Last month I borrowed 'The 19th Wife' from my sister, it seemed an odd choice for me; the birth of the Mormon church and the role of polygamy in its practices - RANDOM I hear you say! And I would too, but the way David Ebershoff has written it is remarkable, gripping and so interesting. He weaves three stories together, one is an account of how the church was founded and what they went through as American pioneers to do so (hard core), the second is that of Ann-Eliza daughter of one of the founding members and her struggle against polygamy and finally is the present day story of a young man who is kicked out of the first's (a mormon splinter group who still illegally practice polygamy).
I do highly recommend reading this, I learnt alot about pioneering America, how religion can be twisted to suit those in charge & how that has impacted through the generations and also about people, which is an endless fascinating topic. Its a well written, engrossing and enlighting page turner!
To find out more about the book, check out David Ebershoff's website
