Checked Out

BOOK: THE 19TH WIFE by DAVID EBERSHOFF (2008)

It took me awhile to get through this book, but not due to the lack of an interesting story. There are many components of this novel - newspaper clippings, novel within a novel, letters - that make up the story of Ann Eliza Young, a young Mormon woman who challenged the ideas of polygamy in the 1800s.

While this novel draws its story from real-life figures, there are reminders that this is a work of fiction. The novel interweaves two stories, one from modern day and one from the 1800s, to shed light on Mormons and Latter Day Saints and how polygamy was a part of those two religions.

The amount of details made it difficult for me to keep everything straight in the beginning, but as the story was told, the details became clearer, and the story moved faster. Historical fiction fans would enjoy this tale, and I think if I were to read it again, I would catch a lot more of the details.