Bog Child (Hardcover)

by Siobhan Dowd (Author)
Key Phrases: child time forgot, bog child, sentry hut, Uncle Tally, Michael Rafters, Professor Taylor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 9 Up—It is 1981, and 18-year-old Fergus lives on the border between Northern Ireland and the south. His older brother, Joe, a member of the Provisional IRA, is jailed at Long Kesh and joins a hunger strike. The family is traumatized, and Fergus does his best to comfort his mother and to convince Joe that his "sacrifice" for the cause is not worth it. Fergus has been pressured (blackmailed) to smuggle packages for the IRA, but wants nothing more than to leave Ireland and study to become a doctor. His life becomes even more complicated when he and his uncle discover the body of a young girl while pilfering peat. It turns out to be 2000 years old. Thus begins a double narrative that involves a love story and a discussion of destiny and self-sacrifice. Fergus's story includes his struggle to understand his brother's actions and his growing love for the daughter of the archaeologist called in to investigate the Iron Age discovery. Interspersed is the story of Mel, the bog child, who makes the ultimate sacrifice to unite her people, and who finds love at the end of her life. The two narratives work beautifully together. The love story between Fergus and Cora is depicted with tenderness, and their adolescent sexuality is sensitively portrayed. Readers will come away with a strong sense of the time periods (especially of the "Troubles") through dialogue and action. This compelling read is lyrically written and contains authentic dialogue and challenging and involving moral issues. It's a first, and a must-have purchase.—Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* While cutting peat in the Irish hills, Fergus McCann and his uncle discover a body preserved by the bog. Archaeologists and politicians fight over the find, while Fergus starts to dream about the past of the bog child he names “Mel.” Dowd slowly reveals the story of Mel’s mysterious death, an apparent murder, amid the 1980s troubles of Northern Ireland and the hunger strike of the Long Kesh political prisoners. Fergus’ imprisoned older brother joins the strike as Fergus is blackmailed into delivering packages that may contain bomb-making supplies. The history, which will likely be as unfamiliar to American teen readers as the story’s dialect, may need fleshing out with additional sources, but the intriguing characters and their motivations and sacrifices will translate directly to contemporary readers. The plotlines are braided together into a strong story that is rich in language, setting, and theme. Fans of David Almond’s work will savor the similar religious influences and the elements of magical realism. A budding romance with the archaeologist’s daughter, exuberant Cora, will delight readers, who will wonder, as Fergus does after his first kisses, “Why wasn’t the whole world doing this all the time, why?” Grades 8-11. --Cindy Dobrez

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: David Fickling Books (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385751699
• ISBN-13: 978-0385751698
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,782 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The work of an author at the peak of her powers, November 19, 2008

By	Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

One wouldn't think that an Iron Age maiden, an archaeological discovery and Northern Ireland's infamous "Troubles" could be combined into a successful, even riveting, work of fiction. But talented author Siobhan Dowd does just that in BOG CHILD, a captivating novel that intertwines two eras of history in the story of one young man's coming of age.

Eighteen-year-old Fergus McCann is having a rough go of it. His older brother Joe, the "soldier" of the family, is incarcerated as a political prisoner because of his involvement with the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His parents are sick with worry, especially when Joe, inspired by the martyrdom of other high-profile prisoners, begins a hunger strike protest in jail. His younger sisters don't understand why everyone is so worried, or why Joe just can't get better and come home. As for Fergus, he has the dual worries of preparing for his driver's exam and his A levels. If he does well enough on his college prep exams, he'll be able to get into a pre-med program in Scotland --- and escape the violent Troubles in Northern Ireland once and for all.

The year is 1981, and IRA activity is at a peak. Fergus and his family live right on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, so close that he can cross the border into Ireland when he goes for a long run or (as they do at the novel's opening) when he and his uncle go to poach peat to sell for use as heating fuel.

That's when Fergus makes a discovery that will change everything. Peat moss has an uncanny ability to preserve whatever falls into it. So when Fergus finds a young girl's body, he is at first convinced that it's another IRA murder victim dumped in the bog. But when an Irish archaeologist (accompanied by her fetching daughter) confirms that the body instead belongs to a girl from the year AD 80, Fergus's dreams grow haunted by the girl, nicknamed Mel, whose story is so different from --- and yet startlingly similar to --- his own.

Many young American readers will find not only Mel's story but also Fergus's an eye-opening account of history. Dowd does a commendable job of explaining the Troubles to her audience without ever dumbing down the narrative for them. In fact, the writing throughout is lyrical and complex enough to satisfy any reader, whatever their age.

Fergus is a thoughtful, intelligent boy who takes issues of right and wrong seriously. His primary moral crisis --- which culminates in two surprising twists (one humorous, one tragic) --- is not an easy one; nor is the difficult decision that faces the McCann family near the end of the novel and threatens to tear them apart. BOG CHILD handles the big questions --- about personal responsibility, sacrifice, political action, love and borders --- with appropriate gravity, respect and thoughtfulness. And, as Fergus balances counting up the days of Joe's life-threatening hunger strike with his own eagerness to embrace his future, it also manages to sustain suspense from the very first page to the last.

BOG CHILD, which has been short-listed for the Guardian Prize, is the work of an author at the peak of her powers. I read, and loved, Dowd's LONDON EYE MYSTERY last year; with her current book, Dowd shows the true extent of her talent. I was saddened to hear that this promising author died last summer after a long battle with breast cancer. Literature for young people has lost such a gifted writer; those who have been fortunate enough to discover her work can be grateful that, in BOG CHILD and one additional novel to be published next year, her voice lives on.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Storytelling, April 13, 2009

By	Earthling (Fl, USA) - See all my reviews

A body is found preserved in a peat bog in Ireland in 1981. The story centers on solving the mystery of who the bog child is. The action bounces back and forth between the year 80AD and 1981 a time of great political upheaval in Ireland. I usually hate books with time shifts at every chapter but the prose are so beautiful and the plot and characters so interesting I was enchanted. I enjoyed the book so much I sought out other works by Siobahn Dowd. I found and read A Swift Pure Cry which was wonderful as well. I also learned that the author has passed from breast cancer. Very sad that we will see no more works from her but these two books are a treasure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Growing Up On the Border , March 30, 2009

By	Hallie Tibbetts "Hallie" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bog Child is a tapestry of a coming-of-age tale. Set in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, it follows Fergus, a young man just finishing his schooling and hoping his grades will position him for university, after which he'd like to be a doctor. When he and his uncle go out to steal peat to sell, Fergus discovers the body of a child in the bog, and dreams of this relic's life begin to haunt him. His days are haunted with matters both trivial and important--will he make it through his exams? How will he do on his driver's test? Should he cooperate with the Irish Republican Army? Can he be friends with a solider who might shoot his friends and family to keep order? Will Cora, the daughter of the archaeologist investigating the bog child, ever notice him? Will his older brother die from his hunger strike, and will Fergus's family survive the loss intact?

Readers without much knowledge of the conflict that is the backdrop for Bog Child might find the first third of the book is easier if they take a few minutes to review the history, and still others might struggle with unfamiliar terms and idioms; U.S. readers have few opportunities to hear such a voice among what's being published commercially. Still, the book is a satisfying read as the plot threads come together to form a wistful picture of growing up in modern-era wartime.