate slaughter of buffalo herds. Good Stab's horrifying ordeal offers a dark window into the history of conflict between America's Indigenous inhabitants and its white colonizers, with Jones incorporating details of the real-life Marias Massacre of Blackfeet by the U.S. Army into the plot. Jones heightens the impact of the massacre's recounting through Good Stab's narrative voice, whose easy incorporation of lore and myth into his vernacular makes the supernatural seem believable. It's a remarkably well-wrought work of historical horror that will captivate Jones's fans and newcomers alike."
Booklist concludes their review with this "A riveting story of heartbreak, death, and revenge, this remarkable work of American fiction, a thought-provoking tale filled with existential terror, unease, and a high body count, transforms, in Jones' deft hands, from the unapologetic horror novel it most certainly is into a critique of the entire idea of the United States--a critique that, despite the horrors, both real and supernatural, is forcefully infused with both heart and hope."
Library Journal's review and recommendation: "Etsy Beaucarne is a professor under pressure to publish more, thereby securing tenure. When a dayworker finds a 1912 manuscript written by Arthur Beaucarne, an unknown relative, she may have found a way. Arthur's journal tells of his life as a pastor while transcribing the account of Good Stab, a man from the Blackfoot Nation who says he is a vampire. These three distinct narrative voices are layered within the novel, and each voice contributes to a compelling story that draws readers forward, even as the terror increases. The horrors of historical atrocities are described while also bringing readers along in a deep exploration of identity, revenge, guilt, and the potential for hope. While this is a unique vampire story, it is also grief horror, portraying the mourning of a land and a people, inscribing profound sorrow for what was and what can never be again. VERDICT Jones... holds up past atrocities and their impact into the future. Highly recommended for those who enjoy historical horror with family history..."
NPR calls this "Jones' masterpiece...because the prose is gorgeous and the plot is complex, engaging, and multilayered..." The New York Times offers that Jones "...has created a novel that invites us to reflect on how the stories we tell about ourselves can be at once confessions and concealments..." Kirkus closes their review with this, "A weirdly satisfying and bloody reckoning with some of America’s most shameful history."
Although this book is about and partially told from the perspective of a vampire, that word is never used in the book. I found the narrative of Good Stab (the native American vampire) to be very slow and even tedious in spite of the graphic depictions of his vengeful and life-preserving kills.
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