Preston asked:

Isn’t that true, though?

I reply:

Not in my worldview. I don’t believe there are two pure sources, one of construction and one of destruction. I believe in a universe populated by beings that have different goals. Those goals affect people’s lives in different ways, sometimes making things better, sometimes making things worse. Depending on your point of view.

Notice that often it is our flaws and sins (supposedly completely destructive and of the devil) that put us in position to understand our fellows better and become more empathetic people.

If God and the Devil exist. I think they’ll be just as complicated as a normal human being. Otherwise, they have no agency, they’re controlled by something else.

That’s a fascinating insight I hadn’t even considered.

In this novel I was really impressed with the way the author set it up so that the reader is thinking “This is very strange and difficult, but doing what’s expected of you is sometimes that way…” while gradually building the question of “Is this really right? What is going on here?”

I hadn’t really thought about the idea that maybe it should be more than just “this is 100% right” or “this is 100% wrong” and especially that he should have dealt with his complex relationship issues in a more serious manner.

Food for thought…

Isn’t that true, though?

Official Spoiler Alert.

Though there was a lot I liked about Brother Brigham, and D. Michael should be very proud that he wrote it, I personally was disappointed with the novel’s ending. It didn’t deliver the goods it promised.

As far as I could tell from the story’s structure, the book ended at the end of the second act without bringing us through the third.

See, the difficulties that are mounting up against CH are mainly difficulties with his relationship with his wife. The revelations are only the vehicle to move the story along. Their relationship deteriorates until the second to last chapter of the book. And suddenly they’re in a counselor’s office making up.

That ending does not satisfy the values D. Michael built up throughout the book. We have a real mess on our hands at the second to last chapter. There’s all kinds of police involvement, nothing but bitterness exists between CH and his wife. Sheila hasn’t actually been removed from the picture. All kinds of spiritual damage has taken place. The too-young-to-marry Cyndy admits to the police that she married CH. The list goes on. A perfect set up for the third act.

The way D. Michael led us up to this point promised that the main character would find a way through the problems (the definition of the third act) and that we’d get to watch him do it. I was really looking forward to that. But it didn’t happen. Instead we were sidetracked by a demon possession, which rendered CH unable to complete his character arc.

Demonic possession is not what D. Michael led us to be concerned about. He led us to be concerned about the people. And they never got a chance to show their real stuff. No third act.

I think one of the main reasons this happened was because the story considered everything CH and his wife had gone through, all the emotional and spiritual work they did to align themselves with what they thought was true (I really enjoyed this part of the book, watching them struggle so much) was all for naught. The commandment came from the devil, therefore all the work they did had no redeeming value. At least, that’s what the last chapter led me to believe. I saw people who were trying to jettison their past actions. They didn’t seem to be allowed to gain any wisdom from their experience.

I think the novel would have been much more compelling if D. Michael had been willing to let the story’s value system be more complicated. The book espouses a very black and white worldview. It’s either of God or the Devil. And everything that comes from the Devil is worthless and damaging.

All those provocative threads D. Michael threw out about CH trying to learn to love on a larger scale, about his wife learning to love him in a different way, or making little steps toward more independence – those were really interesting. And they were what made up the bulk of the book. I was prepared to watch these people grow. But it all just came down.

So I guess this is kind of a compliment/rebuke. Most of the book really enthralled me, but the ending was so disappointing.

I think, though, that Brother Brigham deserves a large audience. It’s a great step in the right direction for Mormon literature, and I hope it sells well.

On the other hand, I felt like the detective’s extended internal discussion of his opinion of living in Utah was kind of irrelevant since since he ended up playing a rather impersonal role. His character and opinions were very plausible, yet it might have been more interesting save these ideas and expose them through actions and dialogs in a novel where his character is more developed. (a sequel maybe? ;) )

Also — for those who have read the book — I felt like the drug scene near the end with the second wife and Moroni was kind of bizarre and confusing. I spent a lot of time contemplating why the author included this strange scene, and the only thing I could come up with was that it was just that everything was going crazy.

Maybe it would have made more sense if I knew something about the drug culture? Anybody else confused by this scene, or is it just me?

What’s funny is I was writing a review in my head as I read and I ended up with a paragraph on style that’s very much like what Mahonri writes above (including pointing towards OSC and the use of the term “transparent style”). Not surprising at all, but still funny.

Overall I agree with the review. I didn’t find the mundane details quite as annoying.

I do think there should have been a bit more to the ending; and although I agree with what Mahonri says about the bishop, I do wish that there was two or three more scenes with him to flesh him out as a fully-realized character just a bit more.

The O.S. Card worship stuff didn’t grab me as much.