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Loving the Lonely Polygamist

By Joanna Brooks

I’ve been watching the positive reviews roll in for Brady Udall’s new novel The Lonely Polygamist, which may be the most important work of Mormon literature since Terry Tempest Williams’s Refuge (1992) and the most important Mormon novel since Levi Peterson’s The Backslider (1986). Back at BYU, we always knew Brady was the spectacularly talented one—another Udall of great destiny. And we are pleased and not surprised to see the national press p…

Lesbian Nuns: Still Immodest After All These Years

By Susan Henking

…ous studies, history, and art history. And, the blurbs on the back include reviews in, for example, The Nation. Were you surprised by the wide reception of this scholarly book on the Renaissance—and that it remains in print? I expected a wider readership than the usual academic book but I was surprised at the extent and variety of contexts in which the book appeared. I expected the book might be read in history, religious studies, women’s studies…

Rick Santorum Figures Out the Feminist Plot to Create “Phony” Abortion Exceptions

By Sarah Morice-Brubaker

…inning recruitment strategy or slogan, we’ve decided just to lie a lot. Also, abortions are super fun. Especially the late-term kind. I mean, I can’t fathom why they account for just one percent of all abortions. Not that I’ve had one myself, but judging from the Yelp reviews at the Topeka Abortionplex, they are totally fun. So, hats off to you, Rick Santorum! Our covenly maliciousness was no match for your powers of perception. Next, you’ll figur…

“It’s the Mormon Moment”

By Joanna Brooks

With The Book of Mormon musical debuting to mostly rave reviews, Maureen Dowd declared on Sunday that this “is the Mormon moment.” (Hey, Maureen, thanks for noticing!) In her column, Dowd observes that at its core, The Book of Mormon musical is a message “not against Mormonism but literalism.” Indeed, the literalism of contemporary Mormon belief is the tender spot The Book of Mormon musical strikes. The majority of active and observant Mormons ma…

Woe is Me (“Ya laytani”)

By Amina Wadud

…ngs in the name of God? Anyway, the section of the Qur’an I am reading now reviews these stories of the Prophets in many different ways; including details about their extended family relations, and the women in their lives. It talks about women who are barren being given glad tidings of fertility. It talks about women who do not want to follow the path of truth and justice, and so will be amongst those destroyed by earthly calamities. It talks abo…

Breaking Up with God: I Didn’t Lose My Faith, I Left It

By Sarah Sentilles

…it or call me whiny or stupid or annoying. I had to stop reading all book reviews while I was writing my book because it stifled my creative process. You can’t write with someone calling you names the whole time. You have to shut that censor up. I often write imagining my closest friends as my readers. I also write just for myself, which allows me to take risks with my writing. But the audience I most often had in mind while writing this book was…

Eat, Pray, Trash: What the Critics Don’t See

By Ben Brazil

…and book on the Internet. In the vastness of cyberspace, there are glowing reviews of Eat Pray Love, the movie. But the film and book have also served as an occasion for some cultural commentators, and not a few mainstream movie critics to unite in a scorn so pronounced that it resembles a sort of snarky joy. Robert Ebert, godfather of movie critics, titled his review “A Confederacy of Narcissists” and said he didn’t get it: “I guess you have to b…

The Religious Left’s New Script

By Daniel Schultz

Mark Silk reviews Changing the Script over at BeliefNet, or at least mentions it on his way to making a larger point. Mark’s right, on two counts. First, Changing the Script is not a sufficient platform on which to build a sustainable religious coalition. It’s foundational (maybe even remedial) work meant to set a firm basis for proceeding. So the coalition- or movement-building remains to be done, as Silk points out. He is also correct, I think,…

TLC Premieres Polygamy Reality Show Sister Wives

By Joanna Brooks

…hildren, what I find most remarkable is not the series itself but the rave reviews it’s getting from the critics. The Vancouver Sun calls Sister Wives “a fascinating, surprising eyeopener.” (Never mind that British Columbia is home to one of the larger Mormon polygamous communities on the continent.) Us Magazine calls it “provocative” and “utterly fascinating” and gives it four stars. And over at the Los Angeles Times a reviewer crows: “I’ve seen…

Confession Fail: iPhone App Controversy Muddies the Sacramental Waters

By Elizabeth Drescher

…e list of sins clicked in the examination of conscience. Once the penitent reviews her or his sins (logged in the Examination of Conscience option), the app invites the recitation of “Act of Contrition” prayer, after which she or he is instructed to “Receive absolution and respond ‘Amen.’” Going perhaps more grammatical here than I am truly able anyway, I’d merely note that that the verb “receive” in this instruction does not have a specific direc…