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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
This is quite a long book, but when you figure that the author really develops so many characters, Golden- the head of the polygamist family, four of his wives, and several of their 18 children, I guess it's not surprising.
Golden is at a crisis, his business isn't doing well (in fact he's building a brothel in Nevada -but telling the family it's a senior center), his family life is out of control, he avoids contact with all except his boss's wife who he's developing feelings for. There is so much loneliness and pain in this family, so by no means is it an ad for polygamy. I think it is probably an accurate description of a polygamist family (positively the author does distinguish the family and their church from mainstream mormonism). There are some laugh out loud funny moments, as well as heartbreakingly touching moments when the family comes together. It was compelling enough to keep reading, but I'm not sure I'd give it a ringing endorsement.
Golden is at a crisis, his business isn't doing well (in fact he's building a brothel in Nevada -but telling the family it's a senior center), his family life is out of control, he avoids contact with all except his boss's wife who he's developing feelings for. There is so much loneliness and pain in this family, so by no means is it an ad for polygamy. I think it is probably an accurate description of a polygamist family (positively the author does distinguish the family and their church from mainstream mormonism). There are some laugh out loud funny moments, as well as heartbreakingly touching moments when the family comes together. It was compelling enough to keep reading, but I'm not sure I'd give it a ringing endorsement.
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The writing was wonderful. The deep raw look into a polygamist family was facilitating. I despised the “now we’re a big happy family” ending.
(An interesting write-up, if you've read the book: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20366272,00.html)
The title might seem an oxymoron, but it's quite possible to be lonely without being alone.
Just ask Golden Richards. He's a Mormon who has four wives -- five before this novel is over -- and yet he's emotionally if not physically cheating on them all with Huila, the exotic wife of his construction-contract boss. Also, his project entails renovating a brothel in the desert. Never mind that he has nearly 30 offspring. Yes, talk about a messed-up life -- and quite the premise.
Which makes this book all the more disappointing. Considering the novel's breadth (600 pages!), it's quite sad that it doesn't roll along better. This is no The Book Thief, surely, not a cover-to-cover insomniac's lit dream. I did not tear through this read, as if one could considering the book's well-intended sprawl.
Maybe Udall (a very political Utah Mormon name, that) wanted an epic, cinematic length and feel to it all. That's not achieved, if so, though the book will likely be made into a movie soon enough. Honestly, I skipped chapters 23 through 36 (~200pgs) -- this because my bookclubbers told me I could do so without really missing anything -- and, aside from a couple notes given to me, I finished this gusty tome with nary a wonder about what had transpired outside of what I read.
I forget what the almost-poignant point was that I made at bookclub about this read, but so it goes. (Gail? Help?) In short ('cause I never am that, brief): The Lonely Plyg could've been much more sleek and with a greater impact were it 400 pages long instead.
There's both early and late-breaking tragedy here. The last go-round with familial loss is set up throughout the book fairly well but then still felt a bit cheap. Definitely a miss there on the author's part. If I'd stayed with this book continuously over the course of it, maybe the gravity of a few situations would have affected me more. As it is, no dice.
This is what I will take away from all these pages: One hilarious bedroom scene in which fourth and youngest wife Trish tries to seduce Golden. It involves chewing gum, and it made me laugh out loud twice.
The title might seem an oxymoron, but it's quite possible to be lonely without being alone.
Just ask Golden Richards. He's a Mormon who has four wives -- five before this novel is over -- and yet he's emotionally if not physically cheating on them all with Huila, the exotic wife of his construction-contract boss. Also, his project entails renovating a brothel in the desert. Never mind that he has nearly 30 offspring. Yes, talk about a messed-up life -- and quite the premise.
Which makes this book all the more disappointing. Considering the novel's breadth (600 pages!), it's quite sad that it doesn't roll along better. This is no The Book Thief, surely, not a cover-to-cover insomniac's lit dream. I did not tear through this read, as if one could considering the book's well-intended sprawl.
Maybe Udall (a very political Utah Mormon name, that) wanted an epic, cinematic length and feel to it all. That's not achieved, if so, though the book will likely be made into a movie soon enough. Honestly, I skipped chapters 23 through 36 (~200pgs) -- this because my bookclubbers told me I could do so without really missing anything -- and, aside from a couple notes given to me, I finished this gusty tome with nary a wonder about what had transpired outside of what I read.
I forget what the almost-poignant point was that I made at bookclub about this read, but so it goes. (Gail? Help?) In short ('cause I never am that, brief): The Lonely Plyg could've been much more sleek and with a greater impact were it 400 pages long instead.
There's both early and late-breaking tragedy here. The last go-round with familial loss is set up throughout the book fairly well but then still felt a bit cheap. Definitely a miss there on the author's part. If I'd stayed with this book continuously over the course of it, maybe the gravity of a few situations would have affected me more. As it is, no dice.
This is what I will take away from all these pages: One hilarious bedroom scene in which fourth and youngest wife Trish tries to seduce Golden. It involves chewing gum, and it made me laugh out loud twice.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"...this, after all, was the basic truth they all chose to live by: that love was no finite commodity. That it was not subject to the cruel reckoning of addition and subtraction, that to give to one did not necessarily mean to take from another; that the heart, in its infinite capacity--even the confused and cheating heart of the man in front of her, even the paltry thing now clenched and faltering inside her own chest--could open itself to all who would enter, like a house with windows and doors thrown wide, like the heart of God itself, vast and accommodating and holy, a mansion of rooms without number, full of multitudes without end."
One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. 600 pages and I didn't feel like much of it was gratuitous. This book does one of my favorite things--takes something pretty foreign to me and helps me to understand and sympathize with it more fully.
One of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. 600 pages and I didn't feel like much of it was gratuitous. This book does one of my favorite things--takes something pretty foreign to me and helps me to understand and sympathize with it more fully.
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The Good:
Well-written novel with interesting situations. Engaging characters, especially the son Rusty. Accurate and heart-felt descriptions of grief.
The Bad:
The main character, Golden, did not invoke any emotional response from me except apathy. I just found it hard to like him, to relate to him, to find any redeeming qualities in him. I just didn't care what happened to him or what he did or where he went. Just didn't care.
The emotional heart of this novel, for me, was Rusty (the terrorist son). I finished the book soley for his character and loved each scene in which he was a part. I felt, as a whole, this book seemed too ambitious. It seemed as if it aimed to be "the next, great American novel", but lacked the emotional power to do so.
The Good:
Well-written novel with interesting situations. Engaging characters, especially the son Rusty. Accurate and heart-felt descriptions of grief.
The Bad:
The main character, Golden, did not invoke any emotional response from me except apathy. I just found it hard to like him, to relate to him, to find any redeeming qualities in him. I just didn't care what happened to him or what he did or where he went. Just didn't care.
The emotional heart of this novel, for me, was Rusty (the terrorist son). I finished the book soley for his character and loved each scene in which he was a part. I felt, as a whole, this book seemed too ambitious. It seemed as if it aimed to be "the next, great American novel", but lacked the emotional power to do so.
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes