Review: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

One of my book clubs chose this book for last month. I was less than enthusiastic. I could list out all the reasons why it didn't appeal to me when it was being presented but the two biggies were that polygamy doesn't trip my trigger and the fact that the modern day parallel story line has at its center a plural wife who is accused of murdering her husband, well you've pretty much hit it out of the ballpark in terms of not interesting me in spending my reading time with the book. But I have always been the teacher's pet and that translates in adult life to me being a dutiful bookclub member. So I read the book. And it wasn't as brutal an experience as I'd thought. Don't get me wrong, I still have less than zero interest in books that contain murders and/or polygamy, but I am not sorry I read this one.

Ann Eliza Young was Brigham Young's 19th wife. Well, she was publicly known as his 19th wife. History is not clear on how many wives he actually had over his adult lifetime. But Ann Eliza was not happy as a plural wife and she ultimately sued for a divorce, crusading to end the practice of polygamy in the United States. A fictionalized history of her life makes up a good portion of this book. The other portion is a parallel story of modern day polygamists, the First Latter Day Saints, who broke away from the Mormon church over the issue of polygamy. In this second story, modern day 19th wife BeckyLyn has been accused of killing her husband. The case seems particularly cut and dried as he was online chatting when he was murdered and had mentioned that wife #19 had just walked into the room. Several states away, Jordan, BeckyLyn's long estranged son, sees the news clipping about the murder and knows he has to go and try to exonerate his mother despite the fact that she allowed the FLDS Prophet to kick Jordan out of the group and her life. Interspersed with Jordan's investigation, which he is uniquely suited to undertake, having been a former insider in this very secretive and closed society, is the story of Ann Eliza's determination to see polygamy criminalized.

The two stories obviously have something in common but they rub up against each other a tad less than comfortably. The historical sections are told in fictionalized documents, a wikipedia article, letters, and a graduate student's research. Because of this method of storytelling, there are more repetitions than necessary and it can be hard to read yet another account of the same span of time in Ann Eliza's life. Certainly a well rounded telling, complete with differing perspectives is a positive but there's just a bit of an excess here. The modern day story, while interesting, failed to hold my interest as much as the historical. In this, my opinion was counter to almost everyone else in the book group. They all far prefered Jordan's investigative quest. To me, however, this quest was unlikely and I'm not sure I ever understood Jordan's motivation for undertaking it. My interest in it was probably also colored by the fact that I thought this fictional man (Jordan's father and husband to a harem) was reprehensible and BeckyLyn was a dishrag or doormat. Perhaps it's a failure in imagination on my part but I had trouble mustering up interest in such lackluster characters and didn't much care to find out who the real murderer was.

I've made it sound as if I didn't like it at all, didn't I? That is certainly not true though. I found the history of the Mormon church fascinating, even if I find it less than credible personally. The idea to marry historical polygamy to the reality of latter day splinter sects, making sure the reader knows that this abhorent practice has not been stamped out, was theoretically a good one. I would have liked to see more of a connection between the stories though. A character driven story when discussing Ann Eliza's life, the book takes on a completely different tone, that of a plot driven murder mystery in the modern day Jordan sections. Definitely a novel cleft in two, this a long book that has an equal chance of appealing to historical fiction readers and mystery readers as well. But take note that it also has equal chance of alienating each group as well with its dichotomous rendering. As I said above, I'm not sorry I read it and I will be curious to see what Ebershoff does with a shorter, more straightforward story since I have long had his previous novel on my shelves.

Review: One Vacant Chair by Joe Coomer

I discovered Joe Coomer's books years ago through another reading friend's recommendation. Then I chose one of his books for my summer book club last summer to help spread the word a bit farther. There's just something wonderful about the quirky characters he creates and the way in which he can tackle deep philosophical issues in the guise of a humorous, thinking novel that makes his work shine. One Vacant Chair is the latest I've read and thoroughly enjoyed.

