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This book was written in the early 80’s and is significant because Card’s FIL is James B. Allen, who was assistant church historian at the time and gave him access to the church archives. It is told from the loose narration of a fictional church historian (O. Kirkham) who happened upon a diary he was not suppose to have access to. He photocopies it and talks about how it exposes a lot of embarrassments that reveals what “those men” we’re up to. It is analogous to the William Clayton diaries, and the tale is based on the lives of Eliza Snow and William Clayton, though the actual characters are fiction. This novel, besides being extremely well written, is excruciatingly honest about polygamy, polyandry, and the scoundrel like behavior of Joseph Smith, Heber Kimball, Brigham Young, portraying them as actual humans who cuss, flirt, fight and act with cockiness and impulsiveness. They are even portrayed in sexual and romantic situations with polyandrous wives. Yet in their humanity they are sympathetic and like able. The women are the main characters though and pop out of each chapter with a surprising vibrancy that leaves a real impression. Card’s impressive imagination helped me gain insight into the Nauvoo period I could never get just with reading non fiction history. But overall, it is the tale and the characters that make this book so enjoyable.
My dad and I read this book together and it gave us a lot to talk about. I recommend it to many in this group. While I still don’t think polygamy was an inspired principle, this novel somehow was able to make me nostalgic for it.
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Thanks for the review. I’m an occasional Card fan and always wondered what this book was about. I was never really interested in historical fiction, but I would be curious to read it now that I’ve learned more about church history. My wife recently read Sarah by Card and liked it a lot—it was very similar in portraying the characters as flawed and very human, yet somehow inspiring in their humanity.
Has anyone read Card’s Memory of Earth series? It’s a science fiction novel based on the plot and characters of 1 Nephi.
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