The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Wenna left home nearly a decade ago, running away from her family’s legacy and the stifling home life ruled over by her father.  Now her youngest sister Nora has written to her, asking her to come back to the family home in West Virginia because her father is dying.  Wenna is needed for the rites which will ensure that the family and the compact will continue.

For generations, so they’ve been told, the Haddesley family has tended the bog and in return, the bog has nourished them and provided the eldest son with a wife after the patriarch dies.  There are rituals to be performed as part of the Haddesleys’ side of the bargain before the wife arrives.

But no wife comes.  The five siblings—Charlie, the eldest son and reluctant heir; Eda the eldest daughter who sees herself as the guardian of the family and its heritage ; Wenna, the middle child who once found the courage to leave; Nora, the youngest daughter who collects injured creatures and cares for them; and Percy, the youngest child who would like to be the heir— are suddenly in uncharted waters, unsure what to do. How do you fix a compact forged thousands of years ago?

Told in alternating chapters from each of the siblings’ points of view, The Bog Wife is a sort of Appalachian gothic, set in a crumbling house where time has stood still.  There’s a sense of claustrophobia, scented with decay; the hand me down clothes, decades out of fashion, old copies of the National Enquirer with lurid stories of celebrities and garish photos showing a life that might as well be taking place on another planet, the odd cans of soup and gathered food that form their meals, and above all, the family secrets.

I picked this up because the reviews all alluded to the Appalachian setting and to the folkloric elements.  I was also in the mood for an atmospheric book, and this one certainly delivered. This is one of those books that raises as many questions as it answers, but that’s part of the enjoyment for me, coming up with my own answers—or not.  The characters are all sympathetic in their own ways; I liked them all and so wanted happy endings for all of them—or at least what I would consider happy.  I’m not sure the Haddesleys would agree with my versions.  There are so many layers in this book.  I found myself re-reading sections, trying to suss out some of the meanings.

This may not be a book for everyone, but if gothic family sagas with supernatural touches and folkloric are a genre you enjoy, then give The Bog Wife a try. Better yet, find a friend to read it at the same time.  You’ll have a lot to talk about.