Golden Richards is a normal dad. But with four wives and twenty-eight children there just isn't enough of him to go around. Unbeknownst to his wives, Golden has taken a construction job on a Nevada brothel. Lying to cover his tracks, beset by familial rivalry on all sides, he seeks relief in the arms of his boss's wife. This is the story of a polygamist who has an affair. But there is much more to it than that.
...... Outer back cover.
FIRST SENTENCE (chapter 1): To put it as simply as possible: this is the story of a polygamist who has an affair.
MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 27): Golden flinched, struck by the moment he found himself in: standing in a dark closet, knuckles smeared with barbecue sauce, tinkling into a bucket while delivering a lecture about bathroom manners to a dog wearing jockey shorts.
KEEP IT OR NOT?: Not.
Ah if only I had enjoyed this half as much as Jenners had - click HERE to read her review.
Ok, so it was funny, very funny, in places - the chewing gum incident hilarious - would you know how to get gum out of pubic hair? - BUT on the whole I found The Lonely Polygamist boring, predictable and rambling.
At 599 pages it was quite a substantial read that felt even longer thanks to the small, pale print - made even more difficult to read on occasions by the italic print. A shame really as I was so looking forward to this novel about the life of a large, communal family made up of a man, his 4 wives and 28 children.
And therein lay much of the problem for me. Told not only from the view point of Golden (the polygamist of the title), the story was also told from several other peoples point of view which spoilt the flow of the narrative and made it difficult for me to relate to any of the characters.
According to Amazon.co.uk this novel is frequently bought alongside The Help by Katherine Stockett, a book I read and REVIEWED recently and which, to me anyway, bears no comparison whats so ever.
Obtained free of charge (p&p only) from Newbooks magazine, this is the 52nd book read for the 100+ Reading Challenge.
14 comments:
Petty!If you ask me if I read the post, my honest answer would be 'not really'.
Just wanted to say a quick hello as I head out to start my day.
Have a great evening!
"Lonely Polygamist" in its name to me, sounds interesting, but not the cover, if thats what you've shown on the image. But well, on the go, me too won't like it much i guess. hmm..
I am really surprised petty by the number of books you read !599 pages book..,I would have taken atleast like a week!:)no kidding ,how many days do u take to finish reading a book?The story of this "lonely "polygamist with 4 wives sounds interesting and weird!
To answer your questions ......
Monalisa : Yes that is the book cover I have shown.
Raji : It really does depend on how much spare time I have to read, whether or not I'm sleeping at night (I do must of my reading then) and whether or not I'm enjoying the book.
I read Jenners review too and it does sound like a funny book. I had no idea it was so long though. I still haven't decided on this one. It will just have to stay on my "maybe" list a while longer.
I have to say, reading a book about a polygamist doesn't really appeal to me . . . thank you for the review, though!
Don't think it was for me based on the blurb. Not interested in someone having an affair even though I do understand the "humor" in this one. Plus, reading your review... I know it isn't for me. Good honest review.
Aww, how disappointing! Jenners made this sound so good. I don't think I realized when she reviewed it, though, just how long it is.
I don't even want to think how gum got in someone's pubic hair!
Great and honest review!
So disappointing! The title seemed so interesting. 599 pages of a boring book sounds too bad.
I am amazed at the number and the variety of books that you read and share the review here.Thanks for another such review.
Have a happy weekend PW :):)
The premise sounds good, too bad it was dissapointing. lol about the chewing gum incident.
I'm sorry it didn't work for you as much as it worked for me. I love books with multiple viewpoints and coming at things from different angles. And this is probably as different from The Help as anything!!!
I agree with you guys, "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 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 they 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. I probably wouldn't be friends with him though. In some moments of his story, I want to punch him in the face. Not because of anger but because someone needs to.
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