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(as of Oct 05, 2024 01:42:23 UTC – Details)
“A lush, beautifully written novel about trying to be a person in our strange world . . . Pick this one up for its exquisite characterization, decaying settings and a dash of Southern gothic horror.” —Kiersten White, The New York Times Book Review
A “haunting, brilliant” Appalachian folktale evoking the Southern gothic suspense of Sharp Objects and the eco spine-tinglers of Jeff Vandermeer (Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts)
Five siblings in West Virginia unearth long-buried secrets when the supernatural bargain entwining their fate with their ancestral land is suddenly ruptured
Since time immemorial, the Haddesley family has tended the cranberry bog. In exchange, the bog sustains them. The staunch seasons of their lives are governed by a strict covenant that is renewed each generation with the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, and in return, the bog produces a “bog-wife.” Brought to life from vegetation, this woman is meant to carry on the family line. But when the bog fails—or refuses—to honor the bargain, the Haddesleys, a group of discordant siblings still grieving the mother who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, face an unknown future.
Middle child Wenna, summoned back to the dilapidated family manor just as her marriage is collapsing, believes the Haddesleys must abandon their patrimony. Her siblings are not so easily persuaded. Eldest daughter Eda, de facto head of the household, seeks to salvage the compact by desecrating it. Younger son Percy retreats into the wilderness in a dangerous bid to summon his own bog-wife. And as youngest daughter Nora takes desperate measures to keep her warring siblings together, fledgling patriarch Charlie uncovers a disturbing secret that casts doubt over everything the family has ever believed about itself.
At once a gothic eco-horror, a psychological drama, and a family saga, The Bog Wife is a propulsive read for fans of Shirley Jackson, Karen Russell, and Matt Bell that speaks to what is knowable and unknowable within a family history and how to know when it is time to move forward.
From the Publisher
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<br> Publisher : Counterpoint LLC (October 1, 2024) <br> Language : English <br> Hardcover : 336 pages <br> ISBN-10 : 1640096620 <br> ISBN-13 : 978-1640096622 <br> Item Weight : 1.12 pounds <br> Dimensions : 5.85 x 1.09 x 8.55 inches <br>
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Brenda Prado Wychock –
An interesting gothic read
I really enjoyed this story. It was so good. The family was dysfunctional. The idea of finding a wife in the bog was really creepy. A good spooky season read.
DS –
totally compelling
The closest book to Shirley Jackson I’ve read in years. Great atmosphere, creepy mystery, a dark and damaged family history. I really loved the siblings and found their stories fascinating. Where does our family history intersect at all with reality? What will we choose to believe? HIGHLY recommended.
Lee Ann Oleski –
Appalachian gothic
The Bog Wife is an Appalachian gothic tale that is wildly atmospheric. It centers on the Haddesley family living on their ancestral land set in West Virginia. A supernatural bargain ties them to the land, essentially a bog, which they must tend to in exchange for the bog sustaining them. A ritual sacrifice to the land is preformed which produces a âbog-wifeâ normally brought to life from vegetation, but when the bog fails to honor the bargain, the Haddesley children are thrust into a state of unrest.What I liked:-a very unique and original story-excellent character developmentWhat I didnât like:-I found the story quite slow and I found myself bored at times and wanting the book to end-anticlimacticOverall I give this one âï¸âï¸âï¸
ARS –
As I Lay Dying in Rural Appalachia
The Bog Wife is a complicated family portrait within literary prose. The Haddesley Family is reclusive, isolated asking themselves for over 100 years, contained by an unassailable compact with the cranberry bog that makes up their ancestral land. There is subtle horror here, including body horror and cultish ideologies. I really enjoyed reading this short novel. The ending was haunting, embracing the horror of their predicament more fully. It is reminiscent of Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying with similar themes of broken familial bonds, isolation, and sibling dysfunction.