Review by Booklist Review
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).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Change comes for five eccentric siblings whose lives have been dictated by their patriarch's devotion to an ancient compact. In West Virginia, on the edge of a cranberry bog, five siblings are reminded of the family history by their father, Charles. One of their ancestors was thrown into the bog, survived, and "from that day onward, the bog was in him. When he rose from those depths, a woman rose with him to be his wife. You are bound now, she told him in her language, to the care of this land. Your sons' marriages will reseal the compact between us." Charlie, Eda, Wenna, Nora, and Percy Haddesley are now preparing for the ritual. They will drop their father's body into the bog, then wait for Charlie's new wife to appear. Their mother is missing from the scene, and her disappearance is a mystery that adds suspense to the story. The setting is unique, the language evocative, and the characters well-drawn--the arrogant (and maybe malevolent, or simply ignorant) patriarch, the daughter who fled, the one who leads, the youngest two who share their own world, and the purported heir who doesn't pass muster. Charlie, the next patriarch, may be infertile, and the tree trunk that injured him is still lodged in the roof of the house, leaving it exposed to the elements. The family seems to be hanging by a thread. Wenna, the Haddesley daughter who returns from married life in Illinois, provides a potent dose of reality and effective contrast between the family bubble and the "real world," though not every fantastical element of the story proves false. The family's connection to the earth is undeniable, and for some of them, necessary. As resources dwindle and everything falls apart, the need for change--for both the world and the humans who live in it--drives them to find their own ways to honor the compact. Chronister effectively straddles fantasy and reality while exploring themes of stewardship and ties to the earth. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
