This was a very good depiction of what I believe life would have been for the early saints. I found myself trying hard to remember this was a book of fiction, there is a lot of non fiction attached to the story.

I had a hard time figuring out how to rate this book. I was so emotionally invested in the story and so when the characters had things go wrong to them, which happened a lot, I would feel that pain. That's what makes a great author though right? There were so many things I wish I could have changed for the main character but it was her story and I think that Orson Scott Card did an amazing job bringing it to life.

I had this book on my shelf (given to me by someone years ago) with its first title “A Woman of Destiny.” I learned that Card didn’t like this title or how the book was packaged as romantic fiction, so he later changed the title to “Saints,” so I’ll put my review under this title. I really did enjoy this historical novel. It seems that Dinah, the main character was modeled after Eliza R. Snow, but I would have to do more research to know what was true and what was fiction. The book has a relatively unvarnished view of Nauvoo polygamy and some might take offense at that and the very human portrayal of Joseph Smith. But I thought it was an absorbing depiction of the fervor and devotion of the early Mormon converts.

I just finished this book today. If you enjoy historical ficiton this book is a great read. A warning though, the main characters are all fictional even though they interact with some of the founders of the church of latter day saints. I am not Mormon, but I still enjoyed this fictionalized account of the early days of the church. The author is a devout mormon, but manages to make the story interesting with out sermonizing.

For love of God

This was a good read, as most of Orson Scott Cards books are. An accounting of the Mormon Church thru the eyes of one families struggles, trials, and temptations.

I almost gave it 4 stars, but the ending just did NOT work for me. Card is a master at character development, though, and I really enjoyed this book.

I started this book several years ago and then put it down in the middle. This time I listened to the book. It takes Dinah from her life as a poor girl in Great Britain to the United States and Mormon Pioneer. The writing is superb and it was a story that stayed with me and I reflected on for several days after it was over.
Although it was fiction - It reminded me that life if full of joy, but often complex and very messy.

I think that this historical fiction is well documented and it kept me intrigued from beginning to end.

713 pages of a woman’s life! Dinah Kirkham is a fictional character whose father deserts her family when she is just a child, a lifetime of sacrifices, love, hurt and joy.
Orson Scott Card knows how to write a saga, and this one is a joy to read.

I read this book a long time ago and really enjoyed the book. I have been thinking about reading it again and wonder if I would still like it. I don't remember being offended by Card's portrayal of the early Saints like some other reviewers were. Keep in mind this is a fictional account of one woman's conversion to the LDS church. The story is of an amazing woman who gives up everything for her faith.

Reread from when I was a teenager. Liked it much less this time around.

I read this 1984 historical fiction novel in the 1990s while I worked my way through almost all of Card’s writing. He is a Mormon, and this novel tells the story of the early days of the Church of Latter Day Saints in the United States, principally focusing on the figures of Joseph Smith, its founder, and Brigham Young, his successor who led the trek west to Utah and the one who helped church become a solid fixture in American society. However, the protagonist of the work is one Dinah Kirkham who abandoned her marriage in England after her husband refused to convert to the new faith. She then travelled to America and became one of the plural wives of both Smith and Young. The practice of polygamy is dealt with in quite a forthright manner by Card, who notes both its biblical and contemporary justifications.

Polygamy cannot be justified. Despite Card’s exceptionally eloquent manner of writing, character development and scene setting, he failed to carry this argument with me. The practice of polygamy, which was officially abandoned by the church in 1890 but still crops up here and there nowadays, still seems to me to have been no more than fancy justification for the patriarchs in a male-dominated small knit community to get their jollies with the nubile young women of the clan.

Still, I really enjoyed the book, since Card is such a masterful storyteller. Even thirty years later I can remember one scene in which a newcomer to the settlement volunteers to help an older woman do some knitting. While they are working, she happens to give utterance to a remark which is somewhat negative about Smith and/or Young. At this point, the older woman rises from her seat, crosses the room, removes the materials from the other woman’s hands and peremptorily shows her the door, declaiming “I’ll have no one who speaks against him cross my threshold’. This vivid capturing of the true face of religious intolerance, which I’m sure was practiced to an overwhelming degree not just with Mormons but with many other religions throughout history, is very well presented by Card.

Rather long, but always engaging. Highly recommended.