The 19th Wife

The topic that kept me interested enough to finish this 15-disc audio book was the history of Mormonism and their belief in polygamy.  In this book, the autobiography of Anne-Eliza Young was intertwined with the present day story of Jordan Scott.  Anne-Eliza was officially deemed the title of The 19th Wife of Brigham Young, when in reality she was probably number 27.  Although there is no record of the exact number of wives he had, it is widely speculated that Brigham Young had 57.  Meanwhile, in 2001, Jordan Scott was exiled from a polygamist colony in Southern Utah at age fourteen, when he is involved in a scandal.  Six years later, he returns to Mesa Dale to visit his mother who is in prison for allegedly murdering her husband.  She was also wife number nineteen.   In between these two story-lines are excerpts from historical documents from the BYU library and the diaries of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Chauncey Webb; not to mention several newspaper articles from both time periods (late 1800's and 2006-2007.)

Before I go on, I must make it clear that modern Mormons do not believe in or practice polygamy.  In this book, Anne-Eliza describes her apostasy from the Mormon religion in an effort to eradicate plural marriage.  In 1890, President of the Latter-Day Saints, Wilfred Woodruff, put an end to polygamy.  Those that insisted on keeping the faith of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young -- which included the belief that Celestial Marriage as the only way to enter into the eternal kingdom -- broke off from the Mormon church and became known as the "Firsts," or The First Latter-Day Saints.  Aaron Webb became their first profit and they moved their colony to Red Creek, Utah, which is now known as Mesa Dale.

I just gave away the ending of the book, but if you read any history of the Mormon church, that is what you will find.  As a fan of historical fiction, I found the book to be fascinating and informative.  It is actually a fictional story of Jordan Scott intertwined with the non-fiction accounts of early Latter-Day Saints.  After living in Utah for a year during my early twenties and visiting the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City numerous times, I still knew practically nothing about the Mormon religion.  I'm ashamed of my ignorance.

The 19th Wife describes Joseph Smith's visions and how the very beginning of the religion was formed.  They were responsible for a large part of the western migration and for bringing thousands of immigrants to our country to worship with them in Zion.  It also describes why they believed in plural marriage.  I was extremely impressed with the layout of this book and the knowledge it gave me.  In order to understand the fictional story of Jordan Scott, it was important to have the historical background described to the reader throughout the majority of the book.  Some parts were shocking; I found myself absolutely appalled.  I was grateful to be reading the account of Anne-Eliza and how she escaped from under Brigham Young's power to spread the word about the evils of polygamy.  However, the story was told in such a way that I was torn between loathing and feeling empathy for the faithful followers of Young and their unbending belief in plural marriage.  For this exact reason, I can understand why so many women did not follow Anne-Eliza's path and instead stayed with the church and in their homes with their multiple sister-wives. 

As with any story involving cultural and religious history, I was left satisfied and enriched.  While some might find this book insulting or "hoaky," I found it very insightful.  I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Obviously I don't need to write a review about this, since everyone in the world had read this book except for me.  Until now.  Almost fifteen years after it was first published and became a global phenomenon, I finally read the first Harry Potter book.  This is just a month after the final movie came out too!  Wow, I am way behind the times on this one.

You may ask why I never read the series when it was in its hay-day (which I suppose it still is.)  Here is the only reason I can come up with.  In 1997 when the first Harry Potter book came out, I was a timid little high school sophomore and junior at a very conservative Christian boarding school.  All books containing anything about witches, wizards, goblins, and magic were strictly forbidden at school, not to mention strongly discouraged by my parents at home.  (My father was with me when I bought this book a couple weeks ago, and when he saw my purchase he simply exclaimed, "Why?!")  Also, in my teens and early twenties I turned my nose up at such juvenile literature that was meant for annoying prepubescents.  Those kind of books were so below me!  If I was going to rebel with my reading, it was going to be with Danielle Steele or other such frivolous romances.  Harry Potter?  Pishaw!  I would not be caught dead with a CHILDREN'S book oh, no. 

It took me many years and a Master's Degree in English Literature to truly appreciate Children's literature.  I have much catching up to do, believe me, and Harry Potter is only the beginning.

