The Unicorn Woman

by Gayl Jones

Marking a dramatic new direction for Jones, a riveting tale set in the Post WWII South, narrated by a Black soldier who returns to Jim Crow and searches for a mythical ideal

Set in the early 1950s, this latest novel from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Gayl Jones follows the witty but perplexing army veteran Buddy Ray Guy as he embodies the fate of Black soldiers who return, not in glory, but into their Jim Crow communities.

A cook and tractor repairman, Buddy was known as Budweiser to his army pals because he’s a wise guy. But underneath that surface, he is a true self-educated intellectual and a classic looking for religion, looking for meaning, looking for love.

As he moves around the south, from his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, primarily, to his second home of Memphis, Tennessee, he recalls his love affairs in post-war France and encounters with a variety of colorful characters and mythical circus barkers, topiary trimmers, landladies who provide shelter and plenty of advice for their all-Black clientele, proto feminists, and bigots. The lead among these characters is, of course, The Unicorn Woman, who exists, but mostly lives in Bud’s private mythology.

Jones offers a rich, intriguing exploration of Black (and Indigenous) people in a time and place of frustration, disappointment, and spiritual hope.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Book Club, Literature, Literary Fiction, Novels, Audiobook

192 pages, Hardcover

Published August 20, 2024

About the author

Gayl Jones is an African-American writer from Lexington, Kentucky. Her most famous works are Corregidora, Eva's Man, and The Healing.

Jones is a 1971 graduate of Connecticut College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While attending the college she also earned the Frances Steloff Award for Fiction. She then began a graduate program in creative writing at Brown University, studying under poet Michael Harper and earning a Master of Arts in 1973 and a Doctor of Arts in 1975.

Harper introduced Jones's work to Toni Morrison, who was an editor at the time, and in 1975, Jones published her first novel Corregidora at the age of 26. That same year she was a visiting lecturer at the University of Michigan, which hired her the following year as an assistant professor. She left her faculty position in 1983 and moved to Europe, where she wrote and published Die Vogelfaengerin (The Birdwatcher) in Germany and a poetry collection, Xarque and Other Poems. Jones's 1998 novel The Healing was a finalist for the National Book Award, although the media attention surrounding her novel's release focused more on the controversy in her personal life than on the work itself. Her papers are currently housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. Jones currently lives in Lexington, Kentucky, where she continues to write.

Jones has described herself as an improvisor, and her work bears out that statement: like a jazz or blues musician, Jones plays upon a specific set of themes, varying them and exploring their possible permutations. Though her fiction has been called “Gothic” in its exploration of madness, violence, and sexuality, musical metaphors might make for a more apt categorization.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buddy Ray Guy repairs tractors and enjoys the carnival. He’s recently back to Kentucky after serving in World War II, and one day sees a Unicorn Woman in the “oddities” tent at the carnival. She’s a beautiful Black woman, and he becomes obsessed with her, following the carnival whenever he can to see her, and trying to discover if the horn is real and what its meaning might be.

I really liked Buddy. On first meeting him, a woman said he had the eyes of "someone who spends their time reading books," but the hands of a hardworking man,” and we see these sides of his personality throughout the story. I loved the herbalist friend of his Aunt Maggie, “Doc” Leeds, with her individualized prescriptions and good sense advice. I liked the gentle, subtle writing style, and I very much enjoyed the glimpses into the Black American experience in the Jim Crow South.

But the experimental style didn’t work very well for me overall. It read like I was watching an independent film, and the way the story meandered felt kind of indulgent. Buddy just wanders around chatting with folks, remembering his experiences in Europe during the war, relaying his dreams, and thinking about the women in his life and how they compare to the Unicorn Woman. I’m a fan of a gentle story, but this was a little too gentle.

