Helpful Score: 4
Ever since I first realized fundamentalist Mormon culture and polygamy existed I have often wondered how fair this way of life could possibly be to the wives and children. After reading Brady Udall's novel now I have to wonder what kind of life it was for the majority of the husbands as well!
At the center of "The Lonely Polygamist" is Golden Richards, with four wives and twenty-eight children, it would seem that Golden was well positioned within the community. Golden, once thought to be the One Mighty and Strong by his fundamentalist Mormon church, struggles with remembering where he is going to sleep on a particular night, constantly fleeing and hiding from the demands and power plays of his wives and a melee of kids in three different houses, fighting to revive his failing construction business, deeply wounded by grief and guilt over the accidental death of a daughter and the still-birth of a son.
Other significant characters are Trish, Goldens fourth and youngest wife who re-connected with her faith and became a plural wife so she get regain the feeling of family.
Rusty- eleven year old son of Golden's third sister-wife, is a stereotypical child longing for attention in a family where there isn't enough to go around, so he acts out in search of negative attention. His goal is to find a way to get his mother to take him and leave the polygamist family, longing for a more normal existence without fully understanding what that is. Rustys story is the one that will remain with me for a long time.
Suffice to say that the writing is wonderful, the story is original and colorful and page-turning, and absolutely unforgettable
At the center of "The Lonely Polygamist" is Golden Richards, with four wives and twenty-eight children, it would seem that Golden was well positioned within the community. Golden, once thought to be the One Mighty and Strong by his fundamentalist Mormon church, struggles with remembering where he is going to sleep on a particular night, constantly fleeing and hiding from the demands and power plays of his wives and a melee of kids in three different houses, fighting to revive his failing construction business, deeply wounded by grief and guilt over the accidental death of a daughter and the still-birth of a son.
Other significant characters are Trish, Goldens fourth and youngest wife who re-connected with her faith and became a plural wife so she get regain the feeling of family.
Rusty- eleven year old son of Golden's third sister-wife, is a stereotypical child longing for attention in a family where there isn't enough to go around, so he acts out in search of negative attention. His goal is to find a way to get his mother to take him and leave the polygamist family, longing for a more normal existence without fully understanding what that is. Rustys story is the one that will remain with me for a long time.
Suffice to say that the writing is wonderful, the story is original and colorful and page-turning, and absolutely unforgettable
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
