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Secrets and Wives cover art

Secrets and Wives

By: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
Narrated by: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
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Summary

What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO’s Big Love? We’ve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smith’s doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church.

Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country teeming with small town messiahs, dark secrets, and stories both heartbreaking and strange. Polygamy’s dark side - incest, forced marriages, and physical abuse - is laid bare. But Bhattacharya also finds warmth in the fundamentalist diaspora and even finds himself taking an ideological stand for polygamy’s legalization.

More than just an exposé of Mormon polygamy, Secrets and Wives is the personal journey of a foreign atheist and liberal, a stranger in a strange land who grapples with hard questions about marriage, monogamy, and the very nature of faith.

©2011 Sajiv Bhattacharya (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Secrets and Wives

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting and perfectly read.

What about Sanjiv Bhattacharya’s performance did you like?

He had a great, relaxed style. He could have been telling the story to a group of friends late in the evening.

Any additional comments?

I notice on audible.com that Americans are not loving this! Fear not British listeners. My own experience, together with reviews on Amazon.co.uk, show that this is a cultural issue. This is due partly to the love of Jesus and Christianity harboured by the average American. Bhattacharya explores these disfuctional groups and individuals with typical British cynicism and dark humour. Think Louis Theroux! This approach seems to have offended many American listeners/readers. However, I feel sure that it would only serve to make the book more enjoyable for most Brits.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating content, a new insight.

This book gives new windows into this controversial subject. From the apocalyptic to the mundane, all told with (mostly) respect and compassion.
I always prefer when the book is read by the author (notably Mel Robbins) and this book would be 5*s for me, if not for the accents attributed to the 'characters' in the stories. For some reason (apparently) all polygamists living in Utah etc have regional British accents ranging from Cockney to Generic West Country and the women are straight out of Monty Python. It pulled me straight out of the narrative each time, a distraction.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, disappointingly told

I don’t know what’s worse - the thinly veiled misogyny of the author or the childlike falsetto voice used by the narrator (author) whenever he is reading a female voice. Disappointing as the story is an interesting one but I just couldn’t get passed the first 20 minutes with that combination.

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