The 19th Wife

Reviews

“This lyrical yet fact-packed epic is both timely and transporting. . . . Ebershoff ’s exhaustive research and deft prose combine to make [The 19th Wife] a literary tour de force.”—People (four stars)

“Ambitious . . . fascinating . . . Ebershoff demonstrates abundant virtuosity, as he convincingly inhabits the voices of both a nineteenth-century Mormon wife and a contemporary gay youth excommunicated from the church, while also managing to say something about the mysterious power of faith.”—The New Yorker

“[The 19th Wife] evinces a respect for the difficult mysteries of faith as well as the importance of the family, however that might be defined. . . . The multiplicity of perspectives serves to broaden Ebershoff ’s depiction not only of polygamy, but also of the people whose lives it informs. And this gives his novel a rare sense of moral urgency.”—The New York Times Book Review

“As timely as it is engaging . . . Fascinating in its documentary detail, [The 19th Wife] reads like a memoir and ultimately serves to enlighten more than it condemns. . . . [Its] snappy pace and easyto-read prose allow us to fall deeper and deeper into the world of a modern Mormon polygamous cult and the twisted logic of plural marriage.”—Elle (Reader’s Prize 2008 pick)

“Funny, profound, and utterly transporting.”—Marie Claire

“Dryly comic and fearlessly honest . . . The 19th Wife swirls around what it means for an individual to turn his back on faith, and what it means for a religion—Mormonism—to deny the contemporary effects of its own, long disavowed past. . . . A compelling portrait of the beginnings and ends of Mormon polygamy, and a marvelous examination of its effects on women (the obvious sufferers) and men (also brutalized, the author shows). The 19th Wife is an exploration of how and whether community is possible after a loss of belief.”—Newsday

“Highly personal and completely engaging.”—New York Daily News

“A skilled ventriloquist, [Ebershoff ] gives voice not only to his spirited protagonist but also to her dismayed family members, an indignant, vexed Brigham Young and impartial modern historians.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Pitch-perfect . . . rich and full . . . a book to get lost in . . . a lot of fun to read.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Compelling, well-written . . . [Ebershoff ] uses fiction, like many before him, to show a deeper truth, with a much wider scope, than any separate (‘real’) look at polygamy could.”—The Denver Post

“Part ‘documentary,’ part detective story . . . [The 19th Wife] goes to the heart of questions raised by polygamy.”—The Dallas Morning News

“As the mystery in David Ebershoff ’s novel The 19th Wife unfolds, so does the complexity of understanding what it means for an individual to turn his back on faith. . . . A compelling portrait of the beginnings and ends of Mormon polygamy.”—The Detroit News and Free Press Expand reviews