The 19th Wife

I have been working my way through this doorstop of a book for quite some time now and I'm finally nearing the end. It's by David Ebershoff and is about the Mormons past and present and polygamy.

Jordan - an outcast from the Firsts - the polygamous bit of the Latter Day Saints - has heard his mother, a 19th wife, has been arrested for the murder of his father. He feels she could not possibly have done it and sets out to prove she's innocent. His story is interweaved with that of the 19th wife of Brigham Young - Ann Eliza. She escaped from the sect and travelled round America giving talks on the evil of polygamy. As a result of the publicity the church was forced to disown the practice and today it is only the Firsts who continue to practice it even though it is technically illegal in America.

It was this sect which hit the headlines last year because of the child abuse accusations which were subsequently found not to be true. It fascinates me that this way of life can continue even though it is illegal. If people want to live like that I have no problem from a moral point of view but judging by the small spate of autobiographies which have been published over the last few years by people who have escaped, it is far from clear whether people live like this of their own free will. That I do have a problem with.

Even tho this book is marketed as fiction it is clear a lot of it is fact and based on recorded testimonies. I've found it interesting though if you have no interest in this murky part of America's past and present you might find it a little dry.

Current reading

I am currently reading The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. It is set in Salem, Massachusetts and centres on Towner Witney - newly returned because of the disappearance and death of her Aunt Eva. It soon becomes clear there is something in Towner's past which is coming back to haunt her. She left Salem as a teenager because of a terrifying experience and has returned against her will. It is an atmospheric story where the bounds between reality and Towner's nightmares appear very thin. I find I have to read it carefully because it is constantly referring to things in the past and I'm never quite sure whether I'm supposed to be in the past or the present. Certainly an interesting book though I shall reserve judgement until I finish it.

I'm also reading Alexander McCall Smith's latest No 1 Ladies Detective Agency story - Teatime for the Traditionally Built. I love the gentle humour in these stories and their traditional values. In this one Precious Ramotswe is upset because she thinks she will have to finally give up her trusty little white van. Her assistant is worrying that a new assistant in her fiance's furniture store is going to try and steal him from under her nose. Then of course there are several detective agency problems which also need the attention of the two detectives.

Then I'm also plodding a way with The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. This is a very long book and I'm beginning to think it could usefully have been about half its length. Fascinating about the history of polygamy and the Mormons and the way, like any sect, they seek to control the thoughts and actions of their followers. It is, of course, fiction but there appears to have been a lot of research gone into it.

More of all three when I've finished them.