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and very much appreciate the chance to experience it.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm? I’m not sure about this one. Not much of a story here. Her writing is up to par, but the tale seems…. corny. I can’t believe I just wrote that. The prose is steadfast, a hallmark of all her novels. However, to have this courageous prose wasted on a story of a search for a real life woman with a unicorn is disappointing. I somehow thought the use of unicorn in the title referred metaphorically to a rare woman. I never dreamed it was a literal reference, although the way the character Bud is depicted, this mythical/ real Unicorn woman may exist after all only in Bud’s home spun mythology. Perhaps, I missed something and I can’t wait to see what others glean from this experimental story. The novel weaves in and out of a few genres, psychological thriller, magical realism, and even downright horror. Big thank you to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for an advanced DRC. Book drops 8/20/2024

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't get it. Maybe it's poor advertising? Seems doubtful as Jones was never exactly on popular radars until recently. Contrarianism? Beats me.

If, like myself, you thought that Mosquito was an absolute fucking joy, read on. This inhabits that same enculturating world that Jones dips in and out of, and has the same charming tendency to crowbar Black cultural antecedents as Mosquito or The Healing so successfully exhibited. It is unapologetically Southern, meditative, and wholly committed to the Small Movements that come to define a life.

If you're looking for Corregidora or Eva, even a White Rat, you'll be disappointed. Same goes for fucking unicorns; the number of reviewers disappointed by the lack of titular literalism is—sigh—fucking exasperating. Unicorn Porn lovers: trod yonder pastures. However, If none of what has, until this very point here --> ____ <--, constituted this paragraph equates to a slamming of your breaks/flashing of your hazards, I heartily encourage this mature work by an author no longer fluxed by the impetuousness, the False Enormity, of youth. That doesn't mean she thinks justice has been satisfied. Far from it.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 - This book was all over the place. There was no steady plot and the author had this annoying habit of making the characters repeat themselves multiple times, so it felt like I was reading the same paragraph over and over again. At least it was short. I definitely won't be picking anything else up by this author.

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of a mess. I would have preferred a plot. Since this was my second attempt with this author I am going to conclude that we just don’t get along. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddy Ray Guy has encountered that rarest of creatures, the unicorn woman. No, really: he sees, at a carnival, a woman with a horn apparently growing out of her forehead, which sets him on a (relatively half-hearted) quest to meet and talk to her. All he really does, though, is follow the carnival around and pay his money to stare at her.

But this is not a story about the unicorn woman; it’s really about Buddy, a Black World War II veteran newly returned to the South with its Jim Crow laws. It’s an exploration of dislocation: Buddy delayed his return to the US and spent time and had affairs in post-War France, and then also hung out for a bit in Harlem before returning home. He has a decent but relatively irregular job, and in between contracts, he wanders.

*The Unicorn Woman* is an exquisitely done slice-of-life depiction of post-WWII southern US from a Black veteran’s perspective, somewhat surreal, magical and tender. It touches on Black lives and struggles, sexism (both in the US and, surprisingly, in post-war France), and encounters in the rural South during Jim Crow. Buddy is an excellent narrator and character, pensive and slightly unworldly, but acutely perceptive. He sets the tone for and leisurely pace of this wonderful, character-driven novel.

Many thanks to Beacon Press and Edelweiss for early access.

[Gregory Duke · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

The first seventy or so pages is some of the best post-Mosquito writing Gayl Jones has done. And then, like the rest of her recently published work, falls apart due to a lack of coherent structure. Pleasant and aimless and then boring and bemusing. Still some of the most diverse and nuanced depictions of Black life are in the pages of Gayl Jones' work though, even after all these years.

[RH Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very atmospheric, dreamy portrait of a time and place. It’s not plot driven but extremely vivid.

[Geoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating read. A journey, an exploration. You become part of the fabric, the weave of post ww2 America. The racism is part of the weave it’s there. Buddy Guy lives with and moves across the mid-South.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have a difficult time reading experimental books with no “plot”, so i had a bit of a hard time finding the motivation to continue reading this. but, when i picked the book up, i wanted to keep reading. i think in some ways, the form and the content speak to one another, and i appreciate that (re: wandering). but, i do prefer
to read fiction with more of a straight forward plot, it just keeps me more engaged.

