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Review
"Engrossing . . . remarkable . . . a book packed with historical illumination, unforgettable characters and the deepest questions about the tenacity of belief . . . The greatest triumph is the way [The 19th Wife] illuminates the larger landscape of faith." - The Washington Post Book World
"Part history class, part expose, part love story, The 19th Wife is thoroughly addictive. . . .[David] Ebershoff not only imparts a valuable lesson on religion, but spins a compelling tale that makes readers question the power of faith and what we believe and why." - USA Today
"Rarely has a work of fiction seemed more timely. . . . A page-turning epic. . . [a[ tour de force." - Vogue
“This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult...Ebershoff (The Danish Girl) brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man…With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.”
–Publishers Weekly, Starred and “Pick of the Week”
"Part history class, part expose, part love story, The 19th Wife is thoroughly addictive. . . .[David] Ebershoff not only imparts a valuable lesson on religion, but spins a compelling tale that makes readers question the power of faith and what we believe and why." - USA Today
"Rarely has a work of fiction seemed more timely. . . . A page-turning epic. . . [a[ tour de force." - Vogue
“This exquisite tour de force explores the dark roots of polygamy and its modern-day fruit in a renegade cult...Ebershoff (The Danish Girl) brilliantly blends a haunting fictional narrative by Ann Eliza Young, the real-life 19th “rebel” wife of Mormon leader Brigham Young, with the equally compelling contemporary narrative of fictional Jordan Scott, a 20-year-old gay man…With the topic of plural marriage and its shattering impact on women and powerless children in today's headlines, this novel is essential reading for anyone seeking understanding of the subject.”
–Publishers Weekly, Starred and “Pick of the Week”
Product Description
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 her family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how both she and her mother became plural wives. Yet 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, family, and faith.
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Most helpful customer reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ebershoff has really captured the essence of the realities he writes about,
This review is from: The 19th Wife: A Novel (Hardcover)
The 19th Wife is a fascinating fictional account of both the origins of plural marriage in the Mormon faith and a present-day incarnation of this practice among fundamentalist Mormons. The novel is divided into two stories: the first of Brigham Young's nineteenth wife, Ann Eliza Young (written in the form of a memoir) and the second of a contemporary nineteenth wife who has been arrested for the murder of her husband (written from the point of view of her son). However, this novel is actually more complex than that as it also contains diary excerpts, newspaper clippings, academic papers, letters, emails and more. In less capable hands, this might have made for a disjointed and unwieldy mess, but Ebershoff masterfully weaves all these pieces together to create an extraordinary tale, keeping each voice distinct and completely believable. Although the two stories don't connect in any traditional sense, Eliza's story provides backdrop and context for the modern one, as well as being an amazing piece of historical reconstruction. My only criticism is that the resolution of the modern mystery is a little too pat, but otherwise I have to agree with one of the characters who says: "All speculation and imagination, yet so true, I know, so true" (p. 496). I feel like Ebershoff has really captured the essence of the realities he writes about.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved This Book!,
By athena910 (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The 19th Wife: A Novel (Hardcover)
I loved this book, with its story within a story. The modern-day story is actually a murder mystery. The other story is about tracing the historical roots of the crime through the memoirs of Ann Eliza Young (Brigham Young's 19th apostate rebel wife) and the beginnings of the LDS church in the US. Very interesting. The writer is making the point that everything is connected, and in order to understand how screwed up some cultures are today, you can find the roots of the dysfunction in the creation.
2.0 out of 5 stars
I suggest passing on this book, and reading the original "Wife no.19" by Ann Eliza Young,
By
This review is from: The 19th Wife: A Novel (Paperback)
The only well written parts in this novel were the purported excerpts from Ann Eliza Young's own book "Wife no.19" published in 1876. The secondary, fictional story seemed like something submitted to a middle school writing club. His characters were shallow and uninteresting and often irrelevant.
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