The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel<\/i> by Brady Udall<\/p>\n
To cleanse the palate of the last horrible book log entry, I turn to my favorite book I’ve read this year, The Lonely Polygamist<\/i>. This is the story of a man, his four wives, his 28 children, and a few others. The book is very well written, with rich and well rendered characters. It is funny, touching, and tragic. A very believable portrait of a plural family emerges with all the potential and inherent flaws presented engagingly and sympathetically, but not through rose-colored glasses.<\/p>\n
I’ve mentioned before (in my log on The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress<\/a><\/i>) that I have a fascination with alternative marital contracts1<\/sup>. But mathematically, I can’t see polygamy as feasible in a society without corresponding polyamory. The math just doesn’t work out, which of course leads to tragedy in the case of sons of polygamists2<\/sup>. The Line Marriage proposed in Moon<\/i> still seems like the strongest alternative marital contract I’ve heard of.<\/p>\n I don’t remember how this book ended up on my Amazon Wish List, but I’m awfully glad it did.<\/p>\n _______________ The Lonely Polygamist: A Novel by Brady Udall To cleanse the palate of the last horrible book log entry, I turn to my favorite book I’ve read this year, The Lonely Polygamist. This is the story of a man, his … Continue reading
\n1<\/sup> And like in my Moon<\/i> book log, I’ll note that my fascination is purely academic, implying no dissatisfaction with my plain vanilla marriage. Vanilla is my favorite flavor.
\n2<\/sup> There was a good essay about cast-out sons of polygamists called The Lost Boys<\/b> that I read a long while back in a Best American<\/i> collection.<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"