WITH THAT SAID, the lack of a clear plot and the presence of multiple timelines doesn’t make this a bad book. i think this is one of those books you need to read alongside someone or a class to really understand it. theres A LOT going on at the level of structure, motif, and theme. and because Jones is juggling all this, it is possible to miss something small but integral.

I was really excited to read this because it was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and i see lots of people wondering how this book was even considered for the prize. and to those people i say: maybe just pay more attention, and consider for one second that books are not required to be plot driven to be good books!!! expand your mind… I think that The Unicorn Woman is a book driven by theme and history, and to have a firm understanding of everything Jones is juggling, I can definitely see how it would be helpful to read this book with some historical background knowledge and maybe with a group of peers so you can examine what’s happening together. But god forbid a book makes people think a little. lol.

final assessment: The Unicorn Woman does a really excellent job of weaving history into its prose to examine the reality of Black soldiers returning to America after WW2. and i think the unicorn woman as a metaphor / motif is really compelling even though I think what exactly she represents remains pretty ambiguous….but i think that’s part of the allure and effectiveness.

[Tilly Norster · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Offered very interesting perspectives on black men after the war.
The unicorn lady is definitely an effective metaphor

[Maggie Kettering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful prose, and interesting characters, but the propulsion of the story was slow.

[Sammi Cheung · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok i read this because it was a pulitzer finalist but honestly found it quite random

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

“ I’m not like Horace Greeley’, he said. ‘I don’t advise the young men to go west. I advise them to go inside. ‘Go inside young man.’ But a young man doesn’t listen to that. He wants to travel out there.’ He pointed to the infinity of the ocean. “And I don’t blame him, because when I was a young man, that’s exactly what I did myself. I ran away to sea. But at least a young man oughta know some of his traveling inside himself. That’s where I do most of all my traveling now that I’m an old man. Too bad you can’t build a sail to travel inside. But it’s supposed to be difficult. Traveling inside is difficult. It’s difficult to look inside yourself. That’s why the young men would rather go out there or out west like Horace Greeley advised them. And I don’t blame them. I did that myself when I was a young man.’”

This rambling repetitive quote is the style of the entire book. If you think of it as a piece of jazz music that has no rhyme or reason, just sensations and feelings, its a little easier to get through. Short book, no plot, imaginative writing, but not interested.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetic but this book just did not work for me. A true disappointment.

[Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Gayl Jones writes sentences and ideas that swirl and swerve and serve. As a women who dated a man looking for his unicorn women, I loved the theme and discourse of this book. I can't wait to read more.

[Mike Barnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wonderful writing. Slow to start and meandering at times (although that might be intentional given the subject), but gets extremely great by the end. I like it when a book gets better instead of seeming like the author doesn’t know how to end it.

[TuesdaysFox · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Unicorn Woman feels less like a novel and more like drifting through someone else’s memories on a sticky Southern afternoon, slow, hazy, and very much about vibes rather than plot.

I liked Buddy and the way he moved through the Jim Crow South, absorbing people, conversations, and small truths. The supporting cast shines too, Doc Leeds in particular, with her herbal remedies and no-nonsense warmth, felt particularly real. The atmosphere is rich, almost tactile, and the glimpses of Black life, history, and inner worlds are thoughtful and beautifully handled.

But… the structure (or lack thereof) didn’t entirely work for me.

I don’t need a plot. I’m more than happy with a book that wanders. However, there’s a fine line between intentional meandering and just… drifting about. Buddy goes from conversation to memory to dream to another conversation, and after a while, the very long monologues started to wear me down. At times, it felt a bit self-indulgent, as if the book was so committed to being dreamy that it forgot the reader might want something to latch onto.

The experimental, almost indie-film feel will absolutely work for some people; a friend said it would make a better film than a novel, and honestly, I see it.

Even when my attention started slipping, though, I never doubted the care or intelligence behind it. Gayl Jones captures time, place, and interior life with real depth. I just wish the same restraint shown in the prose had been applied to the length of those monologues.

