Bog Child

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd is an Irish story within a story. Fergus, the main character, lives in a town bordering the Irish south and the British-occupied north. In the span of the book he discovers an ancient bog body, Mel, a young dwarf woman sacrificed in 80 A.D. to stave off the crop failure and starvation of a prolonged winter perhaps caused by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius far to the south in 79 A.D. Caught in the Troubles between his devotion to his brother Joe, a hunger-striker in Long Kesh prison, aka The Maze, and his growing friendship with Owain, a Welsh soldier in the British army who enlisted to avoid working in the Welsh mines, he finds distraction when he discovers the bog body while illegally cutting peat with his uncle Tully. While his days are occupied with running, studying for exams, and first love, at night Mel comes to him in dreams to tell him her tale of love and sacrifice. The story is a page-turner that offers insight into Irish politics and ancient Celtic culture, as well as some modern Irish slang, as Fergus’ choices lead him first down one path and then on to another as he longs to make sense of the world around him, past, present, and future.Upon reading this book, you wouldn't necessarily know that it was written as juvenile fiction. Based on the historical truth of ancient bodies discovered in bogs, it blends, Irish culture and history, archaeology, and the politics of Northern Ireland.The characters are likeable, to story enjoyable, and the book an overall good read, especially on a cold and rainy day with a warm cup of tea to keep you company.

"Bog Child" is one of those rare books that seem to speak to you from the bookshelf. I came across it at Borders and it jumped out at me in the Young Adult section, so different was it from its contemporaries. I highly recommend this work by Siobhan Dowd, a masterful storyteller. The other reviews here give a good description as to what to expect when reading the book but for all of those who love to read YA, really good YA, this is the book for you.Historical fiction set in the time of the Irish "troubles" from a youth's perspective is hard to find. Although the book is also about an archeological discovery and a spiritual link between the main character and the "bog child," the book centers on the main character and how he finds himself swept up in events beyond his control. Like the "bog child" he so sympathizes with, he feels both betrayed and vindicated by the events around him. He maintains an outsider's perspective and gives a clear idea of what life was like during this time period.The book has an unfinished feel to it making me want to go with the main character at the end, to see where he ends up and if he makes good on his promises.I highly recommend this book to YA lovers and to anyone who is traveling to Ireland and is interested in a brief introduction to this time period.

I love this book. I remember reading it in the past and thought it would be worth tracking down again. I bought it, reread it, and it is one of those books that will live on my book shelf to be read over and over again.

I read this book once before, when it was first published. I enjoyed the re-read even more as I have in the meantime visit Ireland/Northern Ireland, and read a number of non-fiction books regarding the troubles and the hunger strikers and taken several online courses on the subject. Even with the extra knowledge, I found the book to be a good way for people who are unfamiliar with the background to learn about this time in modern Irish history. Well done, Siobhan Dowd.

A wonderful, well written, captivating story. I came across this book in my research regarding a planned trip to Ireland this summer. I purchased it for my 15 year old son. It was already highly acclaimed, and I thought it might provide my son with some sense of life in Ireland for a young man, and also a sense of what life was like during the Northern Ireland conflicts. I ended up reading it myself, didn't want to put it down, but didn't want to finish it either! A great story, and I highly recommend.

The story of a bog body, discovered in a peat bog in Ireland, is cleverly interwoven with the story of 18-year-old Fergus, who desperately wants to get away from the horrors of his small town in Nothern Ireland during "the Troubles." Very well written.

We read this before going to Ireland on a trip and it added a lot of meaning to our visit. While in Dublin we made a point of seeing the Bog People exhibit at the Natural History museum. The book was engaging, my 13 yr old and I could not put it down.

A good story of the time of the "troubles" in Ireland -- back in the early 90's.

Deservedly shortlisted for a major fiction prize, this novel for teenagers about the troubles in Northern Ireland was complex and beautifully delicate. Fergus is an eighteen year old boy, studying hard to get the grades required to leave Northern Ireland and become a Doctor. His summer is disrupted when his older brother is arrested and put in the Maze prison as a political prisoner. It is never entirely clear what the brother has done, but he embarks on a hunger strike with his fellow prisoners and as Fergus grows into adulthood very quickly, discovering an Iron age body in a peat bog, getting a new girlfriend and learning to drive, his brother starts to waste away.Fergus dreams of the peat bog woman, and his dreams foreshadow and become interwoven with the complexities of his life as he is forced to take sides, make a stand and learn how to be a man.There are no easy answers in this text, and much is left deliberately ambiguous and 'grey', but this is like life itself, difficult, demanding and messy.Sensitively written and all the more powerful for it.

My son 12 loves this book

Quite hard to put this book down - incorporated Irish history so there is a realness to the novel that makes it totally absorbing.

Great book

Perfect condition