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Page name: Saints By Orson Scott Card review [Logged in view] [RSS]

2010-02-20 15:47:33

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Saints By Orson Scott Card review

(originally published under the title “A Woman of Destiny”)

When I bought this book for 25 cents I wasn't sure what I was getting. It's Orson Scott Card, so it could be fantasy, but the cover is of a woman standing slightly apart from a wagon train (a beautiful painting by Hiram Richardson) obviously out in the American West somewhere, and obviously in the Mid 1800s, so could be historical fiction. My bet was that it would be like the Alvin Maker series he wrote: Historical Fiction with a Sci-Fi twist. Heck, looking at the cover it could even tie in to the Alvin Maker stuff.
I had to look up some reviews online before I started, just so I wouldn't be waiting for that sci-fi twist if there wasn't going to be one, and to make sure I hadn't just bought book 3 of a 17 book series or something (I hate starting a series in the middle!).
Turns out, it's billed as just Historical Fiction.

The story follows Dinah Kirkham, a fictional early member of the Mormon Church, a fictional wife of the historical Joseph Smith. Card takes on the role of narrator here, a fictional descendant of the fictional Dinah's fictional brother Charlie.

I really want to emphasize the Fictional part here, because members of the LDS Church who read this could come away hurt otherwise, as the author writes this as if it were an actual biography of this woman who was in not just one, but two plural marriages to two of the most important men in Church history, and a singular marriage before that that she was never released from. (they do explain why that wasn't bigamy, but I'll not spoil the surprise for you.). Perhaps members of the LDS Church should read it as if it were set in the Alvin Maker version of America.... Not belonging to any church myself I was able to overlook any possible heretical ideas about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

I found this to be an amazing book! I made it through all 713 pages in about 2 weeks, and often during the day found myself wanting to curl up on the couch and just read it rather than do my housework. This could be the best 25 cents I ever spent! It was exciting and engaging, there was plenty of conflict and hardships without any of it sounding impossible or hokey. At the same time it was uplifting and inspirational, despite all the hardships this woman faced, she survived. It wasn't a happy survival, she wasn't always light and sunshine while this horrible crap happened to and around her, but she survived it. And even came through it all happy in a way, but not the typical book where the woman is “happy”... as she thinks at one point when asked if she's happy: “If happiness isn't looking back and being content with the road you already traveled, she told herself, I don't know what it is.” that pretty well sums up the way she is through the book. Optimistic but not blind, and not so unrealistically optimistic that you can't believe the character.

/ [hanhepi]

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2010-02-19 [windowframe]: "one of the fictional wives of Joseph Smith, who was indeed a real person."
Does that mean she was a real person, but not actually one of his wives, or whut? <_< *slightly confused by that sentence*

2010-02-19 [hanhepi]: no, as far as i can tell, the chick was completely made up. joseph smith was the real person. i just wasn't sure how to phrase it better.

2010-02-19 [windowframe]: Oooooooh. I think most people know he's real, right? <_< maybe "a fictional wife of the historical Joseph Smith"?

2010-02-19 [hanhepi]: i'd like to think most people know he was real, but then again i'd like to think people know the difference between Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr, but i doubt it's the case. (or George Washington and George Washington Carver for that matter).

i like you line. can i use it?

2010-02-19 [windowframe]: Sure. :)

2010-02-20 [hanhepi]: thank you!

2013-11-19 [iippo]: Hah, awesome, I didn't realise you'd reviewed this book :D It's on my shelf of to-read.

As far as I know Card is pretty well-liked in the Mormon community (although some of the more... erm, traditional (read: crazy) people think he's too gay-positive in his books and should get kicked out of the church for daring to write books with positively portrayed gay characters o.O), and most members know about the messy plural wife business that went on back there, it's not all that bothersome as long as it's represented at least a little bit historically accurately (instead of the way Arthur Conan Doyle did, or the whole "har har mormons have many wives" punch line, which could be funny if it were true still, but it's kinda boring since it's just a stereotype... The "har har mormons have tons of kids" jokes are funny because they are true, though :P)

2013-11-20 [hanhepi]: Well that's interesting, because all my gay friends are boycotting the Ender's Game movie because of Card's anti-homosexual sentiments. o.O So, if both ends of the spectrum are really pissed off, he must have a fairly middle-of-the-road stance. lmao.
I'm not really well versed in LDS history, but from what I could tell, it was fairly true to history. Card talks about the persecution of the early church... book is pretty heavy on that theme really, which was the first time I'd ever heard anything about that.
How did Arthur Conan Doyle portray them?

2013-11-20 [windowframe]: As evil, power-hungry men who stole from the poor in their community, abused their positions, and hoarded wives. Some of the elite men act rather like secret police, harassing and intimidating people who aren't behaving how they want them to (like not letting them marry their daughter). Pretty sure it's A Study in Scarlet if you want to read it yourself. <_<

2013-11-20 [hanhepi]: I've read A Study in Scarlet (and all the Sherlock Holmes stories, I've got the complete collection.), but I don't remember anything about Mormons in them! Maybe I'll re-read those after I finish the series I'm on.

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