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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
While there was something about this story that inevitably kept me reading, I have to say, I really didn't enjoy this one. It wasn't because of the whole polygamy thing, I just couldn't sympathize with most of the characters and by the end of the book, the few characters I did find myself rooting for all seemed to get gypped in one way or another. Sad beginning, sad middle, sad end. Not a big hit for me.
EW said this was the best book of the year so I started this book with very high expectations. And I have to say they were mostly met. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down.
As the title suggests, the book is about a polygamist, but it also goes deeper. It tells the story of an entire family, ranging from Golden, the awkward patriarch to Trish (aka Wife #4) to Rusty, the 11 year old boy smack dab in the middle of 20+ kids. Rusty was by far my favorite--all energy and mayhem and innocence. Udall did an excellent job creating multi-faceted, believable characters with a variety of backgrounds and unique voices. I also really enjoyed seeing how the characters came to the polygamist church. It was fair, balanced, and without judgement.
What I liked but didn't like about the novel is how things and people didn't change. It's so frustrating but so true.
Also, it's the first book I read on my Kindle!
As the title suggests, the book is about a polygamist, but it also goes deeper. It tells the story of an entire family, ranging from Golden, the awkward patriarch to Trish (aka Wife #4) to Rusty, the 11 year old boy smack dab in the middle of 20+ kids. Rusty was by far my favorite--all energy and mayhem and innocence. Udall did an excellent job creating multi-faceted, believable characters with a variety of backgrounds and unique voices. I also really enjoyed seeing how the characters came to the polygamist church. It was fair, balanced, and without judgement.
What I liked but didn't like about the novel is how things and people didn't change. It's so frustrating but so true.
Also, it's the first book I read on my Kindle!
"How does a shy, lonely boy from the backwaters of Louisiana become an apostle of God, the husband to four wives, the father to twenty-eight children? Easier than you think."
Golden Richards is a man who never quite takes charge of his life, and this is the result. And THEN he has an affair. My goodness, what next?
This is a captivating novel, funny, touching, and full of believable, all-to-human people. Especially funny and moving is Rusty, the son of wife three (Rose-of-Sharon, who secretly reads romance novels and ends up in a mental hospital with a breakdown from all the chaos)a boy who tries to define himself in a humorous and ultimately tragic way. (It is a credit to author Udall that he embues so many of the twenty-eight children with individual personalities).
After finishing "The Lonely Polygamist" I read Brady Udall's earlier "Miracle Life of Edgar Mint". Love this writer. Brady, keep writing.
Golden Richards is a man who never quite takes charge of his life, and this is the result. And THEN he has an affair. My goodness, what next?
This is a captivating novel, funny, touching, and full of believable, all-to-human people. Especially funny and moving is Rusty, the son of wife three (Rose-of-Sharon, who secretly reads romance novels and ends up in a mental hospital with a breakdown from all the chaos)a boy who tries to define himself in a humorous and ultimately tragic way. (It is a credit to author Udall that he embues so many of the twenty-eight children with individual personalities).
After finishing "The Lonely Polygamist" I read Brady Udall's earlier "Miracle Life of Edgar Mint". Love this writer. Brady, keep writing.
If a book can be both absurd and poignant, this is it. The love and responsibility a decent man feels for his family (poignant) can be overwhelming when the numbers are multiplied exponentially (absurd). By the end, I cared about the characters and knew they were decent, though flawed, people but I still didn't care for the lifestyle. Brady Udall's writing is fantastic -- it's a good read.
Brady Udall's writing style reminds me of John Irving. They both make the reader relate to situations that would normally seem shocking. I enjoyed reading this novel for the most part, but I always felt like something was missing. I never engaged with any of the characters, which is something that I need to do to thoroughly enjoy a book. It was decent (if a little slow & way too long), but I wouldn't recommend it.
Interesting... definitely makes me want to learn more about polygamy and understand what it's all about better
In true Udall fashion this books combines events that make you cringe, laugh, and cry. The characters in the story are well developed. I greatly enjoyed the small quirks that emerged for each one as the book progressed. Root for Rusty, get angry at Golden, and wonder at the slew of other characters whose voices remain hidden throughout the story. A seemingly light read that opens you up to deep thinking.
