An Evening Spent with David Ebershoff, Author of The 19th Wife
About a month ago, David Ebershoff, author of The 19th Wife came to Salt Lake City for a reading and book signing. I was very eager to go and soon found myself easily the youngest one there by at least 20 years. I don’t know what that says, but oh well.
I wanted to share with you my impressions about the reading prior to giving my book review because when I attended the reading I had not yet read the book. So imagine not having read the book and getting a great teaser to incite you to read The 19th Wife.
Not having read anything by David Eberhoff or seeing a photo of him, I was expecting someone that was middle age with graying hair. Imagine my surprise when David walked in and well, wow, he was young. And not bad on the eyes! I was totally taken off guard and was pleasantly surprised to find how genuine and sincere he was. Looking at the notes I took, they are just short, quick phrases, so I hope that I can flesh this out a little. If there any faults in my transcription, they are mine and not David’s.
David Ebershoff began by giving a brief introduction to the book. About seven years ago, while talking with a professor of 19th Century history, he heard the phrase The 19th wife, which he admitted had him hooked as soon as he heard it. It’s not often that the two words “nineteenth” and “wife” are put together. It wasn’t until about three years later that he took that phrase and decided to get serious. He spent one year researching polygamy, the current communities that practice it and the history of the LDS church and then spent another four years writing the book.
David then gave a quick background history about Ann Eliza Young, who was just a toddler when Brigham Young, the prophet of the LDS church spoke to her parents about plural marriage. They were very devout in their faith. Her father had two wives, and Ann Eliza felt that their home was happy. But when she was twelve years old her father had a midlife crisis and married three women in just a month. Later and now older, she married and three years and two children later divorced her husband. Soon thereafter she married the prophet Brigham Young and became his 19th wife. She later divorced him and left the church and went on to become one of the largest forces in anti-polygamy laws.
The second storyline in The 19th Wife is that of Jordan Scott, which is set in the here and now. He is the son of a 19th wife in a community in Southern Utah who years earlier was kicked out. Now living in California he returns when he finds out that his mother has murdered his father. The second storyline is that of a murder mystery. There are in essence two 19th wives in the book, which I hadn’t known before. I was interested to see how we would connect these two stories.
David Ebershoff went on to read 4-6 passages from the book. I enjoyed his reading, he was a great narrator. I soon began to wonder what exactly was fiction and what was real. How much liberty did he take with the story? During the question and answer period he clarified that all of the documents in the book are fiction although they are set up to look real. I hadn’t read the book yet, but now that I have, I can easily see that they are. But I can see how people could get easily confused. I took his comments to mean that he took many liberties with the characters, their thoughts, conversations, and personalities. The 19th Wife while based upon historical events and persons, is neither a memoir, biography, or history book. It’s a story. This made me wonder exactly how did he portray the early Latter-Day Saint pioneers and their leaders. I was curious to find out. It’s always risky to write about people that are either beloved among many and also hated among many. You’ll hear my thoughts on my reaction in my book review tomorrow.
David Ebershoff explained that he used many different narrators because there is no one single perspective on the issue of polygamy. Ask six different people their opinion and get six different answers. Polygamy gets everybody all riled up because it asks this question: What are the limits to your rights? And who gets to make them?
When asked why a murder mystery, he said that faith is a mystery. A mystery of God’s will. Within the genre of mystery, a crime has to be solved. (not sure what my next scribblings mean – solver, arrow up, arrow down, arrow sideways, society – hmm . . . )
After the Q & A and reading, David Ebershoff was able to chat and sign books. It was a pleasure to meet him and he was one heck of a nice guy.
So after taking in all of the evening, not yet opening my book, and being familiar with the faith and history of the LDS church, I was really, really curious to see what I thought of the book. I’ll share that with you tomorrow. Stay tuned!
David Ebershoff’s website, great Q & A with the author.
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Category: Author Events
Tags: author readings, book signings, Kings English Bookshop, polygamy
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Sounds very interesting! I'm reading Shattered Dreams right now, so I have this subject heavy on my mind. I'll look forward to your review.
on October 15th, 2008 at 5:22 amCan't wait to hear what you think of the book. Ride the Wind…the book that I just finished talks a lot about polygomy amongst the Native Americans and it brought up some interesting questions–it was be interesting to see how their viewpoints overlapped, if at all, with the Mormons (back when they did practice polygomy) as well as the dissidents of today.