This novel opens with the Hutton family gathering for the memorial service to bury their mother and grandmother. Edna, an unmarried school cafeteria worker and artist who paints portraits of chairs had taken care of her cantankerous, bedridden mother for twenty odd years. But Edna (and grandma) lived lives that would have surprised the rest of the family and after the reading of the will where grandma asked for her ashes to be scattered in Scotland, a place she'd never been, the details of their lives start to emerge. Sarah, Edna's niece, reeling from her husband's infidelity, offers to stay and help her aunt pull together all the lose ends involved in international travel for those who have never left home. She also has the chance to observe her aunt's artistic process and to get in touch her own artistic roots while in the presence of a wonderful artist, one who will be revered posthumously as small comments scattered throughout Sarah's telling of the story make clear. While living with Edna and then traveling with her to Scotland, Sarah learns the secrets, large and small, of her aunt's life and comes face to face with the delicate realities of living and dying.

On the surface, a quirky tale filled with unusual characters, Coomer has a knack for delving deeply into the things that drive our lives. Here the examination is not only of life and death as points on the same continuum but also of the place of family and love on our own personal time lines. With Sarah telling the story from the benefit of hindsight, the reader knows much of the territory that the narrative will cover but that doesn't make it dismissively predictable. Instead, it freights the conversations between Sarah and aunt Edna with more portents than perhaps would have been possible otherwise. And still there are major twists that are surprising in their deviation from the expected. As the two women travel through Scotland doling out ashes in the places they have chosen, they each struggle with the path their lives are on, trying to find the right thing for themselves in balance with those surrounding them. The book is never preachy and always accessible but it is full of the symbolic and the philosophical. It is beautifully presented and entertainingly drawn, well-written and appealing. You'll warm to the characters, ache with their indecision and weaknesses, and laugh with their eccentricities. You might even learn something about art and art process (I sure did). Readers looking for an unusual story will be richly rewarded with this one. It's a gem.

Numbers Challenge

The Numbers Challenge is always rather fun since it is a sort of design your own challenge with only loose guidelines. You choose books with numbers in the title, either spelled out or numerically represented, any type of number really. And that's the extent of the unifying idea. Easy peasy, right? It has it's own dedicated blog and there are suggestions there for the numerically challenged. This one runs from Jan. 1 through Aug. 1. I swear if my teachers had used book titles or prices or whatever, I would have had a fighting chance of understanding math!

My list:

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreath, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreath Carey
Admit One by Emmett James
One Vacant Chair by Joe Coomer
Fifteen Minutes of Shame by Lisa Daly
Four Ways to be a Woman by Sarah Reidy

This will bring me to level three (the highest!).

Review: Number 6 Fumbles by Rachel Solar-Tuttle

Do you remember your college days? Do you remember the soul searching and the agonizing over things that end up having no relevance to your life but seemed so important at the time? Are there bits you'd really rather forget or at least never tell your kids about? This novel is that bit of college.

Beck is the life of the party, the cute, perky one who keeps everyone upbeat and connected. So what happens when she has a breakdown of sorts, falling into and existential funk after watching the eponymous Number 6 on Penn's football team fumble an important play? She wonders how he goes on, owning this mistake made in front of so many, and as she wonders, she spirals downwards herself. Continuing to bar-hop with her friends, she drinks herself into oblivion and randomly hooks up with guys she meets in the bars, even as she manages to pull off stellar grades by writitng last minute treatises of the genius variety.

The sexual escapades, including longing for the guy who is emotionally unavailable to her, and the aimless bar scene might be entertaining for those still in college or just out but those of us who are further past this angst filled time of our lives, visiting again in this novel is painful and wearying. Solar-Tuttle has captured the experience of many college students and the feelings shared by so many as well (even if they were not the partying good-time girl that Beck is) but that doesn't mean that the book is appealing or meaningful. It was quick, light, a tad depressing, and ultimately empty. I can see late teens enjoying this but anyone else probably doesn't want to be reminded of their younger selves, wallowing in self-pity and random, meaninglessness.

