Currently Reading

Reading: My Two Polish Grandfathers, by Witold Rybczynski.
Listening to: Blasphemy, by Douglas Preston.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Review: The 19th Wife


The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff. (New York: Random House, c2008.)

Ebershoff explores the impact of polygamy on women and children in this complex novel of interwoven narratives. He tells the story of Ann Eliza Young, apostate ex-wife of Brigham Young, alongside the story of Jordan Scott, an excommunicated member of the "Firsts," a modern-day offshoot of the Latter Day Saints whose adherents continue to practice plural marriage.

Ann Eliza's story is historical fiction, finding its basis in her actual lectures and writings from the late 1800's. At that time, the Saints had settled in Salt Lake City and, under the leadership of Prophet Brigham Young, had developed a thriving, if insulated, society. Women were instructed, according to the vision of First Prophet Joseph Smith, that polygamy, or "celestial marriage," was a divine requirement for their salvation.

The author effectively portrays the contrast between the official picture of Mormon "sister wives," contentedly sharing housework and raising their children together, and Ann Eliza's experience of plural marriage, which she finds to be degrading to women, as well as to their children. Her lectures in theaters and auditoriums across the country, and her testimony before Congress, helped lead to legislation outlawing polygamy. Ironically, her very public apostasy may also have helped the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints survive into the present, owing to their denunciation of plural marriage at the end of the 19th century.

The author weaves a separate contemporary story into the historical one. In this story, a gay teenager, Jordan Scott, is expelled from the polygamist group known as "The Firsts." The Firsts live in Mesadale in the Utah desert, far from the scrutiny of the federal government. (Ironically, Jordan is expelled not for being gay, but for holding hands with a teenaged girl.)

This part of the story begins when Jordan's father is shot to death, and his mother, the 19th wife of his father, is jailed for the murder. Jordan, who had been abandoned by his mother by order of the Prophet, returns to Mesadale to help her win her freedom from prison.

This book is very well written and it works beautifully as a novel, but it also provides a fascinating account of the practice and politics of polygamy. Highly recommended.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Review: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (Audio)


All We Ever Wanted Was Everything, by Janelle Brown. (Spiegel & Grau, 2008. ISBN: 0385524013)

On the surface, Janice’s life is great. She has the beautiful home, the successful husband, two smart and lovely daughters. Although she paints a beautiful picture of her family when she talks to her friends, she’s never really satisfied.

Her husband, who stands to make billions from the launch of an IPO for his pharmaceutical company, is never home. Her older daughter, Margaret – incredibly smart, an Ivy League grad – ran off to LA with an actor, no less, and started up a weird feminist magazine. Her younger daughter, Lizzie, her miracle baby, born after several miscarriages, is a sweet, but rather plump, 14-year-old. Janice knows that Lizzie would be much happier and more popular, if only she’d drop a few pounds.

On the day of the IPO, everything falls apart. Over the course of a summer, Janice and her daughters find themselves dealing with issues they’d never dreamed of discovering in their own lives: drug addiction, debt collectors, infidelity, teen pregnancy, and divorce papers.

The author’s satirical look at the good life in California is sometimes funny, often bitter, and always apt. She does a good job of distinguishing her characters with unique and believable voices.

I listened to this book on OverDrive’s downloadable audio from the Lackawanna County Library System’s digital collection. Recommended for book clubs.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

Michael Beschloss



Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss paid a visit to Scranton this week, as a speaker in the Lackawanna County Library Lecture Series. He spoke for the better part of an hour, telling stories of the presidents he has written about in his books. He was charming, intelligent, and funny. If you ever have a chance to attend one of his lectures, be sure to go!

It was his first visit to what he called "the epicenter" of the 2008 presidential campaign, and he spent some time trading jokes with former Scranton Mayor Jim Connors about whether Scranton or Chicago had the worse reputation for political shenanigans. (In my opinion, Mayor Connors got off the best line, when he described someone who wants to be buried in Scranton when he dies, so he can remain active in politics.)

In the meantime, you may want to read his newest book, Presidential Courage, in which he describes moments in the lives of nine American Presidents when they had to choose between the right thing to do and the possibility of losing reelection. The vignettes are necessarily brief, but they provide insight into such events as Theodore Roosevelt's antitrust attack on the Northern Securities Company, Harry Truman's actions in the creation of the nation of Israel, and John F. Kennedy's support for the Civil Rights Act.