The writing itself was nothing special, no fancy literary tricks, but it got the job done without getting in its own way. It was absolutely an absorbing read, and is a thick book without being long – the almost 600 pages passed quickly and without dragging. And yet, in the wake of recent widely-publicized cases, the social realities of the practice of polygamy tend to be horrible enough, particularly where the children are concerned, that part of me says “we should really do something about that.” (Although I do wonder if the fact that it’s illegal isn’t a contributing factor to the horrible social outcomes, much like illegal drugs – if polygamists weren’t forced to live so far off the grid, wouldn’t it be easier to keep an eye out for child abuse, rape, and give those women who wanted a way out the means to do so?) In any case, reading The 19th Wife didn’t solve any moral dilemnas for me, even though it comes down pretty vehemently on the anti-polygamy side, but it definitely did make me reconsider the issue, as well as providing some background and historical perspective about the beginning of the Mormon faith and the practice of polygamy of which I was previously unaware.Īs a novel, it’s quite good, although not without its faults. I believe pretty strongly in not only the correctness, but also the vital necessity of the separation of church and state, and so legislation against polygamy as a religious practice always rubs me in exactly the worst way. Review: The question of polygamy has always been a thorny one in my own personal ethical code.
Running parallel to Jordan’s story is the (fictionalized but true) story of Ann Eliza Young, one of Brigham Young’s wives, and the one who in her publicized divorce and outspoken apostasy to the Mormon church helped to bring about national reform of polygamy laws. Jordan knows instinctively that she’s innocent, but in going back, he’s forced to face the family, lifestyle, and faith that abandoned him, and the scars that his childhood left on his heart. Now he’s twenty and living in L.A., until he sees the front page headline: His mother, the 19th of 20-plus wives, has been arrested for murdering his father. In the modern story, Jordan Scott is a “lost boy” – a child of a polygamous sect that persists in the deserts of Utah, dumped on the side of the highway when he fourteen.
Summary: The 19th Wife contains intertwined stories: a modern-day murder mystery, and a historical account about the early days of Mormonism. The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (August 2008)
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