An entertaining, fictional, look at both the historical and current controversies and realities of polygamy. The structure was fresh, the topic timely, and the writing was crisp. Since this is fiction, I wouldn't use this to better understand Mormons anymore than I would use the Da Vinci Code to better understand Catholics, but for what it is...I think Ebershoff did a fine job. ( )

If there was ever a book that didn't need a review from me - this is it. It's doing just fine without any help from me - and as an atheist and a Twain scholar the less I say about about what Brigham Young has wrought the better. For another side to this tarnished coin try Zane Grey's RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE. ( )

Ann Eliza was born and raised in the Mormon Church. Its beliefs and practices are all she's ever known. But when she becomes Brigham Young's nineteenth wife, she wonders if the Mormons practices are truly those that will grant one entry to Heaven.
Jordan Scott was thrown out of the Firsts, the Mormons still practicing polygamy in their compound in the Utah desert, when he was still a teenager. Now living in California, he is shocked to hear of his father's murder. And the main suspect? Jordan's mother, the nineteenth wife of his father.

I really liked the way this story was told. I loved the intersection of the two stories and the almost parallel telling of them. I loved the variety in the means of telling the story - the letters, the autobiography, the diary, etc. The characters were really vibrant and interesting and I actually feel like I learned something about Mormonism from reading this book. Ebershoff is an interesting and talented writer. I wasn't overwhelmed by his prose, but it was engaging and real. I especially appreciate the many different styles he undertook in writing this book. To go back and forth from the 1800s to present day - very well done. My one major qualm with the book regarded the present day story. I didn't feel like it was as well-developed as the other story. To me, the story of the Firsts and Jordan's mom was the more interesting story, so I would have liked a little more meat to it. I also didn't like the leaps in the story - Jordan seemed to have no problem figuring out how everything went together but to me as the reader, the conclusions were not so easily reached. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this and will definitely read more by Ebershoff. ( )

The 19th Wife tells the history of the lives of the followers of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, but especially that of Ann Eliza Young, the 19th wife of Brigham Young. The historical facts of the Mormon faith and beliefs are perfectly blended with the fictional account of life during the settlement of Salt Lake City and also the story of Jordan Scott and his mother in the present.

I was completely ignorant to the history of the Mormons. I knew nothing of their church and beliefs until reading this book. Of course, I knew about the polygamy as most everyone else does and I watch Big Love, but that was it. It was interesting to read about the beginning, about the Prophet Joseph Smith and how he and his followers converted so many to their church. How polygamy was introduced to their followers and became part of their doctrine.

The whole book was intriguing and well put together. I read it all in less than a week's time, reading it at every opportunity. It was very well researched and very well presented as a whole. The present day storyline blended perfectly with the story of Ann Eliza and brought the tale full circle.

This was my first book by the author but am now very interested in reading more by him. ( )

The Review

I am a really big fan of the show “Big Love” on HBO. In case you’re not familiar… it’s a drama about modern-day polygamists. I am totally addicted! When I heard about The 19th Wife, I was intrigued and I looked forward to cracking open its pages.

David Ebershoff is a talented writer and the writing of this book reflects how much time and effort he put into it. He has taught creative writing classes at New York University and Princeton and is currently an adjunct assistant professor in the graduate writing program at Columbia University. In addition to his teaching experience, he is an editor-at-large for Random House. All of this experience is demonstrated in the clean, precise writing of this book. Ebershoff writes from the viewpoints of several different characters, both male and female.

There are two main story-lines of this book as described above: Anna Eliza’s historical story of her exodus from her polygamist marriage to Brigham Young and modern-day Jordan Scott’s tale of a “lost boy” from the church attempting to save his mother from false charges in prison. In addition to these two main characters, there are inserted chapters in the book from the viewpoints of reporters, students, family members and Brigham Young himself. Truthfully, with so much going on, the beginning of the book took me a while to absorb (i.e. the characters, the history, etc.) But, once I got moving along, it was easy to keep track of the different players of the stories.

Ann Eliza
What most rings true for me about reading this book is that, although it is a historical FICTION book, there is so much research behind it that I am confident that I’ve really learned a considerable amount of this part of our nation’s history. So many questions were raised for me in reading this book… let me share a couple:

1. If the “Firsts” (first of the Latter Day Saints) believed that plural marriage was a component of their religious freedom covered under their constitutional rights, then where would be today if other groups chose practices that were unethical/immoral and hung them under the “it’s our religion” hat? We talk about the separation of church and state, however at some point there has to be involvement between the two despite what our founding fathers had hoped for. Religious groups just can’t mistreat or injure other people, animals, or the land and claim it to be a component of their belief system.

2. I wonder about modern-day polygamists. With or without the government’s involvement, do these women really NOT know that what they are entering into is wrong? Sure, there are instances within The Bible that describe plural marriage, but it certainly doesn’t condone it nor encourage it. The Bible describes marriage between one man and one woman. Are these women really that naive and sheltered from modern-times that they don’t know any better? It strikes me as strange. How could you not know?

David Ebershoff has an absolutely amazing website with more resources than I have time to investigate to read further on the topic. Specifically, he has the link to the PDF version of the original “19th Wife” written by Ann Eliza herself. I did glance over a good part of this book and am considering downloading it on my hard drive to read in the near future. In addition, there are copies of the New York Times articles pertaining to the divorce between Brigham and Ann Eliza.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

This book is excellent. In regards to my recommendations on this book, I shall be honest in saying that if this topic is one that doesn’t interest you, I wouldn’t recommend the book… but, only because it’s a rather long read. But, if this topic is “up your alley,” by all means this is a book well worth investing the time in! You will learn A TON despite the fact that it’s a fictional work. Each page of this book is really full of information and there is so much to absorb. I’m a fast reader and this book still took me the better part of the week to complete. But, I would definitely consider The 19th Wife a book that I’m glad I read and I one that I would most certainly recommend.

For the genre Fiction:Historical:American, I am going to rate this book a 9 OUT OF 10. ( )