 2009-01-03 - Good, but with some significant problems for the reader
This is two stories woven together. Unfortunately, the two stories do not hold the reader's attention equally, thus you will find yourself wondering how many pages until he gets back to the story I'm interested in. I read it understanding it was a work of fiction, but, like most well-written historical fiction, the bits of historical "fact" blur the distinction. No matter. The book has some strong themes, the best of which is a clear argument against tolerance of polygamy, likening it to slavery, rejecting the religious freedom excuse. I hope this helps some sit up and take notice that children's lives are being ruined by modern-day polygamists.
This story could have been told without the main character being gay, but certainly without the associated nauseating gratuitous gay lifestyle verbiage. That problem, alone, will limit my ability to recommend it in good conscience to those who would find it offensive. Without it, this would have held far greater appeal. It definitely ruined the author's ability to convey the unyielding attachment of the plural wife to her community. I found myself wondering if I might choose just about anything other than a shack-up gay motel room household as well.
2008-12-31 - a bit confusing at first, but worth it if you're interested in the subject matter
Another ARC -- this one took me a very, very long time to get through. I read about a third of the way through it, got bored with the set-up, and it took me about two months to pick it up again. This was strange to me, as the Firsts are one of those things I enjoy investigating. I'm getting ahead of myself, though.
The 19th Wife explores the story of Ann Eliza Young, a 19th-century woman whose apostasy from the Mormon faith eventually led to her writing a memoir exposing the truths (as she saw them) of polygamy, or plural marriage. She had been married to Brigham Young, one of the big names of the faith, so naturally this caused an uproar. Ann Eliza comes across as mostly likeable in this novel, and her narrative is easy enough to follow.
Her story is told and intertwined with a present-day murder mystery, when a Fundamentalist husband is shot and killed. The voice for this story is a boy named Jordan -- the murder victim is his father, and the main suspect in the shooting is his mother, one of the victim's many wives. As the book progresses, Jordan gets closer to the truth. This storyline does wrap up satisfactorily, albeit a little too quickly for my tastes.
Mixed in with these two storylines are a few other minor ones; this wouldn't be noteworthy except that each one employs a different narrative voice. It all works together eventually, but until you get a good half-way into the novel, it can be a bit confusing, especially with all the different names you have to keep track of.
All in all The 19th Wife is a pretty solid read, although I'd venture to say the plodding set-up (where the history of Mormonism is concerned, especially) will turn off anyone who does not already have in interest in the subject matter. Calling a narrative voice into question, as Ebershoff does, more or less, late in the novel, is an interesting spin -- I was thinking it would be interesting to reread the book with that in mind, but honestly am not THAT interested in it. That pretty much sums up the book, actually: by the end, I was thinking, "Huh, this would be a good candidate for a reread, with all this new knowledge I've gained in mind." But I'm just not compelled enough to go for it.
It was a solid novel, and enjoyable once it finished setting the scene. (I did rip through the last half in two days, after all.) I'm glad I finished it. It's not a keeper, but it was worthwhile.
 2008-12-29 - Good, Not Great
This was an interesting book. It flipped between both a present day murder mystery, ostensibly committed by a FLDS wife, and a historical novel about the practice of polygamy in the early LDS church (and how and where the modern day Church and the "Firsts" diverged on the issue). While I appreciate the different feel that the author tried to create with his novel (modern and historical and the social contexts that still exist), it just didn't quite work for me. It really should have been one or the other, but there wasn't quite enough good material to make it a great novel if it HAD just stuck to one storyline. I get that they were to be intertwined, but it felt a bit forced to me. I enjoyed the historical context, although I'm always wary of how much is fictionalized. Good, but not great, and for the length, I'm not sure it was worth the time.
2008-12-27 - Just 'OK'...not 'Great'
My suggestion would be to borrow from the library since this book isn't for everyone and some may not have the patience to follow the plots all the way through. It could get dreary at times and I was eagerly anticipating the ending (so that I too could return my copy to the library).
2008-12-16 - A Historical Rework
The one good thing I can say about this book is that it's an easy read. The bad thing is that I found the subject matter a bit trite and the main character, Jordan, had a one-dimensional personality.
The entire book was very black and white. I find it very disappointing to read a book that has only bad things to say about a subject matter (in this case polygamy). If it were such a black and white issue, no one would practice polygamy. But it's not and I wish that the author had given it more credence. I had a hard time believing the character when his story sounded incredibly outlandish.
I also did not like the fact that the author rewrote Ann Eliza's story. I did not see the purpose of it and I found it a bit misleading, knowing that there was an actual memoir out there.
I do have to say that the book made me very interested in Brigham Young and Ann Eliza. I would like to find out more about these characters and the real lives that they had lived.
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