Up the Creek Book Club

Red Water

by Judith Freeman

October 2003

Synopsis

"In 1857, at a place called Mountain Meadows in southern Utah, a band of Mormons and Indians massacred 120 emigrants. Twenty years later, the slaughter was blamed on one man named John D. Lee, previously a member of Brigham Young's inner circle. Red Water imagines Lee's extraordinary frontier life through the eyes of three of his nineteen wives. Emma is a vigorous and capable Englishwoman who loves her husband unconditionally. Ann, a bride at thirteen years old, is an independent adventurer. Rachel is exceedingly devout and married Lee to be with her sister, his first wife. These spirited women describe their struggle to survive Utah's punishing landscape and the poisonous rivalries within their polygamous family, led by a magnetic, industrious, and considerate husband, who was also unafraid of using his faith to justify desire and ambition." (Publisher)

Reviews

• "The narrative soars....Freeman's novel makes astute points about the almost indistinguishable similarities between faith and love." (The New Yorker)
  
  
• "Intense, charged with real feeling and electricity....Intelligent, complex prose will give readers a chance to reflect on the deeper meanings of love and faith and endurance." (The Oregonian)
  
  
• Engrossing....Freeman eschews the tributaries of contemporary domestic life for the deeper and darker lake of the past....Unforgettable." St. Louis Post-Dispatch
  
  
• "Freeman renders the terrible beauty of this land and the flinty resolve of these people with great skill." (The Washington Post)

Book Club Rating and Comments

If you or your book club has read this book and would like to share your comments, please email us at upthecreekbc@yahoo.com.

Other Books by Judith Freeman

• The Chinchilla Farm
• A Desert of Pure Feeling
• Family Attractions
• Set for Life