Review: In My Father's House
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsGrowing up polygamous: a vivid, tormented piece of Mormon-Americana marred, but not fatally, by occasional fits of breathlessness and gush. Solomon was the 28th child (48 in all) by the 4th wife (7 in all--till the conjugal frenzy of his sunset years, when the numbers got confused) of Dr. Rulon Clark Allred, a naturopath and sectarian leader who was gunned down in Salt Lake City by fanatical members of a different Mormon sect on May 10, 1977. That date is one of the few Solomon provides, so her chronology tends to be murky (she was born sometime in the Forties), but such narrative confusion aptly mirrors the years of persecution and flight when Allred, his harem, and brood had to keep one step ahead of the police. (He did 7 months in the Utah state pen in 1945 and had some close calls in the Fifties.) Apart from the traumatic knocks on the door and drives through the night to new towns or states (or even to Mexico), her father's criminal status meant that Solomon had constantly to resort to ""Mormon logic"" (i.e., defensive lies) to shield him and the rest of the family whenever she dealt with ""Gentiles."" Still more difficult, for someone who practically worshipped her patriarchal daddy, were the inevitable tensions and frustrations simmering among the seven wives. Solomon likes to remember the blissful harmony of life with her ""aunts,"" but she can't forget the rigid pecking order or the endless repression that almost drove her mother crazy. The whole story, in fact, has a schizophrenic cast: was Allred an angel or a lunatic? Was ""the Principle"" (polygamy) esoteric wisdom or a hothouse of sexual neurosis? (Solomon herself chose monogamy and a mere two children.) How can a woman with a university education (M.A.) take primitive Mormonism seriously? All this, and the agony (relief?) of her father's bloody end, makes Solomon's prose overheat (""A powerful sense of eternalness returned, and my skin lifted in goosebumps, as I saw his blue eyes again and again. . .""); but her writer's instincts overcome her gaucherie, and the book, for the most part, works. A distinct original.
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Katie - GoodreadsKudos to the author for being brave enough to present the positive, normal side of polygamy, in addition to presenting some plausible arguments in support of the practice. Other than that, though, I ... Read full review
Review: In My Father's House: A Memoir of Polygamy
User Review - Michelle Szetela - GoodreadsMade it through 100 pages; just couldn't get into it. So much focus on the raids; I just lost interest. Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Alice - GoodreadsFor someone like me trying to understand why any woman, not religious herself, would stand for sharing a husband with countless other women. Convinced me brainwashing is alive and well in the 21st century. Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Alexis Thompson - GoodreadsNot much new in this--but I supposed when it was first published it was a revelation. Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Denise - GoodreadsStory about a little girl growing up in a Polygamist family in Utah in the 50s. By the end of her fathers life he had a dozen wives and more than 40 children. He was a "doctor" practicing medicine as ... Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Vicki - GoodreadsWritten by one of my neighbors, this was a compelling book that was really hard emotionally to read but well-written and interesting. I'm on to all her other books . . . Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Robert Jordan - GoodreadsThis story was an interesting and honest account of growing up in a polygamous household portraying the good and bad aspects of this lifestyle. Surrounded by loving parents and extended family there ... Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Amy - GoodreadsI've thought a lot about what I could comment on, but I am still pondering the book. I think Solomon's story from her polygamist point of view was interesting and showed a lot of true emotions ... Read full review
Review: In My Father's House
User Review - Garett - GoodreadsI could feel what a huge relief this was for the author to write. It was interesting for me to get a closer look on what it was like growing up in a polygamous family. Read full review
