The Lonely Polygamist
A Novel
16 August 2011
Territory Rights — Worldwide including Canada, but excluding the British Commonwealth.
Description
A New York Times bestseller: "Udall masterfully portrays the hapless foibles and tragic yearnings of our fellow humans." —San Francisco Chronicle
Golden Richards, husband to four wives, father to twenty-eight children, is having the mother of all midlife crises. His construction business is failing, his family has grown into an overpopulated mini-dukedom beset with insurrection and rivalry, and he is done in with grief: due to the accidental death of a daughter and the stillbirth of a son, he has come to doubt the capacity of his own heart. Brady Udall, one of our finest American fiction writers, tells a tragicomic story of a deeply faithful man who, crippled by grief and the demands of work and family, becomes entangled in an affair that threatens to destroy his family’s future. Like John Irving and Richard Yates, Udall creates characters that engage us to the fullest as they grapple with the nature of need, love, and belonging.
Beautifully written, keenly observed, and ultimately redemptive, The Lonely Polygamist is an unforgettable story of an American family—with its inevitable dysfunctionality, heartbreak, and comedy—pushed to its outer limits.
Reviews
"Funny [and] moving, [The Lonely Polygamist] is ambitious and it is tender about man’s endless absurdities and failings." — Eric Weinberger, The New York Times Book Review
"A riveting emotional tornado of a novel." — Entertainment Weekly
"The novelist’s affection for his protagonist and sensitivity to his domestic despair yields characters and scenes that are precise and unfailingly rewarding. [Udall] has that gift for writing sinuous and convincing sentences that convey his affection without compromising clarity or truth." — Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, NPR
"A wry, sympathetic portrait of a spectacularly dysfunctional family." — The New Yorker
"There's something cinematic about the way Udall presents this tale, with at least a handful of dramatic scenes that seem to beg for a big-screen treatment. Furthermore, Udall's poetic rendering of the Southwestern landscape brings to mind the lingering, panoramic shots of films like Brokeback Mountain and A River Runs Through It. But most of all it's Golden, Rusty and the novel's other complex characters that make The Lonely Polygamist a potential classic. They remain with the reader after the last page is turned." — San Francisco Chronicle
"An audacious and frequently funny new novel." — Wendy Smith, Washington Post
"A profoundly satisfying read, written with a ferocious verve and authenticity." — Cleveland Plain Dealer
"An absorbing, moving entertaining novel that will transport the reader into Golden’s chaotic world." — Dallas Morning News
"[A] compelling, rollicking story." — Salt Lake Tribune
"What is so great about this unflinching, superbly crafted, big hearted novel is the way it makes us recognize the polygamist(and sister wife) in all of us. Golden Richards' struggles and desires are no different from ours, he just has them in multiples of four. His story not only demystifies and humanizes polygamist culture, it takes a dramatic stand on behalf of families everywhere—from the most conservative to the most alternative—and suggests a way to foreground, amidst all our failings, the rare moment of success." — Pam Houston, author of Cowboys Are My Weakness
"The Lonely Polygamist cracks open the door to plural marriage and lets in the light. Brady Udall explores the Richards family with the greatest care and humor, building memorable characters that readers will immediately love. Funny and wise, The Lonely Polygamist stands with other great family novels such as The Corrections and Middlesex, and sets Udall on the top shelf of America’s writers." — Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief and Animal Crackers
"This is big-hearted American storytelling, the best new book I’ve read in years." — Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of American Salvage
Also By: Brady Udall 
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel
E Book, 2012
"An ingenious tale [that] takes its heart from Dickens and its soul from America’s great outlaw West." —ElleThe Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel
Paperback, 2012
"An ingenious tale [that] takes its heart from Dickens and its soul from America’s great outlaw West." —ElleLetting Loose the Hounds: Stories
E Book, 2010
“Funny, unpredictable, and abounding with strange beauty . . . a fierce new voice of the American West.”—Outside
Letting Loose the Hounds: Stories
Paperback, 2010
“Funny, unpredictable, and abounding with strange beauty . . . a fierce new voice of the American West.”—Outside
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel
Hardback, 2001
With the inventive acuity of John Irving, this riveting picaresque novel chronicles the hopes and heartbreaks of Edgar Presley Mint.
