The 19th Wife

I've been busy reading The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff for the last two days. It was recommended to me by Irishlassie and I found it engrossing.

The book tells two tales, that of a modern day "Lost Boy" who has been excommunicated from his polygamous sect and that of the life and controversy surrounding Ann Eliza Young, one of the many wives of Brigham Young, the savior and second Prophet of Mormonism. Both are spun brilliantly and I found the book difficult to put down. To wit, I finished the 514 page hardcover version in 36 hours.

The author has obviously researched the book in a meticulous fashion and it is impossible to tell where history ends and fiction begins, which is acknowledged in his epilogue. After over 500 pages, I was sad for the book to end, but all in all it was a very satisfying read.

I should note that a brief look at the Amazon reviews suggest that a few people found the book confusing. Anyone who is looking for some cotton candy in literary form and is not prepared to pay attention might possibly find it confusing. However I did not find it confusing in the least and am baffled by the claim.

I am now off to bathe two stinky little boys.

Juvenile Fiction

I'm not normally into it.

But I picked up the dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer at the library this week without taking a close look at it; turns out, it's aimed at the teen set. The protagonist is a seventeen year old boy, which was something of a give away. Anyway, I went ahead and read it as the subject matter was quite interesting (human survival after apocalyptic event) and it was quite good.

Amazon says:

When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle. With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

That's the gist of it and it held my attention very well, even given the targeted audience. It does have some very strong Catholic/faith elements, which might be attractive to young people of faith, though I should add that there is no direct comment on whether a higher power does or does not exist in the book.

If you have a thirteen/fourteen year old and up (there are quite gruesome subjects in it, so I would not advise for a 10 or 11 year old early reader) who is looking for a good read, suggest they try this one out.