How much is too many?

A young family are abandoned by their father in Manchester. The children are sent to work and gradually make their way in the world.

A mormon preacher converts siblings Dinah and Charlie and their mother; and they set sail to America to live with other converts. They have to go back to the basic life they escaped, then deal with polygamy and prejudice.

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An epic -- it will take effort

This is a true epic, spanning the whole lifetimes of the central characters, and a journey of thousands of miles. There's a lot to it and, to be fair, I don't think the style is entirely consistent all the way through. The first quarter of the book, set in the dark satanic mills, is gripping in a Dickensian sense. Card's portrayal of the harshness and injustice of that time is spot-on. When the action moves to North America, things get a bit more sketchy, but it still hangs together. It isn't really until the last few chapters that I think the plot disintegrates.

I find it interesting that the 'narrator' who introduces each section of the book often expresses different sentiments than the central characters. This takes a certain amount of authorial gumption which, to be fair, Card does not lack.

The treatment of Mormonism in the story is nicely ambiguous. It's pretty clear that the main characters convert for questionable motives -- even those who are portrayed as most deeply religious. The founders of Mormonism, particularly Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, are treated with sympathy, but no obvious reverence. The divisive, destructive effect of polygamy -- which continues to this day -- is well explored.

For all that, I didn't find the end particularly convincing. Partly I think that's because the central character, Dinah, does not speak or act in ways which justify the choices she makes. It's just a bit... wishy-washy at the end.

As for the reading -- I was disappointed that no reader could be found who would speak with the Lancashire accents of most of the main characters. In fact, the accents of all the characters were rendered differently by each of the readers. I don't think this is a big deal, but it niggled a little.

In the end, this is a book I would recommend. It's a good story just as fiction, and the historical (or, at leasst quasi-historical) description of the birth of a religion makes it even more compelling. But it's not perfect, and it's not Card's best book.

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