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The Lonely Polygamist

3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 · rating details · 9,085 ratings · 2,029 reviews

From a luminous storyteller, a highly anticipated new novel about the American family writ large.

Golden Richards, husband to four wives, father to twenty-eight children, is having the mother of all midlife crises. His construction business is failing, his family has grown into an overpopulated mini-dukedom beset with insurrection and rivalry, and he is done in with grief...more

Hardcover, 602 pages

Published May 3rd 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company

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Jan 25, 2011 Cecilia Solis-sublette rated it 2 of 5 stars

I picked up this novel because it was on a list of 10 best fiction novels of 2010. I hope that is not the case, here, or fiction is in a sad state. The novel is okay; its not great. Udall works very hard to make Golden, his protagonist, a suffering hero with whom the reader should feel compassion. But, the guy is really a wimp. Yes, he takes responsiblity for his family of 4 wives and 25 children and, yes, he's grieving the loss of his disabled daughter who died on his watch but...a lot of these...more

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May 28, 2012 Jeniffer Almonte rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, reviewed

"The Lonely Polygamist", the story of a Mormon family that includes four wives and 28 children, is one of the most cinematic books I ever read. The detailed setting, the intricate interactions of the characters, the moment by moment narration etc., all followed the arc of a movie scene. And we're not talking about a subtle foreign film. This was definitely a Hollywood dramedy-- the kind with a star cast and a big budget.

This quality was both a strength and weakness. On the one hand "The Lonely...more "The Lonely Polygamist", the story of a Mormon family that includes four wives and 28 children, is one of the most cinematic books I ever read. The detailed setting, the intricate interactions of the characters, the moment by moment narration etc., all followed the arc of a movie scene. And we're not talking about a subtle foreign film. This was definitely a Hollywood dramedy-- the kind with a star cast and a big budget.

This quality was both a strength and weakness. On the one hand "The Lonely Polygamist" was often predictable and heavy-handed in its sentimentality. But on the other hand, it was genuinely funny-- funny in a familiar way, playing on well-worn tropes about what men and women are like, or about what boys and girls are like. We are always half a step ahead of the joke. I feel sure that in any other book I would have lost patience with this immediately. But Brady Udall is such a hard-working and light-footed writer that, for me, it very often worked.

The plot of this book is simple: Golden Richards, a man who is easily overwhelmed in general, is having difficulty managing his hectic family. There is never quite enough time and he doesn't feel up to the task. All this leads to his having an affair (something that is revealed in the very first line of the the novel). The novel unfolds from the point of view of both Golden and his two most neglected family members; his young wife Trish and Rusty, his unruly pre-teen son. The characters were incredibly consistent--too much so. Much like in a Hollywood dramedy, Udall rarely steers away from the basic character sketch he creates at the very beginning. For example, Trish is sexually unfulfilled and desperate to have another child even after a family tragedy made these desires feel extremely off-key. And Golden is a bumbling husband all the way to the last page, a point when I had really grown tired of it.

Overall, though, the writing of The Lonely Polygamist was quite wonderful and, despite all the physical gags(!), definitely literary. I would recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for this kind of mix-- bittersweet humor, a PINCH of melodrama, a sprawling family with all the complicated stories of sprawling families. And writing that actually lifts the material. (less)

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Sep 06, 2011 Alexa rated it 1 of 5 stars

I need to stop forcing myself to continue reading a book even though I'm certain I don't like it. By the time I stop reading the books - unfinished, of course - I'm shocked by the amount of time I wasted reading something I don't enjoy.

I found The Lonely Polygamist intensely boring. I suppose I liked some of the characters. I felt for Trish and Rusty, and Golden wasn't an entirely unenjoyable person to read about, but they were all so dull! If any of these people were real, I don't think I could...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Elaine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

This was the rare occasion when I basically skimmed the last 150 pages just to find out a few key plot points, rather than actually reading, because I was excruciatingly BORED while reading this book. The hero, despite having 4 wives, is completely uninteresting -- a hulking cipher as blank as his improbably shut-in childhood without friends or education. If he had one wife, instead of 4, this tale of a middle-aged schlemiel who has no will, no agency, no real yearnings (other than to get with t...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m always eager to read a book with local ties. As the title of BYU graduate Brady Udall’s most recent novel, The Lonely Polygamist, suggests, his critically acclaimed work most definitely has themes central to Utah history and culture.

