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The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (view source)
Revision as of 16:01, 17 March 2018
, 16:01, 17 March 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Lonely Polygamist
|sort= Lonely Polygamist
|reviewer=Louise Laurie
|genre=General Fiction
|summary=#This novel, with lots of comic elements, is all about Golden Richards and the many, many trials and tribulations of having more than one wife and a large brood of children. But the question is - is he happy with his lot?
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=608
|publisher=Jonathan Cape Ltd
|date=May 2010
|isbn=978-0224078061
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>0224078062</amazonuk>0099498030|amazonusaznuk=<amazonus>0224078062</amazonus>0099498030|aznus=0393062627
}}
Golden Richards bursts onto the printed page. He is the central character and let's be honest, without him there would be no wives, no children, no complicated domestic life - make that, domestic lives. Immediately I pictured Golden in my mind's eye, as a Homer Simpson type - but with lots more children. He's a bumbling, blustering, bear of a man. It's as if he's just 'turned up' for the conception of his children, just idly ambled along when they were born.
Udall gives us a big, doorstep of a novel. It's a bold, breezy read. It's also a breath of fresh air in both the story line and also in his unique style of writing. If I tell you that I laughed out loud, really laughed out loud - twice - before page 50, I thtwenty think you'll get a flavour of this book. The children, all twenty eight of them (and yes, I did say twenty eight) dip in and out of the story on a regular basis, as you might expect.
When Golden returns home after a hard day's work, plays with some of the children for a bit and then says ''Hoo-wee. Now, where are your mothers?'' I loved that line. Priceless. And no doubt Golden would deliver it in a dead-pan fashion. You just know that there's going to be plenty of this humour to come. And you can't wait. Udall thoughtfully puts a graph, a family tree (or should that be trees?) of everyone right at the beginning of the novel. I found I referred to it many times.
If this book appeals the have a look at [[The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff].
{{amazontext|amazon=02240780620099498030}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=69228530393062627}}
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