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Jun 04, 2008

Jon rated it:

"Saints" is an interesting novel by sci-fi author Orson Scott Card. But this book isn't sci-fi at all, it is pure historical fiction.

The book is set in the Nauvoo era of LDS Church history. We meet (fictional) Dinah Kirkham in industrial England, where a series of tragic events leads her to Mormonism and emigration to Nauvoo. There, she encounters figures from Church history, and becomes involved with the religious developments of that time. Namely, polygamy.

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2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2008

James M. rated it:

I read this book when it was called "A Woman of Destiny." I've read that it was pushed then as a romance novel, but its scope is far greater than that. I was raised a Mormon and have been very interested in Mormon history, theology, and sociology. I can understand how many LDS/CJC members would feel threatened by Card's portrayals, but I personally found them very humanizing and revealing of the everyday reality of life in a new religious community. A warning: One of my friends re More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2008

Robyn rated it:

This is an interesting take on the Early Saints historical fiction. In most historical novels about the early Church, the main characters are all fictitious. In Card's novel, the main family is ficticious, however, many of the Church leaders, including Brigham Young and Joseph Smith play vital roles. It is interesting to see what these people may have been thinking, and he covers polygamy pretty deeply which most authors do not dare to tread. It is hard to know, sometimes, what is an actualy e More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 04, 2008

Nola rated it:

In all honesty, I didn't want to like Orson Scott Card's novel, "Saints", when I picked it up this time. I had read it twice before, and it bugged me both of those times, so I didn't expect anything to be different. But it has been close to a decade since I last read it, and I am a big fan of Card, so I thought I'd give it another shot. And while I can't say I particularly liked it, it had some redeeming values that I had overlooked in the past.

As a Latter-day Saint (or M More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 20, 2008

Dacia rated it:

I found this book, falling apart, at the back of a privately owned used book store located just off of the courthouse square in downtown Seguin. The title was "A Woman of Destiny", the cover was bent and worn, and several of the middle pages were loose. However, this was before I'd discovered the wonders of used books on Amazon.com and so I was collecting every Card book I could find by way of - if I saw it, and I didn't own it, I bought it. I had no idea what I'd found...

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 24, 2008

Erin rated it:

OH MY GOODNESS! As usual it is hard to tell if a woman that would leave her children for the LDS is church is extremely faithful or just plain crazy. I loved this book, but was also really bothered at times, that is why it gets 4 instead of 5 stars. I don't think reading Escape by Carolyn Jessop right before this was helpful. The whole polygamy thing gets us all, but while at times I've chosen to ignore it, I think it is really powerful to read a story, even if fictional about the women that More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 18, 2011

DaNette rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 13, 2008

Aroura rated it:

Not a book I would recommend to just anyone, but it is one of my favorites! I used to get sick at just the mention of polygamy before reading this book. And while I'm not saying I would actually be able to live it now, I'm more at peace with it being in the LDS history. Card did paint the first two prophets pretty rough around the edges, but I didn't really have any problems with it. It made them more real to me. If you think you could go through the literal hell they did and not have some feeli More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 19, 2007

SlushTurtle rated it:

I didn't realize this was a book dealing with Mormonism when I scooped it up at the library. I almost took it back, but going to the library with 2 kids under 4 is no fun, so I decided to make the best of it. I really enjoyed the first half of the book (before the family became Mormons and moved to the new world). While the rest was historically interesting, I never could get into it. It did inspire me to know more about Joseph Smith (there is a huge Mormon church being built in our neighbor More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2009

Lori rated it:

This is the best LDS fictional history book I have read. Orson Scott Card pulls you into the story right from the beginning and makes you feel as if you lived it with them. The early scenes of Charlie's life were heartbreaking.

But I did feel he portrayed Emma far too harshly and there were times it was a little over the top for me with her mood swings.

Parts of fictional Dinah Kirkham's story are based on Eliza R. Snow. I suspected it right from the beginni More...