I picked up this book wondering how successful Udall would be in making his central character, Golden Richards, a husband to four and father to twenty eight, who still manages time to develop an extra marital relationship, at all likeable. Udall succeeds admirab...more I’m always eager to read a book with local ties. As the title of BYU graduate Brady Udall’s most recent novel, The Lonely Polygamist, suggests, his critically acclaimed work most definitely has themes central to Utah history and culture.

I picked up this book wondering how successful Udall would be in making his central character, Golden Richards, a husband to four and father to twenty eight, who still manages time to develop an extra marital relationship, at all likeable. Udall succeeds admirably in creating Golden and his other characters. I came to like Golden, and pity him too, even while finding him immensely frustrating at times.

The story is told from three viewpoints, those of Golden, his fourth wife Trish, and one of his sons, eleven-year old Rusty. Trish is well-drawn and relatable, but it is Rusty who steals the show (and stole my heart). I challenge any reader to get through this book without tears and without wishing you could give Rusty a much-needed hug. Bottom line: Udall succeeds in making the sprawling Richards family and their many struggles (some of them tragic) seem familiar, even in their oddity.

This book could also be titled The Accidental Polygamist. Golden doesn't have your typical Mormon Fundamentalist background (he's originally from the south and has no Mormon pioneer heritage) and he just kinds of ends up a polygamist (read the book to find out how). We’ve all heard the sordid stories about polygamous groups (for example Warren Jeffs and crew), and even those of us (like me) with polygamy in our family history can find it all quite disturbing and foreign. While Udall’s story is full of trauma and tragedy, Golden and his clan don’t seem much akin to what we’ve seen in the news (even though Udall spent time among polygamous families while researching this book). I think this makes the story feel much more universal.

One final note, again for sensitive readers: There is a fair amount of obscene language throughout, although I personally would call this more of a PG-13 than an R-rated book. (less)

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May 11, 2010 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes when I recommend a book that I've enjoyed, I worry about talking it up too much, getting people's expectations impossibly high, but that's not something I worry about with Brady Udally's The Lonely Polygamist. This book really knocked my socks off--it was a book I couldn't put down while I was reading it, and can't stop thinking about now that I've finished it.

The novel is about a large polygamist family (redundant?) circa 1978 that is spiraling out of control. The narrative mainly foc...more Sometimes when I recommend a book that I've enjoyed, I worry about talking it up too much, getting people's expectations impossibly high, but that's not something I worry about with Brady Udally's The Lonely Polygamist. This book really knocked my socks off--it was a book I couldn't put down while I was reading it, and can't stop thinking about now that I've finished it.

The novel is about a large polygamist family (redundant?) circa 1978 that is spiraling out of control. The narrative mainly focuses on three characters--Golden Richards, the patriarch of the family who is secretly working on the construction of a brothel in Nevada, but telling his family it's an old folk's home; Trisha, the fourth and newest wife, who has recently lost a child; and Rusty, the one kid in the family who can never do anything right, who has tragically smelly feet and a secret penchant for trashy romance novels.

When I heard that Brady Udall was working on a novel about polygamists, I was skeptical. I enjoyed his first book, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, but thought that a novel about polygamists would either be really creepy or really condescending. This book is neither. The characters are sympathetic and endearing, in spite of their many flaws, and the polygamy thing ends up being a really smart, backdoor way to write about Mormon experience--families, faith, and belonging to a socially weird religion all taken to their most extreme manifestation. It also has the gravitas of a Great American Novel--at six hundred pages, it covers a lot of ground, from nuclear testing to disco fever.

In the way it was structured, the book reminded me a bit of Catch-22. The first half of the novel is very, very funny. I laughed out loud in parts. The second half of the novel, though, becomes more and more serious as it progresses, without becoming heavy-handed. The book ends up being heartbreaking in the best possible way, with just a hint of hope.

