The 19th Wife: A Novel
by David Ebershoff
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Book Summary Information
Author: David EbershoffEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-02
ISBN: 0812974158
Number of pages: 544
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of The 19th Wife: A Novel
Book Review: "Speaking on behalf of Christ is a dangerous task, especially when the faith you carry forth is tainted by rumors of...
Summary: 3 Stars
...angels, miracles, and the harem."
The 19th Wife is two totally different stories bound in the same book. The modern day tale is that of a twenty-year-old First (Fundamentalist Mormon) "lost boy" named Jordan, who, after learning that his mother has (wrongly, he believes) been jailed for murdering her husband, sets out to find the real killer. Because he grew up in the town where the crime took place, and thus has kept some connections, he is able to gain information that leads to the truth. This, in spite of the fact that he's not afraid to say what he thinks about things relating to his former faith, (p 39), "Out here, if your dad says he wants to cuddle, get ready to be raped." The guy is gay, which adds something (though I'm still not really sure what) to the standard story. Worst of the plot about present-day polygamy is the anticlimactic denouement about the murder. The other, better story is that of a spirited woman named Ann Eliza who became Brigham Young's 19th wife (the real number being closer to 50) and stirred up trouble for him and his fellow participants in celestial marriage by being unafraid to air the church's dirty laundry. Worst of the plot line following this intriguing woman is its historical fiction-ness, which leaves the reader wondering which parts are true; and which not. The author's attempt to add authenticity by including legitimate-seeming sources and then informing readers that they are not, (p 510) "the newspaper articles, the letters, the Introduction by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Wikipedia entry...I am the author of these...they are fictional representations...Many are inspired by an actual text or a kind of text," is misleading. He does include a lot of interesting information about Joseph Smith and his founding of the Mormon church, some of which I remember from a many times better book on the subject. My advice: skip this really long mixed fiction/historical fiction story for better, sometimes stranger, versions of the truth: No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith by Fawn M. Brodie, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, and Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall.
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