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
Hated it!:
When I purchased this book, I honestly thought I'd love it. But the more I read, the less I liked the author's style. It was very distracting to go between the modern day events and the historic accounts. At first I did like the historic portion of the book but after a while, it was just too monotonous. Even though I normally make myself finish a book I start even if I don't like it, I ended up just reading the sections from the current day when I was when I had only 1/4th of the book to go.
A compelling book club read....:
I read this book for the first time last year and then skimmed it again for a recent book club meeting. It held up well, even on a second perusal. The 19th Wife is a novel that tells two stories. One part is a contemporary mystery told by a young man who was forced out of the polygamist compound where he was born at 14. His mother, the 19th wife of his father, has been accused of murdering the father and Jordan returns to Utah to help with her case. The other story is historical and concerns the 19th... more info
Pom pom marigolds waving:
A good read as many have already reviwed, and did read this book in just a couple of days.
(Would have been in one sitting but I have a life) Ebershoff writes as he edits so makes for
a classic read. I think I read Irving Wallace's book, THE 27th WIFE, at a much younger age
as it seemed that many scenes were familiar. My copy does not have questions for book club
even if this book is certain to be discussed this morning..Most of all, this book brought to me
the place of... more info
Great genre-bending fiction:
Part historical tale, part contemporary murder mystery, this novel is presented largely as a collection of documents, including a confessional jailhouse letter and instant messages. I read it in three days. As for the murder mystery, I was kept guessing until the last page. People who like Devil in the White City, City of Thieves, anything by David Liss will probably like this one.