Right away, I loved this book.  The writing is very clever and entertaining.  Should I dare say it was spell-binding?  Just as a youngster might be, I was quickly drawn into the story of Harry and his adventures with Ron and Hermione at the Hogwarts Castle.  I couldn't wait to find out how they were going to solve the mystery of the trap door, Fluffy the three-headed dog, and Professor Snape's suspicious behavior.  It is very creative and imaginative -- just the kind of reading I especially love right now.  I do have to admit that at first I had a hard time accepting all the magic and hocus-pocus when they first arrived at Hogwarts.  It seemed unfair that anyone or anything can just magically transform at any time.  For example, Harry describes how it was confusing to find his way around the castle during his first few days at Hogwarts because the passageways and doors kept changing directions or never seemed to be in the same place from day to day.  For some reason that really bothered me!  How is a person supposed to live in that kind of environment?  Also, it seemed that anyone could just cast a spell on anyone to get them to stop doing whatever they were doing.   I just wasn't buying it.

Needless to say, I quickly got over my issues with the magic and soon fell in love with the characters and the powerful story telling.  I have never seen any of the movies, but while I was reading, I could picture exactly how it might play out in the movie of my mind. 

This was a very fun book to read, and I finally feel like I'm a part of history now!  I've heard so much about Harry Potter for the past fourteen years, I can finally understand what everyone is talking about.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

What if the government was behind the creation of dogs?  What if dogs were meant to be humans, with thumbs and all, but the government stopped dogs from evolving that far?

These are some of the thoughts of Enzo the Dog.  He believes he is a human trapped inside a dog's body and once he dies he will finally reincarnate into the man he is supposed to be.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is an endearing story of Denny and his dog, Enzo.  However, it is not the human Denny that narrates the story;  it is Enzo's voice we hear instead, loud and clear.  He describes his point of view as the dog in Denny's life and the difficulty he has communicating with Denny since he has too long a tongue to form words and his paws lack thumbs in which to gesture.

I was skeptical about this book at first, since I am not a dog person at all.  I don't own any pets, in fact and probably never will.  They're just not my thing.  Contrarily, I loved this book!  This was the perfect audio book.  I couldn't wait to get into my car every day to listen to more of the story.  It was funny, heartwarming, and actually believable!  Every time I see a dog now, all I can think about is that they are just a human trapped inside a dog's body.  They have real human thoughts, and their actions act as their words.

Enzo turned out to be a very loyal and lovable dog, and even though I am not a dog person, I can understand why people love their dogs so much.  This book gets a grade A.  Go read it!

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

This book was not what I was expecting it to be.  After reading the description on the back, I envisioned a memoir about a rebellious ex-Mennonite returning to her conservative, Amish-like community.  Not so.  It actually described a 40-something woman who had married an Atheist, stopped practicing her Mennonite beliefs, became a professor, and survived two terrible accidents followed by a nasty divorce from the aforementioned Atheist husband.  That's just in the first chapter.  The rest of the book is a kind of disjointed story about how her year-long sabbatical visiting her Mennonite parents and brothers and ex-mennonite sister in order to obtain material for this book.

I was very confused by this story.  I think most people, including me, believe that Mennonites are very similar to the Amish -- living non-wordly lives on farms with no electricity or automobiles, etc.  The author of this memoir, Rhoda Janzen does not explain the facts until her "History Primer" at the very end of the book.  Apparently, modern Mennonites are exactly that -- modern.  As in, they live among everyone else, drive cars, have televisions in their house and attend public schools.  Rhoda does briefly comment on some Mennonites that are still very conservative, but she doesn't really mention the differences between liberal and conservative Mennonites.  I'm actually still confused by the religion.

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this book.  I started it months ago and stopped after barely a few pages.  Boring!  However, it came up as the August book in my book club, so I found it on Paperbackswap.com and managed to read the whole thing.  There were some enjoyable passages and she has a humorous edge to her writing, but for the most part it was jumbled and hard to read.

Despite my general dislike for the story, there were parts to which I could relate very well, coming from a conservative religious background myself.  For example, in one chapter she writes about the church-instilled fear of worldly things.  "Did the degree to which we were sheltered occasion the fear that...I felt with the onset of adolescence?  Ah, those were the days when we saw a predator in every man who approached...Scared of school events, horrified byt what would happen if I let my guard down to have a beer, terrified whenever a boy asked me out, I was as skittery as one of those squirrels that freeze as your vehicle approaches (53)."

