The Bog Wife

Chronister (Thin Places) creates a claustrophobic portrait of ecological devastation and dire poverty in this grim Appalachian gothic. The Haddesley family of West Virginia has had a long and mystical compact with the bog next to their house. Each Haddesley patriarch is buried in the peat and the eldest son of each generation washes himself in the mud, returning from this ritual with a bog-made bride. However, no bride appears for eldest son Charlie, shattering the fragile ties binding together the rest of the surviving Haddesleys: tyrannical eldest daughter Eda, runaway Wenna, resentful Percy, and animal-loving Nora. Wenna wants to sell the house, Percy to create his own bog wife, Eda to get pregnant and carry on the family line herself, Nora to keep Wenna from returning to her husband in Illinois, and Charlie to delve deep enough into their family history to discover the truth of their origins. These disparate reactions build to an abrupt and unsatisfying ending that leaves toxic cycles intact and the family to stew in their misfortune. Even diehard fans of gothic horror will need a high tolerance for misery to get through this. Agent: Laura Cameron and Amanda Orozco, Transatlantic Agency. (Oct.)