The Caretaker: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, graphic violence, child death, and ableism.

Jacob Hampton stands watch at a river somewhere in South Korea. He thinks of his home in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, recalling when he told his parents that he had been conscripted for war service. Angry at his decision to marry 16-year-old Naomi Clarke rather than attend college, the Hamptons disinherited him. Before leaving for South Korea, Jacob had asked his parents to care for Naomi in the months leading up to the birth of their child, but the Hamptons refused. Instead, Jacob asked his friend Blackburn Gant, caretaker of the local cemetery, to do so, instructing Blackburn to make sure that Naomi stays away from Blowing Rock except for doctor’s appointments.

Suddenly, Jacob is attacked by a North Korean soldier wielding a knife. He and the solider struggle onto the ice of the frozen river, where the enemy soldier falls into the water and drowns. Jacob stumbles away until he passes out from blood loss.

Blackburn Gant, age 21, has held the caretaker job since he was 16. He thinks back to his apprenticeship with the previous cemetery caretaker.