In the following passage, I was also reminded of watching movies in my childhood with my dad frantically searching for the fast-forward button on the VCR remote to quickly move past inappropriate scenes:

"On the few occasions when we kids were allowed to watch TV, a parent had to be present.  My father monitored the proceedings like a stern prison guard.  If any character on any television show, married or single, made a move toward an on-screen kiss, there was Dad, wielding the remote like a Taser.  Quick to change the channel, he'd sometimes mutter in dark disapproval, 'Smut!' (55)."

I guess it was interesting enough, and I might recommend it to someone just to see what their reaction to the book might be.  Let me know if you read it and what you think!

The Paris Wife

Ever since I read “Hills Like White Elephants,” Ernest Hemingway has been one of my favorite authors of all time.  I’m fascinated by the power in his simple writing structure.  His sentences are succinct and clear.  He gets the point across without a lot of flowery language, which is sometimes a relief after reading earlier American or British authors.  (Not to mention current novels where the author describes for the zillionth time the “sweet breath” of a certain vampire stud.)

Continuing with my love for Hemingway, I went on to write many literary essays in grad school in which I compared everything I possibly could to The Old Man and the Sea.  In just a few declarative phrases, Hemingway can tell an entire story.  I’ve even tried to emulate his writing style into my own narratives, but there’s just something about the way he does it that is classic, eloquent, and timeless.  I could never be Hemingway. 

It has been a few years since I’ve actually read anything by Hemingway, but I have fallen in love with him all over again after reading The Paris Wife.   This book is narrated by Hadley Richardson, who was Hemingway’s first (of four) wives.  When she meets Ernest, he is only 21 years old.  He is what we might call a “party boy.”  He drinks all night and lives in a house full of other young men that come and go as they please any time of the day.  Hadley is 29 years old, and in the year 1920, is considered to be practically a spinster.  She and Ernest fall madly and passionately in love, but it seems almost doomed from the beginning.  Hadley describes herself to be simple and not modern like all the other young women on the 20's.  For example, when she finally cuts her old-fashioned long hair into the modern bob, she hates it.  Her conventionalism and desire to start a family seem to be a constant battle with Ernest and the book describes their short but passionate marriage.  Even as they are facing the end of their relationship, their love and emotion for each other is strong.   

During their five years together, Hemingway creates one of his most famous novels, The Sun Also Rises, and is just becoming famous with the help of Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and many other familiar 20th century American authors.  This is what I loved about the book -- seeing Hemingway and the others in their every day life, facing struggles and excitement as they become famous.

Very early in Hemingway's career, one of his mentors affirms him of his unique writing style:  "...strong declarative sentences, that's what you do best (83)."  And continues to advise him: "...[strip] language all the way down...cut everything superfluous.  Let the action speak for itself (89)."

This is why I love Ernest Hemingway.  What you see is what you get.  As his first wife Hadley described, he visualized "...new stories and saw so clearly the books they could be, it was almost as if they already fully existed (127)."  Heminway possessed the talent for creating American classic literature based on his life and the life he viewed around him.  His writing is something to which anyone can relate, and that is why he is great. 

Sarah's Key

I have always been fascinated and appalled by stories of World War II and the Holocaust.  After I read The Book Thief back in May, I researched some other books I could read about that time period.  I promptly requested Sarah's Key from the library.  It finally arrived a month later in Audio Book form, which I never mind since it gives me something to listen to on my commute, so I was excited to start reading!

The story is set in Paris, France, and jumps back and forth between 1942 and 2002.  In 1942, a young Jewish girl and her family are taken from their home in the Vel'd' Hiv Roundup and are eventually sent to Auswitch.  In 2002, Julia Jarmond is an American writer working in Paris.  She is covering the 60th Anniversary of the Vel'd'Hiv Roundup and comes across the story of the young girl from 1942.

I wasn't quite expecting the two different story lines, and I enjoyed the young girls point of view from 1942 much better than forty-five year old Julia's voice in 2002.  The young girl's story is told in only the first half of the book, but her voice rings clear and true.  Her story is compelling and tragic, and at times I felt sick with horror reading about the awful treatment of Jews in France at that time.  I just can't believe this happened.  Back in present day, Julia Jarmond is battling her own personal demons, which in comparison to what happened in 1942, seem silly and insignificant.  However, everything is tied together neatly and the author tries her best to turn the whole story into a happy ending, despite all the awfulness that happened back in 1942.

While I did tune out at times during Julia's storyline, I enjoyed the book as a whole and I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories of Paris or the Holocaust.  It feels wrong to actually "like" stories about that topic though, right?