The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

I placed a hold on The 19th Wife from my library after reading some reviews about it. I am very interested in the Mormon faith and the topic of polygamy. I love the t.v. show Big Love and figured this book would be right up my alley. It was a good book and I rate it a B+.

From Amazon:
Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain.Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff’s The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family’s polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds–a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father’s death.And as Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.

It took me awhile to read this book and I think the book and me had to do with this. I have been horribly sick this past week, extremely dizzy and exhausted. I was up a couple of days for only 6 hours or so spread over a day. I couldn't walk and I definitely couldn't concentrate on reading. Part of the book was written as a 19th century book, and at times I had a hard time with the language. But this was a well written book and I can say I learned a lot about the history of the Mormon church, dating back to the beginning of the church. I often read Natilie Collins' blog, who is an author and is no longer a Mormon. I am not quite sure why I am so interested in the religion, but I figure any knowledge is worth it. I would have liked to see more the modern day story, however, but I really do not have any big complaints.

Yesterday I finally started feeling somewhat normal and today I had more energy where I was finally able to get a lot of things done around the house that had to be put off. I went to the doctors and they were not able to find anything really that they could pinpoint. I think that the cause of my sickness was a combination of two things.... 1. I have recently reduced medication I take daily, as I am trying to get off of the meds and 2. I have extremely low blood pressure and it is a possibilty that is causing the dizziness. I have never felt as bad as I did this week and wouldn't wish it anyone. I pray that it is coming to an end, though, and while I am a bit dizzy right now, I have been pretty good all day. I didn't even turn on my computer for a few days so I have a lot of blogs to catch up on. Tomorrow I plan on getting to all of that and get some reading in and try to salvage this month! I hope everyone had a fantastic week and an even better weekend and Happy Reading!