I highly recommend this book. It was an immersive, captivating reading experience. This is a book on par with such 21st-century masterpieces as Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, and Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

http://everydayireadthebooks.blogspot...(less)

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May 11, 2010 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

As I sit down to write this review, I find myself thinking there is no way that I can possibly describe this book: the banalities I usually employ...couldn't put it down...feel so lame because this book was so good, but I'll try.
I started out convinced that I would not like any of the characters -- the polygamist husband in particular, but also, the wives. However, the author's painstaking portrayal of the complex emotions that animate each of the spouse's reasons for participating in this lifes...more As I sit down to write this review, I find myself thinking there is no way that I can possibly describe this book: the banalities I usually employ...couldn't put it down...feel so lame because this book was so good, but I'll try.
I started out convinced that I would not like any of the characters -- the polygamist husband in particular, but also, the wives. However, the author's painstaking portrayal of the complex emotions that animate each of the spouse's reasons for participating in this lifestyle made it impossible to dismiss any of them, although I ultimately ended up finding the husband (Golden) somewhat pathetic. In fact, I didn't like Golden for most of the book, then the story of his daughter Glory's death and funeral is revealed, and it just broke my heart for him. Similarly, the author makes you love Rusty (one of the young boys) with all your heart, even though he's kind of gross and maddening the way I imagine young boys can be at times. Finally, the chaos caused by and interactions among the 28 children (yes 28) is hilarious without being ridiculous; I would imagine anyone coming from a large family would recognize some of the descriptions as right on the money. What I came away with is that this author really cared about these characters -- which was particularly important I think because the fundamentalist Mormons could easily be reduced to caricatures. I read an article that explained how the author made it a point to visit with one of these communities for an extended period, and to me, it shows in the way he humanized his characters.
There were also times throughout the book when I would wonder what is the point of including this storyline, and then boom, the author would do something incredible with it. One example is a lengthy section describing a night where Golden and two women who will ultimately be his wives live through a night of bomb detonations and radiation fallout: then the story of what happens to one of the girls, Nola, that night unfolds, giving a whole new dimension to this loud, wise-cracking, seemingly self-confident woman in a way that strikes a chord with the vulnerable part of every person.
Another thing about this author that simply amazed me was how he artfully manages to make the reader feel profound sadness, and in the next instant, laugh out loud.
In sum, for me, the range of emotions this book evoked was simply overwhelming. The author's observations about how love and loss are always intimately connected rang all too true, and the end of the book contains one of the most moving accounts of death that I have ever read.
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Feb 20, 2010 Candace rated it 5 of 5 stars

"How does a shy, lonely boy from the backwaters of Louisiana become an apostle of God, the husband to four wives, the father to twenty-eight children? Easier than you think."

Golden Richards is a man who never quite takes charge of his life, and this is the result. And THEN he has an affair. My goodness, what next?

This is a captivating novel, funny, touching, and full of believable, all-to-human people. Especially funny and moving is Rusty, the son of wife three (Rose-of-Sharon, who secretly read...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Rebecca by: Marco Davis

This book's strong points: really stellar writing, vividly believable but out-there characters, a set of perspectives that pops the story into three dimensions, nuclear blasts, an evil ostrich, a satisfying ending that isn't really a happy ending, great lists, shockingly accurate fundie-plyg portraits--think bolo ties--, character archs for all, a carrot-on-a-stick narrative structure that keeps us drooling along behind, trying to figure out where we've been and where we're going, some serious g...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jessica by: Michelle

Shelves: audiobook, favorites, good-story, fiction, funny

February 25-March 12, 2012:

I kid you not, I would say that I have thought about this book probably once a week since I finished it last year. I have no idea why I'm still so attached to a family that does not even exist ::tear::, but I am. I can admit I'm kind of ridiculous. So anyway, I started listening to it again as sort of a "back burner" book, something to listen to in the car between books or when I'm cleaning the house, that sort of thing. Turns out, it was more of a front-burner book. A...more February 25-March 12, 2012:

I kid you not, I would say that I have thought about this book probably once a week since I finished it last year. I have no idea why I'm still so attached to a family that does not even exist ::tear::, but I am. I can admit I'm kind of ridiculous. So anyway, I started listening to it again as sort of a "back burner" book, something to listen to in the car between books or when I'm cleaning the house, that sort of thing. Turns out, it was more of a front-burner book. And it was just as good the second time around.

August 11-September 2, 2011:

I absolutely loved this book. It is probably not everyone's cup of tea (very descriptive, much about their inner lives and not always about events), but it is certainly mine. Also, I'm so glad that I listened to it rather than read it. I can't compare the two experiences because I haven't read it, but I thought that David Aaron Baker did an amazing job of bringing the characters and events to life. The book is a long one (for me, anyway), and it did get a little slow at the beginning of the third part (not sure where that would be in the book, but Audible divided it into three parts), but by that time I was so invested in the story that there was no way I was going to quit. And really, it wasn't so slow that it would have been worth quitting, and I was probably just hitting the point where I would normally be changing books, so perhaps I was feeling that way out of habit.

