The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall

So, this has to have some kind of praise for a catchy title. Brady Udall is the author of  The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, which I read recently. Having enjoyed Edgar quite a bit, I was looking forward to another book by Udall, and this was not disappointing.

One one level, this is the story of a man with four wives and twenty-eight children. On another, it may be about what it's like to be human, imperfect, and unlucky. There are a lot of people here that want to be loved. Instead of being a work of propaganda in favor of or against the practice of polygamy, Udall uses this unusual life, however we feel about it, to describe how people get along, in whatever situation they find themselves.

New York Times Book Review

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, by Barry Udall

Edgar Mint is a young boy living on an Indian reservation in Arizona. At the beginning of this book, his head is run over by the tire of a Postal Service Jeep. As a result, he spends quite a long time in a hospital, recovering (miraculously, it would seem) from his injuries. In the hospital, he meets some people who figure prominently in his life for many years.

This story is oddly captivating. I found the book one of those that I wished would go on when it was over. Edgar's naive view of the world, the lot of his fellow Native Americans, his disabilities, the Western characters who are both cruel and kind to him in this story, are all beautifully drawn. I cared about Edgar to the last period on the last page.