The Lonely Polygamist

Something about polygamy is just so intriguing to me. How does the family manage? What sort of jobs are left up to the wives? How on earth can one man provide for several families?
Brady Udall tells the story of one such family in his second novel, The Lonely Polygamist. Golden Richards is the title character, and husband to four wives, father to 28 children, and a general contractor. His most recent job consists of building an addition to a whorehouse in Nevada, meaning he spends five days of the week away from his large family, which is crumbling without him. He has told everyone in his community that he is actually building a senior citizen center, and the lie is beginning to get to him. The novel also focuses on Golden's fourth wife Trish, a 27 year old woman who is starting to doubt her commitment to a husband who hasn't paid attention to her since the stillbirth of a son nearly a year ago, and Rusty, Golden's 12 year old son who can't get anyone to notice him in the bulging houses he lives in and has taken up a friendship with a man who builds bombs and fireworks.
Udall sets the story in 1970s Utah, and weaves the three narratives, along with short passages describing past experiences of the family, masterfully. Each of the three main characters offer some perspective that is easy to sympathize with: the pressure Golden feels at having to constantly be available to his family, Trish's difficulties with the other wives and feelings of isolation, and Rusty's decision to act out because it's the only way anyone notices him among his 27 siblings. It certainly takes the glow out of polygamy, and is by turns funny and tragic. Although it's 600 pages long, I got through the book in less than a week; it boils down to a story of family, and that's something we can all relate to.