Love, Sin and Survival: Three Women in 1930's Utah By LaVon B. Carroll Agreka Books, 1999. Trade paperback: 458 pages. ISBN: 1-88810-694-8 Suggested retail price: $12.95 (US)
Reviewed by: Jana Bouck Remy

[Book excerpts available.]

I've just finished reading Love, Sin and Survival and even though I have a million other things I should be doing right now, I wanted to jot down a quick review to encourage others to read this book. I really loved it. In fact, I would put it in my "Mo Lit Top 10."

But let me say first, that this book has a few obvious flaws: it has an ugly teal and black cover and the title is ridiculous. Normally I would have been turned off by its very "self-published" look. However, it was Thanksgiving weekend and I had lots of reading time and this had just arrived in the mail (one of the perks of being Review Editor-books are always appearing on my doorstep). I was also interested in the setting: 1930's Utah, because I'd just finished a family history project set in the 30's. So I read it. And I am glad I did.

There are two main characters -- Irene and her daughter Ellen (the title promises three main characters, but doesn't deliver. Addie, the grandmother, is only a bread-baking shadow behind her daughter and granddaughter). The story begins with Irene's husband, Laurence, dying and leaving her penniless. This coincides with the onset of the Depression. There is plenty of conflict involved with Irene's ignorance of money matters and her husband's death, but the story really belongs to her daughter Ellen. She is a young teen trying to take responsibility for her dysfunctional mother, while learning about the facts of life from her neighbors and cousins.

Ellen doesn't "fit in". She is artistic like her father (who abandons his dreams of becoming a famous musician to raise sheep), and does not have a strong testimony of the church. Her mother, who dives into depression after her husband's death, alienates Ellen when she has an affair with a married man. Though Ellen can turn to her grandmother for advice, she is often repulsed by Addie's simple testimony of the gospel. Ellen wants someone who can see the world and all of its shades of gray rather than dismissing life's challenges with gospel platitudes.

Ellen finds a soulmate in Everett Gordon, a friend of her father's, who encourages her literary endeavors. However, the town looks askance at the relationship between a teenager and man old enough to be her father. Eventually Ellen and Everett realize that their friendship might be something more serious.

The ending of the book coincides with Ellen's high school graduation. She finds herself at a decision point between pursuing a relationship with Everett or accepting a marriage offer from a young beau. However, she learns that she could never really be happy with either man and leaves the small town to pursue higher education.

This book is no tame Covenant-style romance. It has sex, four-letter words, and lots of folks with faltering testimonies. While the writing is not quite on par with the likes of Maurine Whipple and Levi Petersen, I found myself making comparisons to the two of them at every turn.

I've never heard of Carroll before but the back of the book says she is a former Weber State professor and two-time winner of The League of Utah Writers Novel award. It's unfortunate that a bigger house didn't publish this book because I think it deserves more attention than it will get from Agreka Books. But frankly, with Signature limiting its fiction titles, I don't know where else a book like this could be published nowadays.

I would love to pass this book on to someone on AML-List for review. Drop me a line if you are interested.

Jana Remy

jana@enivri.com
Orange County, CA