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Sep 05, 2011

John added it

I read this at a time of great personal change and this book really cheered me up and I loved it. I am not sure if I loved the book because it is a loveable book or because it just happened to read the book during changes and I transferred good feelings to this book. I find the lead female in this book very different than me and I would not like to know her in person, but it was fascinating to read about her through the protection of the book. I could learn about a person very different than More...

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Jul 25, 2011

Haylee rated it:

I was really surprised by this book. To be honest, I really didn't want to read it. I guess that is what's so great about book clubs... they help you be more open to different types of books you read. This is going to sound awful but I really wasn't interested in reading about the saints trek to Utah. That is not what this is about at all! The first half of the book is based in England, I loved this half of the novel! I liked it all but the first half was my favorite. Orson Scott Card is More...

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Mar 30, 2011

Kelly rated it:

This LDS historical fiction novel is very different than any other I've read. Card is much more descriptive of intimacy and coarse language than most LDS authors which at first was surprising and a bit uncomfortable but by the end I found it to be refreshing.

I wish there was some better clarification of fact vs. fiction like Lund and Hughes do so well, some other reviewers mentioned an author's afterword but for whatever reason the version I read didn't have that. From others rev More...

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Jan 06, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

One of my favorite books ever. This is not a fast read or a "light" read. I really approached reading this book with some trepidation, initially. I knew Orson Scott Card was a member of the LDS Church but I didn't know enough to know what *kind* of a member he is. Now at the end of the book, he explains how important his faith is to him but also how he was not writing this book to convert anyone. If I had read his notes at the end first, I would have enjoyed the book more but as it w More...

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Nov 05, 2011

Lavender rated it:

The fact that I was raised in an LDS family probably has something to do with my liking for this book, although I am not a religious person anymore. However, Saints is more than just "Mormon fiction" or even "religious fiction." It's really good historical fiction, and if you're a fan of the genre you owe it to yourself to read this book.

It was written early in Card's career, before he began (in my opinion) phoning it in. Saints comes from the same inspired, en More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 03, 2011

Tami rated it:

First off, I love Orson Scott Card's column in Mormon Times. I also loved "Enders Game" but "Saints" was a huge dissapointment. I really enjoy historical fiction which is the premise of this book concerning the lives of several prominant and not so prominant early Mormons. Dealing mostly with the polygamy issue.
I've never read a Harlequin Romance but I think this book would fit in that category. YUK. A soap opera in the 1800's. I really don't care nor want to know More...

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Jan 31, 2008

Michelle rated it:

I just finished this book today. If you enjoy historical ficiton this book is a great read. A warning though, the main characters are all fictional even though they interact with some of the founders of the church of latter day saints. I am not Mormon, but I still enjoyed this fictionalized account of the early days of the church. The author is a devout mormon, but manages to make the story interesting with out sermonizing.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2008

Kathryn rated it:

I read this book a long time ago and really enjoyed the book. I have been thinking about reading it again and wonder if I would still like it. I don't remember being offended by Card's portrayal of the early Saints like some other reviewers were. Keep in mind this is a fictional account of one woman's conversion to the LDS church. The story is of an amazing woman who gives up everything for her faith.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Tia rated it:

I don't know what I think about this book... One thing is for sure it made me think a lot! Part of me loved it and part of me was offended by it.
I loved watching the characters change and refine with each hardship they went through. I loved how Card took me to England and Navaho and let me see them how they once were. I loved the way it made me question my own devotion to God and his gospel, as I asked myself if I could give up what Dinah and the other Saints gave up or do what they were More...

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May 06, 2010

Ashley rated it:

In one of Orson Scott Card's essays I read several years ago, he mentioned that he got a lot of flak for this book. People didn't like how he wrote about Joseph Smith--his human-ness as well as his Prophet-ness. They didn't like seeing Emma as anything other than an "elect lady" or a apostate villain. Who would presume to speculate on how the Prophet spoke to his wife in bed? Orson Scott Card, that's who. Naturally, I had to read this book.

