Book 3 of 52: The Lonely Polygamist

This is one of the longest books I've read in a while, with over 600 pages. I was lucky to be able to finish it over the past weekend, on a relaxing mini-vacation with my husband (sans kids!). I don't think I would have gotten through it so quickly otherwise. It's also the first book in a while that had me laughing out loud. It was both humourous and tragic at the same time.

One of my favourite quotes from the book sums up the overall theme of family disfunction: "Families are forever, and he wondered if the slogan was meant as a promise or a threat." However, this family is a little different. Golden Richards, the main character, is a husband to 4 wives and father to twenty-eight children. The entire time I was reading this all I could see in my mind was Kody Brown from the TLC show 'Sister-Wives'. Which leaves me wondering, has Kody Brown ever had chewing gum stuck in his pubic hair, and no earthly idea how it got there? This was only one of the hilarious moments in Golden's daily life described in the book, and was an excellent metaphor for his life -- all tangled and in need of a clean cut.

There were many serious topics also tackled in this book, from the death of a disabled daughter to nuclear fallout. I found it a little 'heavy' at times, and definitely enjoyed the lighter moments of the novel.

After reading this book I'm pretty sure that the author, Brady Udal, is actually a Mormon fundamentalist (one with a great sense of humour!).  The only people that might not enjoy this book are Mormon fundamentalists without a sense of humour.