Review: Instances of the Number Three by Salley Vickers

I read and enjoyed Vickers' Miss Garnet's Angel years ago as a book club selection and thought that I should try revisiting her novels. Opening after the accidental death of Peter Hansome, this is the story of the two women who loved him: his wife and his mistress. When Bridget, his wife, finds evidence of Peter's long suspected duplicity, she contacts Frances and the two begin a wary relationship, tied because of their feelings towards Peter. As the women develop a friendship of sorts, they are watched over by the speechless but generally benevolent ghost of Peter himself. An Iranian boy claiming to be Peter's protege appears and moves in with Bridget and then with Francis and then again with Bridget becoming the third in the newly reconfigured combination. And this doesn't begin to unravel even half of the plot. Although my accounting is terribly disjointed, the narrative hangs together beautifully as more truths are slowly unveiled about each character and each of their former places in Peter's compartmentalized world.

Vickers' characters, and indeed the book itself, are restrained, carefully guarded, and proper. Her impressively fluid writing lulls the reader so that the major plot twists come not as shocking surprises but organic growths out of the story itself. She plumbs the depths of relationships with these characters and plays with the characters in variations of threes of which Bridget, Francis, and Peter are only the most obvious set. The back cover copy of the book suggests that this is "a modern drawing room comedy" and while there were flashes that drew a chuckle, this is not comedy in the guffawing sense. It has a subtle, well-thought out, sly sort of humor interwoven into precisely drawn situations. None of the characters are particularly forthcoming to each other, nor even to the careful reader, who must mine the text for deeper revelations. I enjoyed the book but the slow pacing and restraint might put off some readers.

Review: 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

Once The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency became popular, it seems like everyone raced out to read all the rest of what Alexander McCall Smith had written. So that probably means I am the last person on the planet to read this first book in the Scotland Street series. Interestingly though, I haven't heard much talk about this series and that's too bad. Because as charming as the Botswana books are, I liked this one even a shade more.

This novel has a varied, colorful, and extensive cast of characters populating its pages and the reader gets to know each and every one of them as individual characters. Most of the characters live at 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh. Pat is having her second gap year because of vaguely alluded to circumstances. She moves into a flat with Bruce, a good looking but rather narcissistic, somewhat lazy young man. Neighbor Domenica, a widowed former academic becomes friends with Pat. Five year old genius Bertie lives with his domineering mother and father in the building as well. As the lives of these tenants, and a few outside characters, intertwine, the reader is treated to mundane lives and events written in a most delightful and engaging way. Unrequited love, failed set-ups, therapy, and misunderstandings abound in the daily lives of our characters. But far from being boringly domestic, this gives the book a comfortable and familiar and pleasing feel.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at 44 Scotland Street and hopped right out to make sure I had all the subsequent books in the series because I am curious to see where the vagaries of fate will take our characters next. And I fully expect to be introduced to the people alluded to but missing from this installment. There is a serial feel to the book itself so there are natural stopping places throughout if you find yourself enchanted by this one too late at night as I did. The characters are all very complete in themselves, feeling as if they could be your very own next door neighbors. And the descriptions of Edinburgh are intriguing and wonderful. This book and the city it represents are both wonderful to visit (although I think I'd stay out of the old train tunnels given my slight claustrophobia, thanks) and I look forward to future visits to Scotland Street.

