For Time & Eternity

This book by Allison Pittman was my favorite read this year. Seriously, I loved it! It was one of those books that I carried around the house with me...every few minutes mattered. I think my 3 year old was neglected for, like, 3 days when I was reading this book. {grin} I’m a pretty avid Historical Fiction reader and a Pittman fan, so when I heard that she was writing a book based on the history of the Mormon church, I was instantly intrigued. Two words consumed my mind... Plural marriage!  I have a huge fascination with this culture of plural marriage and sister-wives. Not because I’m interested...oh no, but because I am so curious about how people, real men and real women, go about making these decisions. I devoured For Time & Eternity. I’m not going to go into super detail of the story line so NO BIG SPOILERS here...but I do want to go into the way I was emotional reeled in with the writing and characters.  Camilla Deardon is a young girl at the outset. She knows that she is supposed to stay away from the Mormon camp but when she meets Nathan Fox, she can’t. Imagine being a lonesome 15 year old girl who suddenly is being charmed up & down, backwards & forwards by an attractive young man who has an entire family (his church) to offer. Everyone seems happy & cheerful, unlike her household where her father is unyieldingly strict and her mother is just a very dutiful mother, nothing more, nothing less. The companionship she feels with Nathan and the people he introduces her to were unlike anything she had ever experienced. ...and they are on their way to ZION. What Pittman does so well is that you fall in love with Nathan along with Camilla. You know she shouldn’t let him dupe her but you can’t help but keep pushing her toward him. He’s handsome, charismatic, and completely smitten with the Mormon prophecy. She has never met someone so passionate about spirituality. Can you blame her near instantaneous love for Nathan and what he says he can provide her with? No...you can’t. Camilla is also so likable...sweet, naive, and longing to belong. Camilla does go against her parents and runs away with Nathan. I was so invested at this point I couldn’t put the book down. The story moves forward rapidly here and she has been married for several years and has two daughters. She seems happy and still as in love as the day she met Nathan. Plural marriage is running rampant at this point and while she does not appreciate the practice, she also assumes that it won’t touch her life because she and Nathan are so in love. But, when Nathan and Camilla go through a devastating loss they both seem to reflect on their emotions, spirituality, and perspective...just as we all do in real life. As they consider their future they are suddenly on different planets, neither really understanding the other.  The wonderful thing about this story is that you can really put yourself into Camilla’s, and even Nathan’s, shoes. Camilla believing whole-heartedly that plural marriage is not right and you want to fight for her. But, Nathan is so lovable and charmingly handsome, you can see yourself swooning, lost in his gaze. You feel his loss, his hurt, and love for Camilla as much as you feel Camilla’s righteous anger about plural marriage. Pittman's writing is spot on. She owns the craft! As the reader, you’ll have huge emotional reactions to names like Evangeline, Brigham Young, Rachel, and...AMANDA. Beautiful. Sweet. Innocent. Amanda. And with that I will let you figure the rest out. I HIGHLY recommend this book. Extremely well-written. Well-rounded characters. Believable and superb story-line. Compelling.  In my opinion...best book of the year!