THE 19TH WIFE by David Ebershoff

Spurred by  great reviews
 like these, Washington Post Book World,  Los Angeles Times, and the  New York Times, I decided to give it a try and it held my interest for the 2-3 days it took to read it through.

 I was interested in how the Mormon leaders were able to convince their followers that it was God's will, to practice polygamy.Naturally, it was like all man made religions, a leader declares it and the sheep blindly follow.  Even in their hearts they knew, it was not the right thing.  Isn't that true of all religious followers, when something is wrong in the heart, you know it.

  Not that this is a biography, it is a work of fiction, but human beings know inside when they are doing right and or wrong, they know the difference between lust and love, and the conflict is obvious in the actions of the men, and women, as the story teller shows between the lines, that emotion and love are hard to corral, when there are too many people to spread your feelings amongst.  As you will see when you experience a polygamous household, in the book.

It also points to the need to be  more stringent in the welfare system, since the cult that remains, not the Mormons as we know them today, but the ones who disobey our laws and still practice polygamy, (the firsts, as they are referred to in the boook)are benefiting from the welfare system of our country, while acting outside the law.

  If you have 10 celestial wives, they are not recognized as wives, so they can collect, mulitply that by $500 a month and you can see the benefit to the man of having serial wives, who can collect.  Work is no longer necessary for the man, and he satisfies his lust with as many women as he can manage to support with the welfare checks and his house.

The book will keep you interested, until about the last third, if you are like me, I was at that point getting anxious to speed up the action.  Weaving back and forth between speakers, it became a little dull when the 19th wife was on the speaking circuit.   An arane feeling came over me, and that is what made it drag.  But, then it got back to the action, as the story neared its end, and conclusions were reached as to who the murderer was, and what happened to the 19th wife.

It would be a good book club selection , with a guide at the back to assist.