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jonscott9 's review for:
The Lonely Polygamist
by Brady Udall
(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.