The Lonely Polygamist – A Novel - Hardcover

Udall, Brady

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393062627 ISBN 13: 9780393062625

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010

Synopsis

Golden Richards, husband to four wives, father to twenty-eight children, is having the mother of all midlife crises. His construction business is failing, his family has grown into an overpopulated mini-dukedom beset with insurrection and rivalry, and he is done in with grief: due to the accidental death of a daughter and the stillbirth of a son, he has come to doubt the capacity of his own heart. Brady Udall, one of our finest American fiction writers, tells a tragicomic story of a deeply faithful man who, crippled by grief and the demands of work and family, becomes entangled in an affair that threatens to destroy his family's future. Like John Irving and Richard Yates, Udall creates characters that engage us to the fullest as they grapple with the nature of need, love, and belonging. Beautifully written, keenly observed, and ultimately redemptive, The Lonely Polygamist is an unforgettable story of an American family-with its inevitable dysfunctionality, heartbreak, and comedy-pushed to its outer limits.

About this title

Review:

[An] exceptional tale of an exceptional family.

Entertaining . . . very moving . . . Impressive.

[A] compelling, rollicking story.

Starred Review: A superb performance . . . Udall's polished storytelling and sterling cast of perfectly realized and flawed characters make this a serious contender for Great American Novel status.

Uproarious . . . Udall's storytelling [displays] ease and humor.

One of the best novels I've read in a while . . . Golden Richards, middle-aged, 6-foot-6 polygamist with an overbite, is one of the most appealing, original, and brilliantly tragicomic protagonists to appear in American fiction in some time.

I don't know how true to life this story may be. But it feels right, and it reads beautifully and often hilariously, and I liked it an awful lot.

Starred Review: Lovers of good writing will find this a pleasure, period.

Starred Review: Udall observes with a keen eye for the ridiculous while showing compassion. Enthusiastically recommended.

The novel you must read this summer.... a riveting emotional tornado of a novel.

Book Description:

From the author of the legendary novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, a highly anticipated new novel about the American Family writ large.

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0393062627
• ISBN 13: 9780393062625
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 608