But anyway, back to the book. I loved Golden, the father, but I also wanted to shake him half the time. But I can relate to him so much in his struggles between his good intentions, confusion over what to do, and feeling overwhelmed by circumstances over which he had lost control. I also loved Rusty, one of Golden's children. He made me laugh a ton, and although he is a "troublemaker," he came off as so completely lovable.

This book made me laugh, but it also very nearly made me cry (I try very hard not to because I'm driving). I'm so glad that I bought this book and can listen to it again if I ever need to revisit the Richards family.(less)

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Jul 30, 2011 Jennifer (aka EM) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lonely-hearts-club, for-diane, heartbreak-boys

Slightly grudgingly, just 'coz I hate bandwagons - literary and otherwise - I'll say that this book deserved all the hype it received.

Here are five things it did well that so many books crash and burn trying to do:

No. 5: It surprised me - overall (I don't know what I was expecting of a book about polygamous marriage, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't this) and in the individual details. There are a couple of twists in characters and plots that I really didn't see coming.

No. 4: It built character th...more

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Oct 31, 2010 Sterlingcindysu rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Udall juggles alot of characters in this book and does a good job (although I'm glad there's a reference chart at the front to tell whose kids go with which wife). Quite a few themes here, one of course being you can be lonely in a crowd of people--the Father hides often in the Doll House. He's extrememly passive, to the point of not taking care of anything or honoring any vows or committments. He just reacts. For example, he didn't pick his first wife (his father did) and doesn't seem to react...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Brittany moore rated it 2 of 5 stars

The title itself intrigues me (and I'm sure others). An interesting story line that isn't written about often. I was rooting for the characters rebellion and supporting them throughout the story, and was sort of disappointed with the ending, but maybe that iss what Udall wants us to think about.

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May 28, 2010 Tina Hamilton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So far, I like it. Though I prefer nonfiction, I grew up in a large Mormon community, so have an interest in aspects of the LDS church.

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Jan 20, 2013 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Golden Richards has four wives and 28 children. After the stillbirth of a son and the accidental death of a daughter, the day-to-day of his three households proves too much, and he spirals into a massive midlife crisis. He feels unnecessary in his own homes, where his wives have achieved a precarious balance of competition and cooperation, and he fails to see his children as individuals—more as a mob demanding any attention he has left to give. Exhausted, he finds solace through his construction...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars

My great-great-grandfather was a Mormon polygamist, who in the last decades of the nineteenth century spent two terms in prison, the first time for "unlawful cohabitation" and the second time for "adultery," the latter charge proven by bad timing: two wives were pregnant at the same time. As a consequence of this peculiar family history, I have always been interested in books concerning Mormon polygamy. I delayed reading Barry Udall's novel for some time precisely because I supposed it was part...more My great-great-grandfather was a Mormon polygamist, who in the last decades of the nineteenth century spent two terms in prison, the first time for "unlawful cohabitation" and the second time for "adultery," the latter charge proven by bad timing: two wives were pregnant at the same time. As a consequence of this peculiar family history, I have always been interested in books concerning Mormon polygamy. I delayed reading Barry Udall's novel for some time precisely because I supposed it was part of the same prurient fascination with this subject that gave the world the TV series "Big Love"--an attempt to capitalize on the popular belief that polygamy was all about sex and either a very nice way for a male to get a "whole lot of lovin'," or, if one has a more feminist point of view, an appalling example of predatory male sexual behavior sustained by a patriarchy of the worst type. I was in part correct and, thoroughly amenable myself to prurient fascination, confess to being drawn into this long, engaging story of a polygamist for whom four wives and twenty-eight children is not quite enough and is therefore tempted to seek a little more on the side. But only "in part correct." The most important word in the title may not be "polygamist" at all but "lonely." This novel portrays the kind of loneliness that can exist in a family of any size. Thus, "The Lonely Polygamist" is not just about polygamous relationships but carries a larger message: there is no loneliness quite so painful as that felt when surrounded by people who "care." So why only three stars? In the end I couldn't entirely believe in the situation nor the characters. I doubt, for example, that the leadership of a fundamentalist Mormon group, would watch so passively and gently as one of their number fell into such officially disapproved behavior. To give another example, Rusty, a young boy who with the exception of the father may be the novel's main character, is fascinating but his alternatingly highly precocious and deeply pathetic behavior just didn't ring true, at least to this reader. Still, "The Lonely Polygamist" is a page turner. But one must ask at the end if all that page turning (700+ pages) yielded a sufficiently rich reward. (less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Kirstie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People interested in Mormons.

