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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
It's a little drawn out, but the imagery in this book is stunning. Since Big Love and Sister Wives, polygamy has gotten a lot of attention lately, and this book still manages to offer new insights as to how polygamy affects all members of the family.
Sometimes humorous, sometimes touching...I felt myself torn between pitying, hating, and sympathizing with Golden Richards.
a cast of colorful characters that were entertaining to see through the narrative. My major complaint is that it fell apart in the end as the author tried to make too many loose ends unrealistically neat.
I liked this story much more than I expected to. It was a bit slow to grab me, but I kept reading because the characters were intriguing. By the end I knew them well enough to be satisfied. The story wasn't what I expected and I really like that! So refreshing to be surprised. Thanks, Brady, for doing that. This felt like an honest portrayal of the realities of polygamy, not an sex-enhanced portrait for literary peeping-toms.
I liked this book well enough to finish it and it was loooonnnggg. But I was never on the edge of my seat and I definitely didn't stay up all night to finish it.
Since this book was a choice for one of my book clubs I read the whole thing thinking it would get better. I wish I hadn't. Some of the insight into day to day life in a polygamist family were interesting but the story went on too long for me.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I only read about 50 pages into this book. The reason I couldn't finish it is because I didn't like how the author spent too long describing the main characters' past instead of getting on with the current plot. I found it to be tedious and boring, and couldn't pay attention to it. Which is a shame, because I was looking forward to reading this one...
Brady Udall is a prof at BSU and I thought it would be cool to read something of his. Read the first page, liked his writing, and decided to take the plunge! I did indeed love his writing and his characters. I'm excited to read "Edgar Mint," another (or the other?) novel of his. I just love the clarity and precision in his writing, which is something I've valued in post-modern lit. It's so interesting how we have intense close-ups of a few characters and gather quite a bit of knowledge about other characters, but it's all somewhat incomplete. I wonder if it mimics a bit what you would find in a polygamist family.
And I loved the humor. My goodness. In the silly notes in the back--okay, so I do kind of love that they have a brief interview with him--he said that people are fascinated by polygamy because of sex. But I love that he shows how silly and ridiculous sex can be. That does remind me, though...some of the early parts of the book made me feel like yes, this was written by a boy/man (haha). Not that girls can't be gross-out. Call me sexist.
It was also interesting how he connected the lives of his characters to something bigger...nuclear bomb testing. Had no idea that that was an issue in the West. And of course that adds another layer to his book. Lots of layers...like an onion. haha.
It was such an interesting to choice to have some chapters or parts of chapters step back from the characters. Like the "boy in the window" (or at?) chapters. And I loved how the character's voice still echoed in the diction even though Udall was zooming out from the specific character and not naming him, though we knew it was Rusty. Such an interesting choice...still pondering it a bit.
I thought there were a couple of gaps and some unintentionally dissonant echoes...but perhaps I'm being more critical because he's an "Idaho writer."
And, I'll admit, I love the cover. And I realized, as I finished the book, that Cooter is on the back cover. Hah!
And I loved the humor. My goodness. In the silly notes in the back--okay, so I do kind of love that they have a brief interview with him--he said that people are fascinated by polygamy because of sex. But I love that he shows how silly and ridiculous sex can be. That does remind me, though...some of the early parts of the book made me feel like yes, this was written by a boy/man (haha). Not that girls can't be gross-out. Call me sexist.
It was also interesting how he connected the lives of his characters to something bigger...nuclear bomb testing. Had no idea that that was an issue in the West. And of course that adds another layer to his book. Lots of layers...like an onion. haha.
It was such an interesting to choice to have some chapters or parts of chapters step back from the characters. Like the "boy in the window" (or at?) chapters. And I loved how the character's voice still echoed in the diction even though Udall was zooming out from the specific character and not naming him, though we knew it was Rusty. Such an interesting choice...still pondering it a bit.
I thought there were a couple of gaps and some unintentionally dissonant echoes...but perhaps I'm being more critical because he's an "Idaho writer."
And, I'll admit, I love the cover. And I realized, as I finished the book, that Cooter is on the back cover. Hah!