The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff

This review comes to us from the lovely Jeannette Katzir, author of Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila, a memoir about the enduring effects of war.  As she writes about  her parent's harrowing experiences during the Holocaust to her own personal battles, she exposes the maladies of heart and mind, that those broken by war inevitably and unintentionally pass down to the generations that follow.  Read our review here.  Thanks, Jeannette, for your review!

You can also read another review from one of our LDS (Mormon) guest reviewers.
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Summary:  Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.

Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense.

It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.

And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.  (Summary and Image from http://www.ebershoff.com/ )

My Review:  The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff, is a book about multiple marriages, a faction of Mormonism and murder. I have to admit that the idea of one man with many wives has always caused me reason to wonder WHY? Sure, it's great for the man, but what about the women?

The 19th Wife escorts you into this world. The murder is a vehicle that takes you through the book. The murder, which is being pinned on the 19th Wife, and the reintroduction of a THROWN AWAY son is a very quiet, back story. The main plot, the thrust of the story, and the reason I could not put it down, is because of the Mormonism.

The book explains the creation and evolution of Mormonism. It explained the premise behind one man/many women. I understand that mainstream Mormons do not practice this marriage arrangement, but as a fan of the television show; Big Love, I found the book fascinating.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Sum it up: I would say it is an intriguing book, well written and very interesting, and the story behind the murder is great also.