Bog Queen - 37

Please note: Some of these questions contain spoilers.

1. Bog Queen begins with a voice that is not human. How did you understand this voice? And how did it combine with the discovery of a body in the next scene—a trope of the murder mystery or police procedural—to set up your expectations about what was to follow?

2.  By trying to shield young Agnes from the truth about death, her father arguably made her more afraid. How did his intentions backfire? How did watching the house finch decompose transform Agnes’s fear into fascination and even reverence? Why did this moment become so pivotal in her life?

3.  What events led Agnes to take the posting in Manchester? Do you think this was a good choice for her life or a bad one? Why?

4.  Consider point of view in the novel. Why do you think North wrote the druid’s chapters in the first-person singular, the moss’s sections in the first-person plural, and Agnes’s chapters in the third person? How did these shifts affect your reading?

5.  Throughout the novel, Agnes reflects on her social awkwardness, kicking herself for, say, bringing a big bag of navel oranges to a party. Do you think the other characters also see her as socially awkward? Why or why not?

6.  Do you feel that Fiona, one of the self-professed “bad guys,” was sincere in her offer to help Agnes? Why or why not?

7.  Do we know for certain whether the druid’s brother betrayed her? In the penultimate chapter we learn that the druid’s mother had suspicions about her son, Aesu. If he did betray his sister, what drove him to make that choice?

8.  How does the young druid’s character grow throughout the novel? How does Agnes’s character change? How are their individual stories similar, and how are they different?

9.  What do you think the druid is experiencing at the end of her life when she has the thought, “Because I understood, finally, what the gods had been trying to tell me all this time”?

10.  Do you think Agnes and Nick were attracted to each other the first time they met? Why do you think they ended up in the tent together after everyone had left? What do you think brought them together at that moment?

11.  Self-belief or lack of confidence is a recurring theme throughout the novel. From your perspective, who are the most confident characters? Where does their confidence come from? Who are the more self-doubting characters? Did you notice your answers shifting and changing throughout the story? How so? Has your own self-confidence ebbed and flowed throughout your life?

12.  Do you agree with Comux, who says of death and the prospect of being forgotten: “No one will sing about me. What I make, fire will burn or time will wear away. When I’m gone, no praise or blame will attach to my story. To me, that’s peace. I’ve lived lightly on the earth”?

13.  How do you understand Agnes’s relationship with Ruby? How do they help each other throughout the novel? What do you think Agnes does after the novel ends? What about Ruby?