Customer Reviews

The Boggart

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this is a great book because it has excitement in every chapter. The Boggart is an invisible spirit that can change into anything at any time. The characters in this book are a computer whiz named Jessup, his sister Emily, and a mischievous little devil called Boggart. Some of the pranks that the Boggart pulls are making the furniture fly around the mother's antique store and then going into Jessup's computer game and becoming a blue flame. This was a fun book to read, and I had trouble puting it down!

Susan Cooper is best known for The Dark is Rising Sequence, a mix of modern fantasy, folklore and Arthurian legend. In "The Boggart" she goes into related but different territory, loosing an ancient Scottish spirit on a modern family. Often cute and very interestingly written.

The boggart has lived in a decayed Scottish castle for centuries, making harmless mischief and shapeshifting into different forms. But when the elderly caretaker dies, the castle is inherited by the Volnik family, modern Canadians who don't know about the boggart. They arrive in Scotland to check out their rather decrepit property; the boggart decides to take a nap inside a rolltop desk... right before the desk is shipped back to Toronto.

When the desk arrives, the boggart makes the most of his situation by wreaking havoc with the electricity, furniture, non-Scottish foods like pizza, and eventually with traffic. His tricks, though not malicious, can quickly spin out of control and become dangerous. But eventually he wants to go home, communicating with Emily and Jess through the computer. Unfortunately, it's not so easy to get a boggart back to Scotland -- especially when the adults believe the boggart is nonexistant, and an obnoxious parapsychologist is sniffing around.

Until relatively recently, few people knew about the mythical boggart (similar to the bogle). Cooper saves this book from being a typical story of a mythical creature wreaking havoc in the real world by using a little-known Celtic spirit; the result is that the boggart is charming and likable, almost childlike in its mischief, delight over electricity, and quickly-forgotten emotions. The best parts of the book are the ones from the boggart's point of view, such as its memory of a Scottish chieftain who died long ago.

"The Boggart" is a slightly less sparkling book than the "Dark is Rising" books, mostly because her prose is plainer and less detailed here. It only really blossoms when we head to Scotland, the sort of ancient atmospheric surroundings that Cooper seems most comfortable writing.

The boggart, the star, is likably mischievous; Cooper manages to make it inhuman at the same time. It never thinks or acts like a human. Emily and Jessup are likable characters, with distinct personalities. Supporting characters like the parents or the actors are well-fleshed out, never acting like idiots if they don't know about the boggart.

A unique mix of folklore and modern technology. This book could have been so very mediocre, but instead it's a funny, intriguing fantasy. Recommended.

Susan Cooper is best known for her five-part "The Dark is Rising" series, a sequence of fantasy novels that any self-respecting lover of fantasy should have on their bookshelf. Among her lesser known works is the time-slip adventure "King of Shadows", a picture book trilogy based on Celtic legends, and two stories chronicling the doings of a Scottish boggart: "The Boggart" and its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster".

In the Western Highlands of Scotland lives a mysterious and mischievous spirit known as a boggart. Living at the ancient Castle Keep (but often moving about the countryside), the creature of Wild Magic delights in the confusion and amusement that its daily tricks create. But when the elderly Duncan MacDevon dies in his sleep, the inheritance of the castle falls to his great-nephew Robert Volnik and his family living in Toronto, Canada.

The Volnik children are twelve-year old Emily and nine-year old computer-genius Jessup, who are surprised and delighted at the prospect at a holiday in Scotland. Their visit involves meeting Tommy Cameron (who secretly knows all about the boggart), seal-watching, sight-seeing and rationalising the strange occurrences at the Keep. As the holiday draws to a close each sibling is promised one bit of furniture each before the castle is sold: and Emily chooses a beautiful old writing desk. Unbeknownst to all, it is here that the boggart has curled itself up to slumber, and ends up travelling with them to Toronto.

