Don't You Mayy the Mormon Boys by Janet Kay Jensen

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Don't be alarmed. This is neither an anti-mormon tract or a book out to prove that Mormon boys make the best husbands. It is just a fun, well-written novel that the author asked me to review.
Andy and Louisa meet while in medical school at the University of Utah. He is a returned missionary for the LDS church and she comes from a small-town in southern Utah that is peopled by a sect of Fundamendalist polygamists. They fall in love, but realize at graduation that the relationship can go no farther. She is set on returning to Gabriel's Landing to provide medical services for the community, a place where Andy would be patently unwelcome. Four years later, with their residencies on separate sides of the country out of the way, Louisa returns to her family and Andy moves to a small town in Kentucky to set up shop. The Kentuckian characters are fantastic and provide much of the humor in this story. The polygamists. . . not so much. Jensen does not do a hatchet job on this group which could be easy based on recent events. However, the leaders of the town have lost sight of one basic tenet of true religion and that is free agency. They are portrayed as basically good men who have let power lead them into a circumstance of unrighteous dominion. But Jensen does show the love and respect in Louisa's own family whose father has had three wives, two of whom are still alive. So the situation is not black or white. One issue that was raised is that of inbreeding and the serious medical conditions that can result. Also, don't forget the lingering longings for lost love (love the rolling l's) which afflict both Andy and Louisa. I found this book to be a a very enjoyable and quick read with great characters and a great story. It doesn't sugar coat hard topics and it doesn't preach. Very entertaining and thought-provoking. I do feel that the story would have been better told in two different books: the first dealing with Andy and Louisa's relationship and the conclusion of that conflict; and the second, telling about what happens next. What happens next occupies less than a fourth of this book. Jensen writes so well that I believe she could have told this part of the story with more detail and without skipping four years. It feels like things were left out somehow. Like more of those colorful neighbors and pets. But the chase scene at the end is hilarious, especially when I could see the children were not in peril.
Rating: 4.25
I just visited Janet's website and read about her cookbook, The Book Lover's Cookbook. Any of you readers who would like a literary reference to go along with your recipes should definitely checks this book out. And it looks like there is a sequel to Mormon Boys coming out soon.
Posted by Framed at 5:16 PM

5 comments:
Booklogged said...
Sounds fun. My mother gave me the BookLover's Cookbook for my birthday a few years ago. It is lovely.Wanted to let you know that you won the book drawing on my blog. I'll get Did I Expect Angels? to you soon. Congratulations! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
6/01/2008 3:13 PM
Les said...
I have the cookbook and have enjoyed reading the literary references, as well as sampling several recipes (which have been winners!). Thanks for the reminder to get it out again.
6/02/2008 4:50 PM
Trish said...
Interesting! I went to Ricks my freshman year (back when it was still Ricks) and the big joke was that the RMs (return missionaries) were all out to find a wife as quickly as possible. Many of the girls in my dorm were engaged quickly--some just six weeks after knowing their fiances! :) I'll have to pass this title on to some friends.
6/04/2008 8:09 PM
Tristi Pinkston said...
This really was a good book - and thanks for the review!
6/06/2008 11:41 AM
Natasha @ Maw Books said...
I've seen this titles floating around and had no idea what it was about. But now I do and I might be likely to pick it up. Thanks!