I have to say, I really enjoyed The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint way more than I enjoyed this one. When I generally read books, I read them because I want to be enlightened or learn about something or sometimes for their wit and humour. The only thing I really learned more about in this one was the Mormon lifestyle and, having just looked up this author, I see Udall grew up in a large Mormon family, which makes me wonder if some of this may be based on autobiographical life events.

Udall captures q...more I have to say, I really enjoyed The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint way more than I enjoyed this one. When I generally read books, I read them because I want to be enlightened or learn about something or sometimes for their wit and humour. The only thing I really learned more about in this one was the Mormon lifestyle and, having just looked up this author, I see Udall grew up in a large Mormon family, which makes me wonder if some of this may be based on autobiographical life events.

Udall captures quite a bit of what it must be like both being the male of the family with multiple wives and multitudes of children to provide for. He presents the story in third person but focuses on the husband of these wives and his interest in another woman that is not involved in the Mormon community. He focuses on one of the many children, Rusty, but mentions the many others in little instances. He talks about the logistics of being Mormon, at least during the Carter administration, and the decisions that must be made-home school vs. public education for example. What the reader sees or what seems fairly obvious is the difficulty of such a life in terms of both financially providing for so many and in terms of devoting enough emotionally to your family fairly and equitably.

I can't really hold back my own subjectivity and say that of all the religious I'm familiar with, I find Mormonism the lead favorable. Why is it they think it's okay for heterosexual men to marry multiple wives and they fund the passing of hateful legislation prohibiting same sex marriages? This seems very strange and homophobic to me...really very ignorant too. This lifestyle does not seem the least bit intriguing or pleasurable to me and I have a hard time fathoming why anyone would choose it except if you were raised into it and it was all you knew or you were just a really emotionally insecure woman? It literally drives me crazy that one of my favorite bands, Low, is Mormon. (As much as I have tried, I just can't quit them).

In any case, I think what I might be trying to say is here is really, "Dear God, please don't let Mitt Romney get elected!!!"

It isn't clear to me exactly what Udall's motivations and biases are in writing this but I suspect he's just trying to lay out a story in the best way he knows how with his own life experiences to guide him. The plot is interesting and exposes some hypocrisy as well as American paranoia. It makes you feel sorry for the wives and the kids and even the dumb dad who just can't seem to get it together in any way. The gum scene is probably the most hilarious part of the book. The other funny parts are all inadvertent as one of the characters is named Ted Leo (though only those into the indie rock scene would know that is also the name of a musician..Here, Ted Leo is definitely not an indie rock musician by any stretch of the imagination.)

But, in the end, I was just left with a bunch of characters I couldn't relate to and a minor tragedy I saw coming from the minute explosives were introduced earlier on. It seemed a little obvious and predictable and I'd rather read about and learn from characters I'm more interested in at the end of the day. I guess it's good to know that these people's exist and what their lives are like but that doesn't mean I want to hang out with any of them (except for Low.) This is 600 pages that should have done more with all that girth.

I also found Udall's writing on this one stylistically a little too straightforward and not engaging enough but I tend to favor the more poetic lyrical type anyhow.

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May 12, 2012 Kaitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think this is the longest book I've ever read voluntarily. It doesn't feel like it though. Okay, at the beginning the story is slow. It takes awhile to get into it, especially because the narration starts switching around before you have a chance to latch onto any of the characters. And I was concerned - I knew that I couldn't keep track of 20-some children and all the side characters. But somewhere everything falls into place and you get invested.

The memories and back stories are painted vivi...more I think this is the longest book I've ever read voluntarily. It doesn't feel like it though. Okay, at the beginning the story is slow. It takes awhile to get into it, especially because the narration starts switching around before you have a chance to latch onto any of the characters. And I was concerned - I knew that I couldn't keep track of 20-some children and all the side characters. But somewhere everything falls into place and you get invested.

The memories and back stories are painted vividly, and each wife and her family are drawn clearly enough that you can see them. Some of the children are just shadows and generalizations, and some characters are more compelling than others, but that reflects their importance in each of the narrator's lives. Seriously, if we got details about everyone the book would be thousands of pages.