The collision of the modern world and Wild Magic brings exactly what you'd expect: havoc. Exploring the technological wonders of this new world whilst keeping to its mandate of mischief making, the boggart eventually causes some rather dangerous mischief. The Volnik family don't know what to make of the surge in bad luck and strange phenomena, but eventually the children stumble to the idea of a boggart thanks to the wisdom of their father's theatre crew. Now their only concern is how to return the homesick boggart back to his rightful home: magic has long since seeped from the world, so perhaps a technological solution can be found...

"The Boggart" is a beautifully written, thoughtful and interesting book, taking a unique premise and exploring it in both a contemporary and more old-fashioned setting. Cooper is wonderful at describing countryside, circumstances and human reactions to both the mundane and the supernatural. Poignancy is also her speciality; witness a scene in which a grieving boggart affects the sleep of the entire community, who experience the shared dream of an ancient funeral. It's both eerie and poetic.

However, Cooper is on less firmer ground when she reaches Toronto. Although the boggart reacts to the change in scenery amusingly, and the chaos that it creates carries a somewhat darker edge to it, she also introduces several characters and situations that are not dealt with in a particular satisfactory manner: such as Jessup's groups of friends who (with the exception of Barry) have no real place in the story, and the character of Doctor Stigmore. He witnesses some of the boggart's behaviour and believes that it is Emily's doing through psychokinesis; he begins to harass the family and notifies a television show, but both of these plot threads are left hanging, with no resolution at all as to what happens.

One thing I did appreciate was how this story fits in nicely with "The Dark is Rising" sequence, where Cooper goes into more detail on the nature of Wild Magic. Although there is no mention of Old Ones or any other components of that series, "The Boggart" does fit into the `literary world' that she created there. The kids are interesting and realistic, the parents sympathetic and delightfully eccentric, and the Boggart is a character that shines throughout the book; a true creature of wild and untamed magic.

Long before J. K. Rowling gave us the spooky Boggarts that inhabit dark places and take the form of your darkest fears, Susan Cooper brought us this spritely, loveable, intriguing figure of Scottish legend. Look out for its sequel "The Boggart and the Monster".

I would give The Boggart a thumbs up! This book is very interesting because of all this trickery and exicitment in it. This book just makes you want to keep turning the pages. When your done you want to read the sequal,(which I hope to read soon!)I think this book is for students in middle school because they are old enough to actually get the essence of the book. If your thinking of getting a book to read in your free time or at school this should be the one if you like myths or fantasies!

The Boggart lived in Castle Keep until he feel asleep in a desk that the Volniks took from the castle to their house. Once the Boggart wakes up he has all kinds of fun with the new entertatinment, such as electricity. Unfortunatly, the Boggart soon wants to go to his home, Castle Keep. I liked this book because the Boggart makes trouble in his own sort of way. I think another person would like this book because it has a lot of action. This stoy is a fiction thriller.

Long before Harry Potter would have had us believe that boggarts were spirits that took the form of your darkest fears, Susan Cooper had the right idea. The author of the magnificent and accomplished, "The Dark Is Rising" series (not to be mistaken with the "His Dark Materials" series), Cooper set her sights a little younger with this loving free-flowing tale of the ultimate mischevious creature. Though relying on a couple ideas and motifs that will date this book far more than her better known series ever will, the story is a complete and wonderful accomplishment for an already accomplished artist.

The Boggart is an Old Thing, from the days of dark deep magic. It cannot die and lives only to play pranks and tricks on foolish humans. For countless centuries this particular Boggart has lived in the Castle Keep on an old abandoned island off the coast of Scotland. It loves the land and the man who lives in the castle, but when the old owner dies the Boggart is forced to meet the castle's new owners. That would be Volnik clan, with children Emily and Jessup in tow. The family is Canadian and it is only through a miscalculation on the Boggart's part that they find themselves shipping the wayward spirit back to Toronto where they live. After figuring out that their house is now home to the pranks of a Scottish spirit, the kids set about finding a way to send the Boggart back to his castle and his land.

