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ecthompson's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity
dominic_t's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The beginning of the book started out great. I was definitely thinking it would be a 5 star read. I loved the balance between the modern day mystery and the historical account of Eliza Ann Webb and the early Latter Day Saints. The mystery was super engaging and I was really excited to see how it would be resolved. By the latter half of the book, I started struggling. The historical parts of the book seemed to get longer and slower, while the sections about the modern day mystery seemed to grow shorter. This really dragged down the pacing and made it a lot harder to finish. I really think that he could have condensed the historical parts significantly, and that really would have done a lot for the overall pacing. I also would have loved to see more of the modern day story.
Overall, this is a good book, and I learned a lot. I'm just not sure if I would recommend it because of how hard I found it to get through the latter half of the book.
Overall, this is a good book, and I learned a lot. I'm just not sure if I would recommend it because of how hard I found it to get through the latter half of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, and Violence
artemishi's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A rich, historical fiction interspersed with a modern-day murder mystery, both centering around the Mormon (and then Firsts) practice of polygamy- it was as dense and detailed as you'd expect such an undertaking must be. I was honestly disappointed to get to the author's notes and learn that although the details of Ann Eliza's and Brigham Young's lives (and those surrounding them) were researched and factual, the inserted essays, letters, and other 'historical findings' are fiction. This is mainly because the consistent pausing of the third-person narrative to insert (what is positioned to look like) an extant letter or deposition seemed like a choice to bolster the circumstances and supposition of that person's character. After all, historians (and history) only get a sense of who someone was by what they leave behind. So to discover it was all fiction made me wonder why the author chose to position himself as more of a historian and less of a writer, with this style, in the first place.
Narrative structure aside, this book was engaging enough to cause more than a couple of 1am "just one more chapter" moments- less so because the characters are compelling (though I did love Jordan) and more because there's a lot to unpack about the Church of Latter-Day Saints, their original beliefs, their exodus to SLC, and how a Saint embodies their religion. I thought it was very respectfully portrayed in the book- I have Mormon friends I would recommend this book to- but I am a skeptic of that religion. In truth, I'm a skeptic of all religions, but it was nice to learn something new about the historic settlement/emigration (I never before grasped the scale of that) and how Young was able to maintain (with population consent) control of all avenues of power in the growing cities of Utah. I was also introduced, very briefly, to Victoria Woodhull- who I'll be looking to learn more about soon.
The modern murder mystery is not as engaging as you might think- it's very much a plot device, because the majority of the book focuses on Ann Eliza's life. However, I know the Firsts cult are not a fiction- my aunt was a librarian in AZ and when she drove the bookmobile she made a point to go to their local compound and try to get the women to read. From her pitiful stories, I have zero doubts that Ebershoff's portrayal is less than factual in its generalities. So, CW for those that need it: non-graphic mention of child neglect, child abandonment, sexual abuse, and misogyny.
The ending was satisfactory- I hadn't figured out who had committed the murder until the very end (where the author wants the reader to know) but then, I didn't care too much. Jordan's relationship with his mother was, to my thinking, far too broken for me to give one iota of a care that she be cleared and thus able to break his heart again. I mostly wanted Jordan to learn to trust and let himself be loved again- everything else was incidental for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
orlagal's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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