Review: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

This young adult confection is pure fun. Seventeen year old Ginny has a collection of sealed envelopes from her aunt. She is to travel to Europe and then around Europe following the instructions in the letters, not opening a new letter until she has completed the task set forth for her in the prior letter. Ginny's beloved aunt had runaway from the settled predictability of her life in order to pursue her art several years before and she wanted Ginny to have a taste of the spontaneity and experience the joy of travel that she herself felt in her last years (she has recently died of a brain tumor). Making a huge leap of faith, Ginny does indeed buy a plane ticket and head off to Europe to fuflfill her aunt's hopes for her, meeting special people in her aunt's life and people who become special in her own. She opens her envelopes one at a time, sometimes understanding the reasons behind the instructions and other times being baffled but always trying to enter into the spirit of the adventure. She learns a lot about herself through her trip through Europe and perhaps learns even more about family, love, and belonging. This is written for high school aged readers but there's very little that might be inappropriate for younger advanced readers. It was a cute read and one that almost makes me wish I had done something so completely out of character like spinning off to Europe without set plans. The ending is a bit of a surprise and while I initially wanted more, upon reflection, I think it ended just as it had to end. A sweet book and one that I'll stick on a shelf for my daughter to discover sometime.

Review: The One True Ocean by Sarah Beth Martin

Told in alternating chapters in the voice of mother Renee and daughter Jenna, this is the story of long buried family secrets and their eventual discovery. Opening in the aftermath of Jenna's young husband's death in a car accident, the narrative unwinds into two seperate threads as Jenna tries to cope with her loss. The first narrative path shows her life as it pushes forward despite grief, as she chooses to move back to Maine to the house she remembers vividly from her childhood and where she once lived with the long-dead beloved aunt she always felt a special kinship towards. The second thread is also triggered by her move as it goes back to the summer that her mother was 14 and 15, the summer that Renee got pregnant with Jenna. Jenna never knew who her father was, having only a name and a very slim tale told by her mother about the man who seduced and left a young girl pregnant. But by moving back to Maine, Jenna uncovers the story not only of her father, but of her aunt's inexplicable suicide even as she forges new, fragile bonds with her mother.

The theme of loss and connection, love and grief arch over the entire narrative but they are handled without resorting to cliche or heavy-handed drama. The depth of emotion of the characters feels very authentic and while each revelation about the past may not come as a surprise, it all fits without stretching credibility. On the other hand, there are one or two plot points that do stretch credibility a bit too far. Chief among these are the wallpapered bits of letters that Jenna finds in her mother's old room in her aunt's house. Having the house, its walls, and its hiding spots still contain all the keys to the long hidden secret of Jenna's paternity, as if people still just paper over any previous wallpaper is a bit disingenuous, especially as the building had gone through multiple owners. But if you forgive minor lapses like this, the rest of the novel was almost mesmerizing. I'd be curious to see what else Martin has written.

Review: One Hundred Million Hearts by Kerri Sakamoto

Miyo has spent her whole life being cared for by her father so she is shocked after his death to find out how much of his life has been hidden from her. Leaving her lover and traveling to Japan with the stepmother she never knew she had, she meets her enigmatic younger half-sister Hana and comes face to face with a different picture of her father than she ever expected. Hana has discovered that their father was not just a soldier who never actually served in WWII, he was in fact a kamikaze pilot whose war ended before he could fulfil his destiny. All this new knowledge, combined with the potential that Miyo's mother was exposed to radiation during the war, thereby causing Miyo's physical problems, turns Miyo's world upside down.

This is a slow, elegaic, and oftentimes confusingly written novel. None of the characters inspired much sympathy, not Hana with her penchant for disappearances and unwillingness to really share; not Ryu, Hana's stoic boyfriend; not Setsuko, the emotionally cold stepmother; not David, Miyo's oddly off-kilter, possesive boyfriend; not Masao, the father obsessed with duty rather than love; and not even Miyo struggling to keep-up and unravel the mysteries everyone else has already discovered. There is just something cold and remote about this tale that even the surprise in the end doesn't humanize. Each of the characters seem so wrapped up in his or her own drama, to the exculsion of all other story threads, that they don't come together to provide a cogent whole. And while the themes of loss, sacrifice, and duty spiral throughout the story, they seem more reported on rather than felt through the characters' actions. Well-written but hard to connect to emotionally, this was not one of my favorite reads of the month.