Cooper's "Dark Is Rising" series always suffered a little from too many descriptions and distractions. Such is not the case here. In "The Boggart" we get to know an array of different characters exceedingly well. The children are interesting and lively without ever disintegrating into brattiness. The parents are delightfully eccentric while remaining loving and concerned. Sixteen year-old Barry (who hangs out with ten year-olds) is a bit odd, so while you feel for him you don't necessarily blame Emily and Jessup's suspicious mom. As for the Boggart itself, it encompasses everything that is wild and untamed. The Boggart is the "other", and that otherness is felt in its sublime British nature. I should note that though Cooper is English by birth, she captures perfectly the feeling Americans and Canadians have on visiting the British Isles. One would almost think she was from our side of the ocean, the way she accurately describes a Yank's reactions to the natural beauty and wonder of the Scottish land.

The only flaw in the book as I see it is the use of computers. Bearing in mind that this story was published in 1993, one has to expect some problems with the plot. Therefore, hearing that a boy's new computer has a black and white screen, or the very description of its computer programs themselves, it's hard not to see that this book is rather out-of-date. Then again, given a little time this book may merely appear to be a piece of historical fiction. No harm there. The book does pull a kind of "Independence Day" scheme where two computers, one in Canada and one in Scotland, apparently are the same make and model and can switch files and games without the book ever saying as much. But these are tiny concerns, honestly.

If you're looking for a tale that incorporates the ancient mystery of the Celts, dark abandoned castles, and a michevious sprite, this is an ideal story. It is a fantasy for those kids that have grown tired of dragons for a little while. And its myriad of different settings (a castle, a home, a theater, an antique shop) are a blast to visit. This is perhaps Susan Cooper's most lovable book. It is certainly worth a look-see.

"The Boggart" is a nice little tale about a very ancient and mischievous spirit. This boggart lives in an old castle on an island in a lake in Scotland. He likes to play tricks, and he has been playing them on the inhabitants of this castle for hundreds of years. When the old man who has been the last resident of the castle dies, ownership passes to his nearest relatives, the Volniks. The Volnik family lives in Canada and includes Emily, her computer-whiz brother, Jessop, and her parents. After traveling to Scotland and spending some time in the castle, they put it up for sale and return home, bringing a few antiques with them. What they don't know is that they've also brought the boggart along. Finding himself in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by all the trappings of modern life, the boggart embarks on a series of pranks. Boggarts aren't malicious, and the intent of his mischief is innocent enough, but the consequences range from comical to dangerous. For Emily and her family, the problem is to figure out what is going on and how to deal with it.

I read this book with my nine-year-old daughter, Alix. She liked it, as evidenced by the fact that she was always curious to see what was going to happen next. It's a light, amusing tale, with plenty of humor and an intriquing touch of the supernatural. I'm sure most kids would enjoy it.

The Boggart is a story about a boy and a girl, Jess and Emily, whose family inherits a castle in Scotland. What they did not know was that an ancient boggart had been haunting the castle. The boggart mistakenly gets shipped to their home in Toronto in a rolltop desk. He continues to play his tricks, and as a result Emily is accused of "psychic disturbances." They search for a way to ship him home, but the only way is with modern technology and ancient magic. The Boggart is funny, mysterious, and suspenseful, but not scary. If you believe in magic and spirits, or are just looking for a good read, this is the book for you. If you like it, you can also look for the sequel: The Boggart and the Monster.

I bought The Boggart as a christmas gift for my 10 year old son and ended up reading it before he had a chance to. I very much enjoyed the story. It was light and fast paced with intelligent characters that complimented each other. The Boggart itself was interesting and just devilish enough to be charming without being mean spirited. I have enjoyed Susan Cooper's writing since I was a child reading 'The Dark Is Rising' series and I couldn't wait for my own kids to be old enough to read them as well.

This book is perfect for the middle school fantasy lover, the sci-fi enthusiast, or someone who just wants an engaging, entertaining read for fun. The Boggart, a mischeivous but harmless spirit of the Old Magic, has been trapped in a shipment to Toronto, Canada. In the new world, his harmless pranks wreak havoc and injury to the family receiving the particular shipment. In a world that scorns magic, he longs to go home to Scotland. The only way home looks to be through a floppy disc and incredible risk.....