The 19th Wife: A Novel | David Ebershoff | Skillful blending of the past and the present

The 19th Wife: A Novel | David Ebershoff | A Disturbing Look Into the Realities of Polygomy

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The 19th Wife: A N...

	The 19th Wife: A Novel David Ebershoff Random House, 2008 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 43 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.

Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff?s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense.

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family?s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza?s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds?a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father?s death.

And as Ann Eliza?s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan?s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.

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Skillful blending of the past and the present

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff is actually two stories in one. It begins with the story of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th wife of the Brigham Young, Prophet of the Latter Day Saints. As a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints during the 1800's, she found herself in a polygamous marriage. She was never happy in the marriage, but tolerated it until Brigham refused to financially support her. Forced to take in Gentile boarders, she saw what life was like on "the outside." She divorced Brigham and went on a speaking tour denouncing the Latter Day Saints and the practice of plural marriage. This part of the book is so well written, I had to keep reminding myself that, while based on fact, it is a work of fiction.

The second story in The 19th Wife is the story of a present day 19th wife, who is a member of the "Firsts," who are loosely based on The Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, or FLDS, that was so prominent in the news this summer. BeckyLyn finds herself in jail, accused of murdering her husband. Her son Jordan, who has been excommunicated from the church, reads about it in the newspaper and visits her in jail. Convinced of her innocence, he searches for the truth.

This book grabbed me from the first page. David Ebershoff does a fantastic job of switching between the two stories. He includes an author's note at the back of the book detailing his research and telling of his inspiration in writing it. I thought The 19th Wife was a fantastic read - it is a wonderful blend of historical fiction and mystery.

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A Disturbing Look Into the Realities of Polygomy

While I enjoyed what this book had to say about the horrors of polygamy and its effect on women, I did not enjoy the style of writing, and feel that this book could have been better served either by a more talented writer or a ruthless editor. The storylines never came together for me, and the characters failed to impress. Overall, just an okay book.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

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