However, a failing in this book IMHO is that Golden, the patriarch, is easily the weakest character, despite the fact that he gets the greatest number of pages. I know he is supposed to be weak and small despite his stature, and I get that, but his feelings are pretty much just self-pity and self-hatred. I saw more strength and intrigue with Rose-of-Sharon (Golden's emotionally troubled wife whose perspective we never see) than from Golden. I felt him most when he reflected on Glory (his deceased daughter), and sometimes when he was with Huila, his quasi-mistress. But mostly he seemed flat, pathetic, unintersting. Without being bolstered by the characters around him, he wouldn't have been worth reading about at all.

Rusty's narrative was my favorite, but I liked Trish's too. I liked that Udall switched between the three (Golden being the third) to show us how similar they are, though they really don't know each other at all. I found the climax compelling and worth reading for.

I may read this again to see how I feel about the slow start now that I understand the characters more. I also plan on reading Udall's other works.

Despite personal background, I think there is something here for everyone who's ever been part of a family and wondered how the heck they got there.(less)

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Mar 22, 2012 Sherri Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to the audio version of this book and was captivated by the simple storytelling and the humor. The writing is amazing! From the descriptions of Golden's "beastly feet" to the description of Rusty struggling so hard to do a pull up in PE class that it seemed his intestines were going to shoot out of his rear end like confetti streamers! (I can't quote it exactly because it was an audiobook and I was driving at the time I heard it... but I remember chuckling out loud!) But there were mo...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Brian Loux rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who thought Big Love Seasons 4 and 5 went off the rails

Call me crazy, but I believe the chapters in this book were frequently shuffled and did not end up in their optimal place.

My arguments:
1. The first chapter does not grab you and sit down for the next few hours, but the next two or three chapters do.
2. At several points in the book, there are paragraphs that describe plot points that have already been established (much like a voiceover saying "previously on The Lonely Polygamist...")
3. The protagonist eventually takes a back seat to an ensemble c...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Mitch rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought "The Lonely Polygamist" on a whim with a gift card when I had intented to buy "Cutting For Stone" and found this book above it on the shelf, calling my name. It seemed interesting by the title enough and the snippets I read through, so I figured, eh, let's give it a go.

The following may or may not contain spoilers:

This book is about Golden Richards, a (as you guessed it!) lonely polygamist with over 20 children and 4 very different wives. Beverly is the "main" wife, making most of the c...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: western-us, fiction

I read this book the week after Christmas, and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. The themes in this book are as old as time--dysfunctional families. It's just that this family has one husband, four wives, and 28 children. Set in southern Utah in the 1970's, Udall explores the impact of polygamy on all parties involved--husband Golden Richards (the lonely polygamist of the title), the wives which include two sisters, plus the kids, including a misfit chubby 11 year old boy Rusty. Udall...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Marike added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

The lonely polygamist by Brady Udall

A novel with a big heart. It seems impossible and somehow here it is. In a small Mormom community in the Nevada desert there is a group of believers who live the Principle. The lonely polygamist of the title is Golden Richards a sad, overwhelmed and kind giant who more or less stumbled into the community by accident. And there he is, with four wives and 26 children and everything is very complicated.

What makes the book wonderful is how one can enter the differ...more The lonely polygamist by Brady Udall

A novel with a big heart. It seems impossible and somehow here it is. In a small Mormom community in the Nevada desert there is a group of believers who live the Principle. The lonely polygamist of the title is Golden Richards a sad, overwhelmed and kind giant who more or less stumbled into the community by accident. And there he is, with four wives and 26 children and everything is very complicated.

What makes the book wonderful is how one can enter the different stories and realities of various of the characters, even some of the minor ones I grew quite fond of – Uncle Chick the preacher who leads his community by the simple principle that if you have a choice, you take the hard way. the sheriff who helps Golden dig a grave for his little girl, Nestor, with his pool table and jug of something for courage, June, the young man building a proper bomb shelter who can fix anything.

But there are the main characters:
Golden Richards: The Father who tries to keep his family afloat by working as a building contractor. He is failing everyone’s hopes, he feels. His latest project is on a brothel – the Pussycat Manor – but he pretends that he is working on an old age home just out of state. As if this is not bad enough, he falls in love with his boss’ Guatamalan wife, who has her own sad story. As if everything is not complicated enough...

