The Lonely Polygamist

by Barry Udall

I decided to read this fine novel after having experienced so many glowing reviews.  It's always nice to find a sprawling family fiction during the summer.  Golden Richards is said polygamist with four wives and many many children, spread throughout four houses.  There's Beverly who is the matriarch and lives with most of the children, Nola who is wife number two,  Rose of Sharon who has sensitivities and is mother to a troubled Rusty, and Trish who is lowest on the totem pole and has suffered many disappointments.  The story centers around Golden as he takes a job far away, drawing him even further from the needs of the family, and is still very much grieving the loss of two of his children - a stillborn son, and a disabled, well-loved daughter, Grace.  One of the boys, Rusty, is struggling with the downsides of 'Plyg' life. It's the perfect storm of his missing father, coupled with his depressed Mom, and tripled by his being moved into Beverly's household in order to "straighten up."  It's very entertaining as the characters are well delineated and interesting - don't worry, Udall doesn't plague you with details about every child! - and it's written with good, subtle humor.  I liked it more and more the longer I read.