[P. Rohrer-Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, the story is interesting. It's about one man's curiosity and obsession, which the reader--at least this on--slowly begins to take on. Unfortunately, the ending disappointed, causing me to wonder if the point was that the story itself is just a circus show of illusion and con.

I read Gayl Jones' Corregidora. This is nothing like that!

quotes:

“And I know where from I speak. Illusion and confusion, that’s all it is. Plus, women make you a dreamer while you’re courting ‘em, but then when you get ‘em they keep you wide awake. I know where from I speak. Pick a woman while you’re wide awake and you know what you got.” 46
“Amos ‘n’ Andy ought to disturb her spirit,” mumbles Aunt Maggie as we drive off. “They ought to disturb the spirit of the race. They are portrayed by white men pretending to be colored people. It is not unlike a minstrel show, except on the radio.” 53
When you can’t go on belief, you go on wonder. 59
She says, “You are more of a freedom seeker, though, than a unicorn seeker, Buddy Ray. I don’t know whether freedom seekers are ever truly satisfied. …” 78
Then she quoted to me what she called an African American proverb: “Tell me whom you love and I’ll tell you who you are.” 149

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Unicorn Woman by Gayl Jones presents Buddy Ray Guy’s life after World War II and offers a deep understanding of how Black veterans were treated when they returned home. Although Buddy fought for his country, he comes back to a society shaped by racism, where freedom feels incomplete. Through his experiences, the novel shows how religion, community beliefs, and lived realities shape the Black perspective on life and on white society. These themes are conveyed in an engaging and reflective manner, making Buddy’s inner thoughts and observations especially compelling.

However, the narrative often feels like it drifts, moving away from a structured storyline into memories, reflections, and philosophical musings. This drifting mirrors Buddy’s own unsettled state of mind after the war. His obsession with the Unicorn Woman a girl with a horn growing from her forehead symbolizes the emptiness and confusion he carries within him. She represents his longing for something extraordinary, something that can give meaning to his post-war life. Overall, the novel is less about action and more about Buddy’s emotional and spiritual search, making it a thoughtful but unconventional reading experience.

[Holly Semanchick Xhema · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars overall ⭐️

This appeared to have a set goal for its main character (for Buddy to find his Unicorn Woman) yet the plot has little tangible activity that really matters. It unfolds like a dream, almost otherworldly in its leisurely pace.
Throughout, characters come in/out of the story and some have an impact, but most don’t. There’s a lot of chatter: people talk to Bud, he engages, they babble on with their own thoughts. Characters share their own memories, but oftentimes, little relates directly to Bud or the Unicorn Woman. They repeat lines, almost to remind themselves of what they’re saying. It’s more so that they’re recollecting their thoughts to share with him, then he moves right along. While that lends to the dream-like tone, it also can be repetitive and irrelevant to the story itself.
Ultimately, it’s a short, enjoyable read, but doesn’t feel particularly memorable.

[Lena Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Gayl Jones novel to read, so perhaps that is why I was not disappointed by it. Her characterization is phenomenal! I don't understand how Buddy Ray can feel so incredibly human and deeply real, while also feeling so distant and elusive. How does Jones do that? I loved the disjointedness of the narrative: the flashbacks and dream sequences that weren't always introduced as such. It could get confusing momentarily, but added to the feeling of truth and realism. I appreciate what this novel said about the impossibility of the American Dream, the forced indignity of second-class citizenship and the possibilities of invisibility as redemption, and the fleeting nature of life in tiny, easily forgettable moments. This novel was beautiful. If this is Jones' least-good novel, I am excited to read her best.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe this novel was too “literary” in style for me, but I found it such a drag and really didn’t enjoy it. The story jumps between timelines and includes many, many page-long quotes of songs and poems, some of which are not even in English. There is no storyline to speak of and the “unicorn lady” isn’t even a main character or explored in depth.

I understand that part of the story is that the MC Buddy is drifting between people and places so we don’t get to know many (or any) of the side characters very well, however I also finished the book without knowing anything really about Buddy.

