Every year on May 31, the St. Cloud family reunites at their childhood home in a ritual that commemorates a tragic event from 1992. Their brother, Roland, dressed in his sister’s clothes and makeup, committed a heinous act that altered the course of their lives forever. Katherine Packert Burke’s novel, All Us Saintsexplores the aftermath of this event and the family’s struggle to reclaim their narrative from the pop cultural spotlight that has since engulfed them.
The St. Clouds, a family of artists and performers, have become the subject of true crime books and a transphobic slasher franchise inspired by the killings. Their annual ritual, involving the lighting and extinguishing of candles symbolizing the murdered teens, is a way for Roland’s siblings to reenact and take ownership of a traumatic experience that has transcended the walls of their family home.
The Trope of the Transgender Slasher Killer
The trope of the crossdressing, trans-coded murderer has been a staple in horror stories since Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. However, Burke’s novel stands out as it features an actual trans feminine murderer, Roland, who targeted cisgender girls in an occult ritual. Burke, a trans woman herself, delves into the traumatic personal and cultural ripple effects of such a story. Roland’s actions, though monstrous, are complex and unsettling, casting a long shadow over the novel.
Burke’s novel is not a mere reclamation of a tired trope but an interrogation of the cisgender gaze and how it shapes violence and the events that precede and follow. It’s a challenging read that forces its audience to stand witness to a family transformed by horrific violence.
A Unique Narrative Structure
Just as her debut novel Still Life took inspiration from Stephen Sondheim’s musicals, All Us Saints borrows its structure from a two-act play. The novel opens with a dramatis personae and is split into two distinct halves, both occurring on the night of the St. Clouds’ ritual in 2011 and 2012, with a short intermission in between.
The novel’s chapters read like staged scenes, often taking place in a single location within the St. Cloud home. The dialogue is heightened and expository, mirroring stage directions. The intermission is the only section in the novel that reads like traditional literary fiction, with a first-person narrator giving Roland, referred to in the dramatis personae only as The Monstera chance to speak.
The St. Cloud Family: Artists and Performers
The St. Cloud parents were playwrights, and their children, particularly Roland, can vividly recall seeing their dramatic doppelgangers depicted on stage. Calla St. Cloud, the youngest daughter, has continued their legacy but has forsaken playwriting in favor of building and burning down her family home in The Neighborhooda fictional video game. Edna, Roland’s twin sister and best friend of the three murder victims, married the true crime writer who chronicled and popularized the St. Cloud story. James, the youngest St. Cloud, has developed a fascination with the slasher film franchise inspired by his older sibling. Even Edna’s teenage daughter Wren is affected by the shadow of the events of May 31, 1992.
The St. Clouds are a family stuck in time; everything they do is a performance in response to Roland’s killings. This metatextual marrying of trauma and performativity with narrative form makes All Us Saints both fascinating and polarizing.
Burke’s novel shouldn’t be easy to read; its narrative conceit alone is squirm-inducing and asks uncomfortable questions, particularly of trans readers. Just like the St. Clouds, All Us Saints itself is unsettled and off-kilter but entirely fascinating in its dark vulnerability.
