1 post tagged “under the banner of heaven”
I wrapped up Jon Krakauer’s 2003 book, Under the Banner of Heaven, earlier this year, and whole-heartedly recommend it. Krakauer’s read is incredibly interesting, well-written, and paces really well. It reminds me of those long, absorbing pieces in the Sunday New York Times; the ones you phone your mom halfway through to tell her to read it.
There are two interweaving plot lines in Under the Banner of Heaven: the first is the story of the Mormon-raised Lafferty brothers who end up murdering their younger brother’s wife and daughter (claiming that a revelation told them to carry out these killings); and the second is the history of Mormonism and how Joseph Smith cultivated and developed this religion from the 1830’s on.
Krakauer does an awesome job putting the reader in both the minds of the Lafferty brothers, as well as Joseph Smith and other influential Mormons. You really feel like you’re along for the ride in both the murder story, and the history of Mormonism, and you find yourself tearing through the chapters to uncover the next significant event.
I also enjoyed how Krakauer detailed the drive and determination by Joseph Smith to create a new religion in more modern times. Smith’s creation was a miracle in itself, and the fact that Mormonism is alive and thriving today is a real testament to Smith and the early believers of this religion.
While Krakauer does mention both positive and negative tenets to Mormonism, it’s pretty clear his slant is more negative. Though I sense some people may be upset by Krakauer’s imbalance (i.e., Mormons who may read this book), I kind of wished he would have taken an ever harder line to put down some of Mormonism's (alleged) practices of racism, polygamy and statutory rape -- especially in the wake of the recent raid on a West Texas Church of Latter Day Saints’ ranch, where over 400 children were seized by the authorities.
Regardless,
this is a page-turning, eye-opening read by Krakauer, and I give it four “Mitch’s”
out of five. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t yet read Krakuer’s Into Thin Air or Into the Wild. But after reading Under the Banner of Heaven, I’ll certainly need to dive into these predecessors
sooner rather than later.
My next book: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho
Past reviews:-The Tender Bar (Rating: 3.5 out of 5)
