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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I made it a full 350 pages into this book and then had to retire from it. As other reviewers have mentioned, the protagonist was entirely one dimensional...basically a regular guy with a wandering eye. I felt that his relationships with his four wives could have been explored more deeply; the wives themselves were less compelling than any of the sister wives on Big Love. His obsession with his bosses Latina wife seemed far-fetched as she was presented as nothing more than a stereotype of a subservient Latin wife. This book was a boring read, but could have been so much more compelling if it offered an honest explanation of the draw of polygamy. The dynamics of the four wives and 27 children alone could have provided so much more insight to those of us on the outside, however each character was just presented as a husk.
Meh. Solid writing and some funny incidents but the overarching theme of the book, men rule and women submit, really didn't sit well with me. I wanted to like this one more than I did.
The Lonely Polygamist was certainly one of the best books I have read this year! Brady Udall deserves to be numbered among the great American authors. I personally loved every second of reading this book.
He brought a very human story to a polygamist man and his family. The story was gripping and surprisingly relatable for any one who has ever felt overwhelmed with their life! I highly recommend this book!
He brought a very human story to a polygamist man and his family. The story was gripping and surprisingly relatable for any one who has ever felt overwhelmed with their life! I highly recommend this book!
I wasn't in love with this book. It took me awhile to get into but the last half of the book was good. Once shit really starts hitting the fan for the family, then it gets very interesting. The story is about a man named Golden with 4 wives and 28 kids who is in love with another woman. He's no Bill from Big Love and his life is ruled by his wives and his church. He makes almost no decisions and is largely an absent dad. Part of the story is also told from one of the kids' perspectives, Rusty, the black sheep of the family who acts out to get attention. Golden doesn't seem to have any real faith and ended up a polygamist because his dad happened to be one so he just followed in the footsteps. If his dad had been a circus performer or a priest, Golden would've done the same. He's frustratingly passive and hard to be sympathetic towards. Decent read, well written with great character development but the story itself just didn't seem to be as compelling as I hoped.
Family dramas are not usually my cup of tea but I enjoyed this book. It took me a while to really get into there flow of it but once it started focusing on several characters from their point of view I had a much easier time getting absorbed. The characters were for the most part really well realized and multifaceted which, I imagine, is hard to do with that many characters. All in all I really enjoyed it
This was a 5-star read until the last 150 pages. I was ready to declare it a Great American Novel until then. It is ambitious and sweeping and mostly well written, but it takes a sharp turn. The ending feels discordant, like the author wrote a story for one purpose but, in search of some kind of deep meaningfulness, took it a different direction last minute. Like I said, discordant.
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think this book is as funny as it wants to be. But it was a fascinating look at the less salacious side of polygamy