There wasn’t any complex commentary on racism and social issues either, besides for throwaway lines referring to venues not accepting Black customers or women losing their jobs when the men returned after the war.

[Chris Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsession and Dreaming

Buddy is a Black man, back from a sojourn in France after serving the at the end of WWII. His sojourn continues upon his return to the US. This novel is pleasingly enigmatic, venturing around in time and space as Buddy searches for the Unicorn Woman he sees at a carnival freak show.

Time: the novel telescopes back and forth, one thought playing off another as themes like beauty, love, spirituality, belonging, but especially beauty, are meditated upon.

Place: Buddy’s travels through rural Kentucky, Lexington, KY, Harlem, and Jim Crow Memphis frame Buddy’s experiences and recollections.

This novel is musical, somehow harmonizing deep thoughts and meaningful deeds with a minimal framework of plot. Gayl Jones is a master of voice.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Control of tone and a strong narrative voice may be what hooks me into Gayle Jones' novels. Its what made Eva's Man such a provocative and sticky book for me and I found myself fondly recalling the feeling of reading Eva's Man the first time while gleefully skipping through the muscular prose in The Unicorn Woman. That 'strong narrative voice' belongs to Billy Ray Guy, a Black WWII vet who ventures through the south after first encountering the aforementioned 'Unicorn Woman' in a circus freak show tent. Seeing her puts him on a journey through the south and a gallery of vibrantly written women characters. The book would pair superbly with Morrison's 'Song of Solomon' and there's few other writers in the world who could. A marvelous book, brief and powerful as a snakebite.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

After returning to the US after WWIi, Buddy Ray Guy develops an interest in carnival side shows. In one side show, Buddy is captivated by a woman with a horn protruding from her forehead. He becomes intrigued with her which leads him on a quest to follow her. This search becomes his path through cities, among friends, during part-time jobs, and into a variety of living situations. The people Buddy meets along his journey are the main content of this book. Fans of character studies will enjoy Buddy’s relationships with a wide cast of characters. I listened to the audiobook version which provided the narration in a variety of dialects. One warning…the n* word is used more than once.

[Carrolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I enjoyed this book so much, but it definitely left me feeling some kinda way. Buddy Guy’s search for the Unicorn Woman is like the search for love or completeness that many of us have been on at some point in our lives. His real life continues as he searches and he meets several interesting people along the way. Some of the women he meets are potential partners, but he keeps them at a distance while being honest about his search. Honesty can be a rare quality (especially in a man) and it makes Buddy even more attractive. Like Buddy, the author meanders through her story. Unique and well written, my favorite so far this year.

[Beckiezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

He never even gets to have a real conversation with the unicorn woman??? Quick enough read and I enjoyed the reader’s voice, but the story doesn’t really go anywhere. An interesting look at the mind and dreams of a post war southern black man. I imagine there’s some symbolism there in the search for an unattainable woman and his somewhat in between state of being. He’s surrounded by the preliminaries of the civil rights movement, has access to a lot of information and reading materials, but isn’t really moving forward in his life. I’ll look forward to what people have to say in book club tomorrow.

[Cynthia Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated between two and three stars. The best was the description of the life of colored races in post WWII Kentucky and Tennessee. Characters wer mixtures of African, Native American, Irish, Spanish. Etc. but considered Negros regardless. Lived parallel lives with the white communities.

Story was a mish mash of characters interacting with primary man who is searching for a carnival “unicorn woman” he loved, or thought he would love if he could find and rescue her from the carnival life.

[Veronica ReadsandRecreation · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever read a story that captivated you with its imagination despite very little happening? That’s how I feel about this novel. Bud, a well-read former soldier, travels through the southern roads in Jim Crow America observing the world of the black and indigenous on his quest to find the (metaphorical and literal) unicorn woman who caught his eye years before. Each encounter reminds him of the people he’s met and lessons he’s learned through a lifetime of empathy and curiosity. The thought-provoking prose throughout is beautiful and often poetic.