The bog wife A novel

The Haddesley family has lived on the same bog in West Virginia for generations. As each patriarch dies and is buried, the bog produces a wife for the eldest son in return. But for the current generation--Charlie, the eldest; Wenna, who escaped the bog in her teens; Percy, the son most devoted to the bog; Eda, the matriarch since their mother's disappearance; and Nora--no wife has come, the bog is dying, and their home is crumbling. Told over the course of a year from the alternating viewpoints of each sibling, with a section for each season, Chronister's latest (after Desert Creatures, 2022) is an immersive, haunting, and compelling tale of a family being crushed by the weight of their secrets and held hostage by their traditions. It's a lush and uneasy tale that leaves both characters and readers at the mercy of the land itself. For fans of atmospheric, character-driven horror featuring a strong sense of place such as Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin (2017), The Ghost Wall, by Sarah Moss (2019), or Sacrificial Animals, by Kailee Pedersen (2024).

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.)