on October 15th, 2008 at 5:38 amI'm very curious as to your reaction to the book AFTER meeting David. It has been my experience that if I read an interview or meet an author before I read their book, and I like what I read/heard - it definitely has had an impact on my enjoyment of their book. Under those circumstances, I have always had a positive reaction. (Hint, Hint to authors – get out and mingle!) :)I remember one time when I was at a conference that had numerous children's authors. I decided to listen to someone that I had never heard before. It ended up that the story behind her story was fascinating. I emotionally connected with her and bought several of her books. As the years have gone by, I pick up one of her books and remember – I remember the warmth of this woman and her desire to convey love and kindness through her books. I suppose my point is that I don't think I would have had those feelings if I had just picked up her books on my own. I might have thought they were nice, but not special.This topic would be interesting to read other people's views on one of those weekly memes. Maybe it has already has been done. ???
on October 15th, 2008 at 6:17 amYour timing is perfect! I'm reading this book right now and I was hooked from the first page. I love it, so far.
on October 15th, 2008 at 6:35 amThis sounds like another great read I should add to the TBR pile. My goodness. I'm glad to hear that there is more to the story than I thought. I cannot wait to get my hands on this one.
David Ebershoff also sounds like one of the best authors to meet and hear read. I look forward to your review of the book. I'm glad you had a great time listening to him even though you hadn't read the book. That's a true test for authors, getting those that haven't yet read the book interested in picking it up.
on October 15th, 2008 at 8:14 amI'm curious to see what you thought too!
on October 15th, 2008 at 8:42 amI'm eager to hear what you think of this book. My father read it recently and told me about it, but I'm not sure if I will pick it up or not.
on October 15th, 2008 at 8:45 amThat sure sounds like an interesting book. I can't wait for your review.
on October 15th, 2008 at 11:34 amI heard him speak about the book on NPR about the second storyline involving the 19th wife and that got me hooked. It’s on my must read list.
on October 15th, 2008 at 8:31 pmI’m looking forward to reading your review as well.
I emailed him when I read the book sending him a link to my review, and basically telling him how much I enjoyed the book. He responded almost immediately and was very friendly and appreciative that I took the time to email him. I’ve emailed other authors before and received no reply, so I loved that he took a few minutes out of his day to respond. So I would agree that he’s a very nice guy.
on October 16th, 2008 at 4:33 pmI wonder why you were the youngest one by twenty years. This book sounds appealing to me and I am roughly your age. I’m 30 and I think you said you are mid twenties. Hmmm.
Wonder why?
on October 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm[...] Comments Chris on The Miraculous Journey of Edward TulaneJenn M. on An Evening Spent with David Ebershoff, Author of The 19th WifeShauna on An Evening Spent with David Ebershoff, Author of The 19th WifeGinger on New York Times [...]
on October 16th, 2008 at 11:10 pmSmallWorld – Loved Shattered Dreams! My book club is doing Escape this month. I can’t wait to read to discuss it.
Trish – I haven’t heard about polygamy among the Native Americans. That would be really interesting.
Joy – I totally agree! Meeting David did color how I felt about his book. I know that I love Shannon Hale all the more because she’s absolutely adorable in person. Since beginning my blog I have loved to see out opportunities to meet authors. I really enjoy it.
Kathy – It seems a lot of people are reading this book right now.
Serena – I’m actually glad my enjoyment of the book wasn’t spoiled for me by not having read it yet. When I went to go see Stephenie Meyer she gave spoilers about The Host. I was plugging my ears and humming.
Jen – My thoughts are so confusing on this one that I’m still curious as to what I thought.
Jeane – Well, now you have to tell me what your father thought about it. I’d love to know.
amy BTW M – I don’t know if the book is for everybody but it’s getting all the rave reviews.
Amber – I’m glad he did the two story lines. It was a great illustration of how the belief of polygamy is still so great among those who practice it.
Shauna – I hope to have an interview with David before the end of the month. It would help if I actually sent him the questions!
Jenn M. – I was really surprised at the crowd. I felt out of place. I turn 30 this January, so we aren’t that far apart. It appealed to me.
on October 16th, 2008 at 11:32 pm[...] Oct. 15th: Maw Books (notes from a book signing with David [...]
on October 17th, 2008 at 7:34 amThanks for sharing your experience! I bet you had a great time! I’ll be reading “The 19th Wife” soon for a book tour next month. I can’t wait to start it!
on October 20th, 2008 at 11:28 am[...] Oct. 15th: Maw Books (Natasha got to meet David at a book [...]
on October 29th, 2008 at 11:21 pm[...] Oct. 15th: Maw Books (Natasha got to meet David at a book [...]
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on November 10th, 2008 at 12:23 am