The Lonely Polygamist

"...Families are Forever, and [she] wondered if the slogan was meant as a promise or a threat"
- Brady Udall, The Lonely Polygamist

Sometimes I can’t remember where I stumble across books and how they get added to my ever growing “to-read” list. Sometimes it is an eye-catching book cover, sometimes it pops up in the “we suggest” box when I am perusing the Amazon or Chapter’s websites and sometimes it is all in the title, as was the case with The Lonely Polygamist.

A lonely polygamist? That is kind of an oxymoron wouldn’t you say? Well Golden Richards, the title character of Brady Udall’s book, has four wives and 28 children and yeah, he is pretty depressed and lonely. Currently lying to his family about his current work situation (renovating a brothel in Nevada) and still mourning the death of his favorite daughter, Golden is at a loss for where he fits in with his community and family and is struggling with the overwhelming feeling that he is an epic failure in all facets of his life. Trish, his youngest and newest wife, and Rusty, a middle child in a sea of middle children, are also given prominent voices within the narrative.

While I respect that people should be able to choose their lifestyle there are stories of polygamist families that kind of give me the creeps (i.e. TLC’s Sister Wives), but Udall’s tale is humorous, heartbreaking and quirky, a portrait of a group of a family who maybe wouldn’t have chosen each other if not for circumstance and at times a bit of force, and are now at a “make-it or break-it” moment on whether they can or even want to make this family unit work, resting all their hopes and expectations on the hulking shoulders of their Golden boy. Pick it up if you want a new tale of the un-ordinary American family!

xo J