New Mormon Books

I was exposed to Brian Evenson several years ago when someone, I forget who, pushed a copy of his novel The Open Curtain on me. I thought, “Cool. Crazy Mormon murder mystery. This looks tolerable.” That brilliant book ended up being so much more than that, and remains for me one of the sharpest, most gripping examples of how the possibilities of literature are far from spent (I swear I’m not overstating a thing. If anything, the opposite).

An Interview with Brian Evenson
By Drew Toal
Bookslut, July 2009
http://www.bookslut.com/features/2009_07_014753.php

“Latayne Scott is a gifted writer with a thorough knowledge of Mormonism. The book is filled not only with excellent information, but keen analysis. Moreover, she demonstrates genuine kindness and empathy toward Latter-day Saints, based on her positive experiences growing up in the LDS Church.”

Red River Writers Live – Tell Us About You 7-01-2009
Red River Writers, July 04, 2009
http://redriverwriters.typepad.com/red_river_writers/2009/07/red-river-writers-live-tell-us-about-you-7-01-2009.html

“Trespass” is McHarg’s memoir, following her as she scurries to the outskirts of her Utah homeland. She grew up an insider, a sixth generation Mormon rancher, but finds herself at odds with the predominant culture as she becomes an environmental advocate. As McHarg processes her father’s suicide, she finds herself pushed both figuratively outside the church’s reach and physically outside the Deseret boundaries, in Norwood. It was here, away from the onus of her Utah roots that she was able to finish the book.

Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land, has won the Colorado Book Award for creative nonfiction. Last year it won the 2008 Orion Book Award and earlier this year it won the Ellen Meloy Fund’s 2009 Desert Writer’s Award.

Norwood novelist wins Colorado Book Award
Amy Irvine McHarg’s ‘Trespass’ honored again
By D. Dion
Norwood CO Post, July 1, 2009.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/07/01/norwood_post/news/doc4a4bb64493b06208156066.txt

As each of us goes about our daily business at the office, store, and elsewhere, it is likely that we will rub shoulders with a Mormon at one time or another. Heck, sometimes they even show up right at the front door. During these encounters, the conversation can at times be confusing at best. While Christians and Mormons may use some of the same words, the theological meaning each side places on these words are often oceans apart. In order to be better prepared for these occasions, I’d encourage you to educate yourself on the history, theology, and practices of the Mormon Church.

Book Review – The Mormon Mirage by Latayne C. Scott
By Shaun Tabatt
Bible Geek Gone Wild, June 30, 2009.
http://biblegeekgonewild.com/?p=1778