It’s beautiful, funny and, ultimately, heartbreaking.
Udall so clearly wanted to write "a long book" -- and he did, though at the cost of a generally better rating. Too often he waxed through pages of bullshit & then lay two perfectly formed paragraphs out that made me weep with jealousy. I wouldn't call the ending weak, but it could have used some of the flair he found only when killing off children.
I'd like to say that I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I got it. The title sounded interesting, and because it was on sale, I figured "why the heck not."
After finishing this book I went to read a bunch of reviews to see if people had the same ish-es with it that I did, only to discover that this is a book considered to be one of those "great american novels" and lots of people loved it to pieces.
Which. WHAT?!
The book is about Golden Richards and his family of 4 wives and 20something children. Golden is not the strong patriarch of FLDS lore, but a bumbling idiot who just seems to be making his way (badly) through life. His father disappeared when he was young, struck it rich and brought Golden out west to live with the fundamentalist sect, of which, he was a member. Golden gets his inheritance, attempts to run a construction company and maintain his standing in the church hierarchy. Lots of shenanigans (with a fractured family and his "indiscretions") ensue. The story is told through three main viewpoints - Golden's, Trish's (his youngest wife), and Rusty (a wayward, neglected 11/12 year old)
My problem with this book is that nearly everyone in the story is a horrible person. Some of it thanks to how they were raised and the baggage and programming that that all entails, but a lot of it through personal choices. I have no sympathy for any of the family members or characters in this story.
Most of the people in the story are truly awful people, doing truly awful things. The levels of abuse and neglect in the household, thanks to not just an overwhelming number of people, but rivalries and personality issues is staggering.
The polygamist portions of the book seem to be there just to set the tone, I don't feel like there was condemnation or approval of the lifestyle/Principle, these people would have been awful regardless of the situation they were in (since it was mostly of their own making).
Another thing that bugged was the rampant stereotypes running through the book. Lazy stereotypes just there for the taking (our titular character falling for his boss's brown skinned "exotic" woman? Of course! Mexicans hanging out drinking mescal? Of course!).
And I won't even get started on a 28 year old jerking off her 12 year old stepson while he was in a coma.
So yeah, this was a long bloated book that seemed to start with an aim for dark humor and just developed into an awful pile of awful.
After finishing this book I went to read a bunch of reviews to see if people had the same ish-es with it that I did, only to discover that this is a book considered to be one of those "great american novels" and lots of people loved it to pieces.
Which. WHAT?!
The book is about Golden Richards and his family of 4 wives and 20something children. Golden is not the strong patriarch of FLDS lore, but a bumbling idiot who just seems to be making his way (badly) through life. His father disappeared when he was young, struck it rich and brought Golden out west to live with the fundamentalist sect, of which, he was a member. Golden gets his inheritance, attempts to run a construction company and maintain his standing in the church hierarchy. Lots of shenanigans (with a fractured family and his "indiscretions") ensue. The story is told through three main viewpoints - Golden's, Trish's (his youngest wife), and Rusty (a wayward, neglected 11/12 year old)
My problem with this book is that nearly everyone in the story is a horrible person. Some of it thanks to how they were raised and the baggage and programming that that all entails, but a lot of it through personal choices. I have no sympathy for any of the family members or characters in this story.
Most of the people in the story are truly awful people, doing truly awful things. The levels of abuse and neglect in the household, thanks to not just an overwhelming number of people, but rivalries and personality issues is staggering.
The polygamist portions of the book seem to be there just to set the tone, I don't feel like there was condemnation or approval of the lifestyle/Principle, these people would have been awful regardless of the situation they were in (since it was mostly of their own making).
Another thing that bugged was the rampant stereotypes running through the book. Lazy stereotypes just there for the taking (our titular character falling for his boss's brown skinned "exotic" woman? Of course! Mexicans hanging out drinking mescal? Of course!).
And I won't even get started on a 28 year old jerking off her 12 year old stepson while he was in a coma.
So yeah, this was a long bloated book that seemed to start with an aim for dark humor and just developed into an awful pile of awful.