Wonderful, character-driven novel. I was engrossed in the story and the genuine, human frailties of all the main characters. Highly recommend this book.

I couldn't get into this book. It has great reviews, so I was looking forward to being blown away, but I forced myself through about 100 pages and still didn't want to continue on, so I simply returned it. I'm not sure if it was perhaps my own bias, but I simply had no interest in the main character (the man). Perhaps if I had gotten further in, where they apparently explore the wives, it could have gripped me.

I loved this book - the characters, the writing, the story line. It is at turns laugh-out-loud funny, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and keeps you guessing about what could possibly happen next. Highly recommended.

The Lonely Polygamist is one of the few novels I have read recently that held my attention. I never had the impression that Udall himself quite knew how to work out the extraordinarily tangled plots he created until almost to the novel's climax, when Rusty detonates the firecracker/bomb. As a result, I could not easily predict the outcome of Golden's midlife crisis and his family's feuds and battles. Like many people, I picked up the book because I am curious about how a polygamist lifestyle might work. I was at first dismayed that it is set in the 1970s, but the more I read, the more I saw the brilliance of Udall's decision. The backdrop of Cold War politics, '70s social liberalism, and the various survivalist cults and ideologies that defined the Southwest during this era was perfect for the novel's plot as it unfolded. While Beverly is never given her own point of view, I was most drawn to this first wife and how her own sins and foibles ultimately allow her to become human to the rest of her sister-wives and the children. Trish, I felt, was a weak character, even though Udall gives her a point of view. Rose-of-Sharon was so believable in her frailty and her final courage when Rusty is near death. Nola's story, that of her teenage "date" and the nuclear fallout that takes her hair, was probably the one that will stick with me the longest. Golden himself is one of the most original protagonists I have encountered in a long time. Kudos to Udall for a brilliant, must-read-again novel.

Three different people at different stages of development make up the bulk of this story. I especially loved the chapters written from Rusty's perspective, one of the kids. Golden's saga, the patriarch, drags at times but does work to create a deeply sympathetic character. Trish, the youngest wife, provides a third prominent perspective and a unique saga of her own. Overall a great read, and I wish I'd read it before ever watching Big Love as it was hard at times not to associate the characters from this book with that show.

The best book I've read in ages.

Tried really hard to like this book since so many friends really liked it. Got to page 150 and couldn't read anymore. Yuck. Life is too short.

I was surprised when I picked up this book that it was like 600 pages. But once I opened it up I couldn't put it down. This is a book that made me laugh and made me cry. It makes me think sometimes how easy my marriage is compared to thiers. I would reccommend this book to everyone!

read review in The Times

An interesting look at the life of a man who has many (at least 3) wives. It's a life of frustration, complications and the desire for a less-stressful relationship with another woman. Very well-written and enjoyable.