The Bog Wife Review

Hi, class. The word of the day is weird. Feel free to count the number of times it appears in this review.

In my last review I said it would be hard to find a book more unique than Black River Orchard. Well, I think I did. Seriously, The Bog Wife is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Let’s review it.

Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts on The Bog Wife

Let me be completely honest. The Bog Wife is weird. Like weird, weird. And I don’t know if I liked it or not. I hope writing this review will give me a little insight.

It started out great. The setting was super atmospheric and uneasy. If you like creepy woods this one does it right.

In this creepy bog we’re introduced to our characters. They’re all grown but they are very childlike due to their upbringing. I absolutely pitied them throughout the story, but I can’t necessarily say that I liked them. They, like everything else in this book, were weird and off-putting.

The action begins with our weird characters taking part in a weird ancient ritual in the strange, creepy bog. After that it sharply transitions to the day to day life of these poor people trying to exist without any moorings or guidance. The life they know changed suddenly and they’re not prepared to deal with the aftermath. It went from real creepy to more of an everyday type of tension that made me think that this might not be a horror novel after all. It started to read more like a lit fiction book with a slight thriller sub-plot.

But then right at the end, the horror came rushing back. Not in an overly in your face horror way. Moreso, in a weird, uncomfortable, creepy crawly type way. I really don’t know how to process this one. It really didn’t do much. Nothing drastic happened in the climax and it felt like there were some loose ends that could have been fixed. But it did unsettle me in all sorts of ways. So, I guess as a horror novel it was a success. Do what you will with this rambling information, hahaha. But my biggest piece of advice is go in with an open mind.

My Rating: 3/5 (I Think)