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Title: Secrets and Wives
Subtitle: The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy
Author: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
Narrator: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
Format: Unabridged
Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-19-13
Publisher: Audible Studios
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 96 votes
Genres: Nonfiction, Social Sciences
Publisher's Summary:
What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBOs Big Love? Weve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smiths doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church.
Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country teeming with small town messiahs, dark secrets, and stories both heartbreaking and strange. Polygamys dark side - incest, forced marriages, and physical abuse - is laid bare. But Bhattacharya also finds warmth in the fundamentalist diaspora and even finds himself taking an ideological stand for polygamys legalization.
More than just an exposé of Mormon polygamy, Secrets and Wives is the personal journey of a foreign atheist and liberal, a stranger in a strange land who grapples with hard questions about marriage, monogamy, and the very nature of faith.
Members Reviews:
Hard listen and not that interesting
If you could sum up Secrets and Wives in three words, what would they be?
If you have already kept up with the news stories and court cases of polygamy over the last ten years then you will probably find this book boring and tedious. I think this book would be an interesting read for people outside the USA.
Would you recommend Secrets and Wives to your friends? Why or why not?
I would recommend the print version over the audio version. If someone is not at all familiar with the different polygamous groups in the USA, this book might be interesting.
How could the performance have been better?
The narration was not good. I understand that the author is from the UK, but his attempts at Utah accents are just so bad they are comical. Definitely should have had someone else read the book if he was targeting an American audience.
Whats the most interesting tidbit youve picked up from this book?
I didn't really learn anything from this book that hasn't already been published in newspapers or magazines.
Mormon exposure
What made the experience of listening to Secrets and Wives the most enjoyable?
The fact that the author hit the name on its polygamist head. I grew up with a family of LDS I cannot say any religion on this planet is as harmful to women esecially in America.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
A Church only A Man Could Love
Any additional comments?
Great book, no bias, no one sided thought, very informative.
Great stories (+), religious amateur hour (-)
Any additional comments?
This book is an interesting travelogue of Sanjiv's interactions with some very colorful personalities within the various polygamous groups in Utah as well as those who have left (escaped) the culture. While the stories are fascinating at times, most of the experiences that Sanjiv chooses to focus on are full of abuse and neglect and are at their core quite depressing. Sanjiv lightens the mood through humorous jabs at his subjects, their towns, and especially their faith. I strongly prefer audio books to be professionally narrated (not performed by the author) but it really worked in this case.