The four wives. Beverley is the first wife who runs a tight ship. She orchestrates everything in the family. She lives in the Old House. Then there are the two sisters – Nola and Rose-of-Sharon who live in Big House, where the kids run in a racetrack around the dining room, a busy clamour of yells and bodies. Nola opened a hair-salon in the local community. Rose has bad nerves and makes a detour to a mental hospital at some stage. Then there is Trish – we know the most about her. The youngest of the wives, who mourns 3 stillborn babies and struggles with her loneliness and feeling neglected and sidelined in the big family.

The child we learn about is Rusty – a turning-12 boy who is called the family terrorist. In a family exchange scheme he is made to live with his other-mother Aunt Beverley until he learns to behave. Which seems impossible. He is full of schemes to makehis mother better, to make Aunt Trish like him, to just have his father notice him with affection. Every plyg kid learns early on that he/she is not the centre of the universe, and Rusty seems particularly not-a-centre. He is not a sweet kid, but it is impossible not to like the boy and cheer him on while reading. Even with the tears.

There is an ugly dog Cooter who is made to wear underwear and a neighbour’s ostrich who looms into the story... And quite a bit of the horror of the long-term after-effects of nuclear testing in the Nevada desert on people who just happened to live nearby...

It is a wonderful book that makes one see a mish-mash of relations and a community all trying their best and feeling out of control and helpless in the face of themselves, the world, their place in their world and their ideas.
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Nov 20, 2011 Cindi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, religion

These people are crazy!! Oh, wait a minute...I have polygamist ancestors too! I've read the accounts of my great-great grandma and how sad her existence was. It fits right into this more up-to-date story of a polygamist family. It's part of my past that I can't erase and I guess I wouldn't want to, or else I wouldn't be here, but sheesh! Just let me get hold of the crazy who recommended it (polygamy) in the first place...Oh wait, that'd probably be an animal of some kind.

This story is funny, sad...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Caitlin Constantine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was curious to see how Udall, who I could tell was a Mormon based solely from his last name (is that bad of me? oh well), would handle a novel about Mormon fundamentalist polygamists. I grew up a Utah Mormon, and my recollection of the polygamists is....well, I didn't have much of a recollection beyond that they were kind of like the oddball, embarrassing cousins everyone tried to pretend were not related to us. Mainstream Mormons are not the most upfront about acknowledging the existence of t...more I was curious to see how Udall, who I could tell was a Mormon based solely from his last name (is that bad of me? oh well), would handle a novel about Mormon fundamentalist polygamists. I grew up a Utah Mormon, and my recollection of the polygamists is....well, I didn't have much of a recollection beyond that they were kind of like the oddball, embarrassing cousins everyone tried to pretend were not related to us. Mainstream Mormons are not the most upfront about acknowledging the existence of the polygamists and the connections between the two communities, is what I'm saying.

I finished the book last night, and my verdict is that he handled the sprawling Richards family with sensitivity and imagination. Instead of making them into caricatures - the downtrodden wives, the dominating patriarch, the hordes of squalid children - Udall turns your expectations on their heads and offers up a family in which the patriarch is a bumbling doofus, the family is a tapestry of alliances and divisions, and the wives are the competent glue that keeps the whole clan together. I thought this was kind of a funny critique of patriarchal systems, in which the father figure is invested with all power and authority as God's representative on earth, even if he is a total dope, while the women are subservient to the patriarch in all things, even if they could crush him with their blistering intellect and titanium will. Obvious, sure, but then the fact that such a belief system persists in about a zillion different manifestations tells me that even the most obvious, bone-headed critique is still necessary.

As a result, Golden could be quite annoying, so passive and baffled by the world around him, but I think that's realistic, because seriously, there are people on this planet who are just like that. I know it would be nice if all characters in all books could be likeable at all times, but the truth is, people just aren't that way. The good news is that people can change, and that sometimes it takes unimaginably painful events to force that change, which is something that is reflected in this book.

I will say that I didn't love the ending, and that's because I was absolutely rooting for a particular outcome involving Trish. (I won't say any more so as to avoid spoiling.) The third perspective, that of Rusty, the outcast 11-year-old boy, crushed me. And...how to put this delicately, there was an exchange of sorts between Trish and Rusty toward the end of the book that had me seriously sketched out. Anyone else who has read this book, you know what I'm talking about?