I found it at in the Chicago More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2007

Helen rated it:

This book was first published as "A Woman of Destiny" and pushed as a romance novel. I read it and loved it so I read it again. It is Card's BEST---and he's done much in better and better---and has now been reissued in hardback, was given me for my birthday, and is sitting on my headboard waiting for me. I shall begin it tomorrow come hell or high water.(As my daddy used to say.)Get it. Read it.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2009

Mary rated it:

This book kept me entertained for a few days. It did a fine job illustrating the innate strength that is within so many woman. Dinah is the central character in the book and we follow her extremely harsh and sometimes abusive upbringing and her CHOICE to work in a textile mill to support her family and ego as she won't tolerate her older brother the privilige of knowing that he is the sole bread winner. We follow her journey from England to the "promised land" after converting to Mo More...

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Apr 16, 2008

Leesha rated it:

My father-in-law gave me this book soon after Jared and I were married. I have read it probably every year since then. It is a great book showing what it was like as a woman during the time of the restoration. It is based on the journal of Dinah Kirkham and it tells of her life in England, her conversion to the church, and her coming to Navuoo.

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Jan 02, 2009

lysa rated it:

Can I just say....OH MY TOAST!!! This book was incredible. I usually shy away from Mormon fiction... I don't appreciate the false integrity of the characters. Sorry, but usually it's just not realistic. (Remember, I said usually.) But, in Card's "Saints" the characters were very real. A wonderful book tackling polygamy and all the feeling involved. One caution, the book is fiction. The main character didn't live and her diary isn't real. Joseph Smith is portrayed as a man with faults, More...

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May 25, 2011

Norma rated it:

Okay! I have alot of opinions about this book. First of all Orson Scott Card was very clever in the fact that the book begins with the gripping story of the Kirkham family and has you hooked from the word go. Then midway, here comes the Mormons and the rest of the book basically deals with plural marriage (polygamy) or so called in the book, "the principle". I resented the light is which Joseph Smith was presented and also how truly unlikeable Emma Smith was portrayed. I kept tel More...

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Dec 27, 2009

Mary rated it:

This isn't for everyone. I was drawn in from the first few pages where the "author" says he has found this very blunt journal that the church now keeps under lock and key. Come to find out that its all completely fiction. Well done Mr. Card.
I really enjoyed the fact that this book didn't shy away from the scary subjects. It made me think, it made me question myself and any book that can make me cry, laugh, red with anger and feel her spirit of testimony all in 600 pages - I More...

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Nov 22, 2010

Tiffany rated it:

I enjoyed this book while reading it, but it left me with a sour taste in my mouth at the end when I found out that it was a fictional story. I probably should've known all along, but he wrote it to make it sound just like a true story. So...in the end I didn't really like it.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

Marie rated it:

I had a hard time with this book. It was terrible where they started their journey and there was joy in the process but there was a lot of heartache along the way. Dinah left her children to travel across the ocean to be with the Saints. I cried and don't think that I would have been capable of it. She was praised for her sacrifice. This book delves into the deeper emotions and motives behind polygamy. The heartache and sacrifice that the leaders of the church had to go through to obey thi More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Heather rated it:

I'm not really sure what to think about this book. There are parts of it that I loved and parts that I hated. I felt drawn into the story from the beginning, but the first pages should have been a warning to me. This is not your typical LDS pioneer story. It has all the classic elements, but boy, oh, boy, does it have some "not-so LDS" parts. I'm still in shock that the author went where he did! I think this is the closest I've come to reading a "harlequine romance novel" More...

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Jul 19, 2011

Angie rated it:

I was really torn with this book. I really wanted to like it but there were a few historical misnomers and the whole tone of the book was off. I really do not like when you mix fictional characters and real people. It has been done before to great effect (i.e. Gerald Lund's Work and the Glory series) but you cannot have a fictional character be at the heart of a historical event or people. Dinah Handy Smith Young was based upon Eliza R. Snow and it would have been a much better book if he had ch More...

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