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There are currently 32 member reviews
for The Bog Wife
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Stephanie K. (Glendale, AZ)
Bogged Down
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister is a depressive chronicle of the twisted lives of the Haddesley family of West Virginia. After their father's death, the adult children attempt dysfunctional coping with one another and the outside world, much of it to little avail. How each deals with habit and habitation is the subject of this novel, which I believe would appeal to those who like dark, gothic fiction. The Haddesleys' sideways approaches to life and its silent terrors remind us all that we're more like them than not. The family cranberry bog seems to be a euphemism for what happens to everyone as they wend their way through life. Misunderstand or defy the bog and you risk not only your sanity but your very physical existence. This is what each family member has to endure and comprehend in his or her own way.
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Linda M. (Ocala, FL)
Strange People in a Strange Bog
The Bog Wife
The Bog Wife is a unique smorgasbord of Southern Gothic, environmental horror, magical realism and family disfunction set in rural West Virginia over the course of one very wet and cold year. The isolated ancestral home which is situated on the edge of a peat bog is dirty, cluttered, and on the verge of collapse with a huge hemlock tree fallen through the roof. The family patriarch has died and the five siblings are trying to make sense of their family history and the family's compact with the bog. Through a dozen generations the bog has provided a cranberry crop, peat for heat, and a new bog wife for the eldest son when he becomes the patriarch. In return, the family has cared for the bog defending it from invasive plants and other environmental hazards. Now things are not progressing as planned for either the bog or its caretakers. Be warned, this book is a compelling read and might keep you up late into the night. It will appeal to readers who enjoy horror and mystery.
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Jayne S. (Coconut Creek, FL)
Interesting Read?
I enjoyed the book. It's not my usual genre; so, my review rating may be a little biased. I am also confused about the plot. I first thought it was supernatural. Then, as I continued reading, I thought it was more about the stories and oral history passed down through generations. To the family members, these stories become the truth even though it's not. Then, I felt it again turned supernatural. This left me a bit confused. Again, this may be to my experience this genre.
I did enjoy the book. This is a book about family and the siblings within the family. Family dynamics are complicated. I enjoyed learning about all about the siblings, their family history, and their environment. I would recommend this book, especially to someone who is a huge fan of the supernatural genre.
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Juli B. (Prosper, TX)
Appreciative of the Author's Imagination
Kudos to Kay Chronister for crafting a storyline that is truly unlike any other I have read! Her writing style provided descriptive chapters focusing on each of the five Haddesley siblings helping this confused reader follow along with pursued interest. My senses were heightened by each account of the bog area to the point of imagining the intense smells that emanated from the damp Appalachian homestead. Truth be told, I considered giving up on the story multiple times; the family dynamics were too dysfunctional for my taste. The father of this isolated family was delusional, abusive, and deceptive creating a legacy of under-educated, dirty, misguided young adults reminiscent of a survivalist mentality. The generational storyline was just too bizarre for my liking! The manor house would easily be condemned and yet family members continued to cling to the decaying structure as their only lifeline; readers will shake their heads in disbelief. The author finally explains the mother's disappearance in the final chapters, but by then this reader was only finishing the book to be polite.
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Elise B. (Macedonia, OH)
Mixed Genres
I enjoyed most of The Bog Wife, but struggled to finish it. I flew through the first 3/4 of the book which I perceived to be about family truths. Things you believe to be true due to the stories you are told growing up. The Haddesley children are raised with stories of a compact with the bog and generations of the Haddesleys. The compact requires to bog to produce a wife for the eldest Haddesley son. The truth behind this compact begins to unravel and I was excited to see what direction the children would go. The novel then took an odd turn into the supernatural with the presumed dead mother. I struggled to get through the book after this. It did not appeal to me at all. I would not recommend this book.
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Betcei B. (Huntsville, AL)
Gothic creepiness
The Bog Wife is a gothic novel based around a dysfunctional family, The Haddesleys. It gives the creepiness feels, but I did not find one character that I wanted to know more about before the book ended. The children had all been raised away from the real world to believe there were certain rules and traditions that must be followed or their land and home would no longer be theirs. They were lied to all along. The story screamed "cult" to me, even though it involved only one family. The writing was very good and set off scary, underlying feelings. I am not sure I would recommend it.
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Doreen B.
Not for me
The Bog Wife started out with little "introduction" to the story or it's characters. The reader is given the legend of the story and immediately put into the activity of its actors. It is a dark and strange family tale about an isolated group of siblings that have lived their entire lives away from the outside world. One daughter, who left 10 years before, has been summoned to return for the death of her father and complete an ancient ritual.
It took me some time to make sense of the story, which kept drawing me back in at moments when I was not sure I wanted to continue. Given the book's initial description, I did not enjoy the story as much as I thought I would have. The story was confusing especially where Wenna and her relationship with her family was concerned. The relationship with her husband was confusing especially when Nora got involved and it became unrealistically strange. The story seemed to be supernatural and then seemed to be an elaborate falsehood and then back to the supernatural. The family members were all rather disconnected and unlikeable. The point of the story was never made clear by the end and it felt like the author just ended the story.
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