That's a pretty minor critique, though. Ultimately I found this to be a very enjoyable read, with the right mix of literary quality, in terms of writing and character development, and flat-out good storytelling. It's been a while since I read a literary novel that had me wondering what was going to happen next and how the hell the characters were going to get themselves out of whatever mess they'd gotten themselves into. (less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Aaron Mcquiston rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Lonely Polygamist is one of the longest books I have read in quite some time. I have a theory that when I am wanting to read really long books, I am trying to fight off my inevidable death (How can someone die while in the middle of a book?). This in nonsense, and I know it, but most of the time I avoid reading anything this long.

The 600+ pages breeze by, and the story, though a little underwelming, is quite an intersting cache of characters. You have four wives and 20+ kids, you have a fir...more The Lonely Polygamist is one of the longest books I have read in quite some time. I have a theory that when I am wanting to read really long books, I am trying to fight off my inevidable death (How can someone die while in the middle of a book?). This in nonsense, and I know it, but most of the time I avoid reading anything this long.

The 600+ pages breeze by, and the story, though a little underwelming, is quite an intersting cache of characters. You have four wives and 20+ kids, you have a fireworks maker, you have a renegade 12 year old, you have a brothel owner, you have an ostrich, and you have God, of course. All of these things work together into a mesh that becomes a tangle and this tangle is not really as important or as good it could be, but it still becomes a pretty decent story.

Some of the best parts of this book are the symbols. Particually windows. There is an sense of sadness that comes when the characters look out of or in to windows. This sadness is fraut with desire, desire to run away but the panes of glass are keeping them prisoner, making them deal with the problems in their lives.

The worst part about this book is Golden Richards, the husband, liar, cheater, loser of the bunch. He is a big bumbling wimp, and there is really no reason why any of the women should be attracted to, let alone married to him. He seems more like the guy who got a lucky break, found a wife, found three more wives, and does not know what to do with himself. He is such an dolt that it is more likely that he would not try to run from his family, but to his family, since those are the only people who, most likely, care about him. If he were a person in my life, I would see him as he is, a man who has alot, but is too stupid to figure it out. In some moments of his story, I want to punch him in the face. Not because of anger but because someone needs to.

In all, I find that The Lonely Polygamist does has some merit, maybe literary, maybe to shed some light on the secrecy of plural marriage, but to say this is the best book I've ever read or that I would read it again is far from the truth.(less)

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Sep 06, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-for-adults, 2011

Full disclosure...I loved Brady Udall's The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint when it came out-the quirky characters, landscape, and narrator's voice drew me into the train wreck of Edgar Mint's life. So, when the Lonely Polygamist came out a few years ago, I was excited to read it. But then, I got distracted by reading lots of books for kids and teens for work and it got shoved down to the bottom of the pile. Until this vacation, when I decided that I was sick of paying overdue fines for books I wasn'...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-good-stuff

I loved this book on many different levels. Yes, it is about polygamy--fascinating in and of itself--but polygamy is merely the backdrop, or mechanism, for achieving its deeper themes. Artfully written, it speaks to the loneliness and isolation of the human condition. Loss, grief, identity, love, redemption--they're all in there.

The main character, Golden Richards, is not so likeable, but his journey is definitely interesting. All the characters, in fact, are interesting and unique, if not downr...more

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Aug 25, 2011 Pdxstacey rated it 2 of 5 stars

It started off so well! I was really enjoying the writing style. Then I got busy and the book was due at the library and I forgot about it. Then I bought it at the airport. The cashier at Powells was giggling as rang it up, she thought it was so funny (the book, not me. Although I was wearing my yellow glasses).

I get it, there are some odd characters and an ostrich and way too many children. I didn't like any of the characters. Golden seems mildly retarded and I am appalled that he had 28 childr...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Lindz-o rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

This book may or may not have contributed to a bout of insomnia I had over one weekend. Did I read it so fast because I had insomnia and stayed up all night reading it, or did I have insomnia because I stayed up all night reading it? (chicken before egg?) That's the big question surrounding my voracious consumption of this book. At one point, I was up at 2 a.m. with my Itty Bitty Book light keeping my husband awake because my silent laughter kept shaking the bed.

Yes, I laughed and even got a li...more

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About Brady Udall

Brady Udall grew up in a large Mormon family in Arizona, where he worked on his grandfather's farm. He graduated from Brigham Young University and later attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

He was formerly a faculty member of Franklin & Marshall College starting in 1998, then Southern Illinois University, and now teaches writing at Boise State University.

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