Bog Child

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd



My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I gave this book a five because when I finished it last night I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It begins in 1981 in a Northern Irish town bordering Southern Ireland. Fergus McCann is the second son, studying for his A level exams, trying to do well enough to leave Ireland and become a doctor. While out gathering peat with his Uncle Tally (Unk), Fergus finds the body of a 2000 year old Iron Age Child.



You have several stories going on. While studying for exams Fergus is falling in love Cora who has come with her mother to study the "Bog Child". He is befriending a soldier from the other side. He is being forced into becoming a runner for the IRA. Meanwhile the McCan family is in an uproar over the fact that Joe, the oldest son and member of the provisional IRA is on jail on a hunger strike. Woven throughout is the life of "Mel" discovered through dreams Fergus has.



After reading a third of the way through the book, I skipped to the end. I just don't handle surprises well and I wanted to know if someone was going to die. Knowing the end I returned, finished the story out and then skipped back to beginning to reread to see if there were clues I missed.



It tells an interesting piece of history. It part historical fiction, part mystery, part coming of age novel. It has a good Irish feel to it. The F bomb gets dropped one time that I remember. There is also a little bit of teenage hormones.



I don't know that this story would be for everyone but it is the kind of story that you finish and you just want someone else to talk about it with. Definitely interesting.



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