Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff's The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. 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 a family's polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife. 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 and faith.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Enjoyable and thought provoking:
I listened to this book on my Ipod. The characters are all multidimensional. Their stories are well developed and very interesting. The narration is well performed. I highly recommend this book for either a read or a listen.
Just ok.:
While the book was ok, it was nothing beyond that. I am usually the type who picks up a book and finishes it in a couple days.... but this one took me MUCH longer because it just did not engage me.
It was like a Lifetime movie:
This was one of those books I couldn't wait to be done with, as I had to read it for my book club. The writing is just okay, nothing overly literary, and at times the narrative is so cliche, or at least doesn't feel real, like the author is stretching a limited imagination. It tells two stories in two separate narratives that the author is trying to somehow relate to one another. One is a historical fiction about Brigham Young's 19th wife, who divorces him and sets about on a crusade to end polygamy in... more info
An Interweaving of History and Fiction:
I must admit I bought this novel under a misapprehension. Based on a quick reading of the cover blurb, I was expecting two fictional narrative strands, one set in the early days of Mormonism, and the other set in modern times, both of which would be mysteries. What I got was a novel set in modern times interwoven with a real (and fascinating) memoir by the estranged polygamous wife of Brigham Young. There is a mystery in both parts of the story, but the mystery of Ann Eliza Young is a real one that has... more info
