'The Lord says it's Okay.' - Under the Banner of Heaven

     In Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer explores the violent history of fundamental Mormonism through the 1984 killings of 24 year old Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter, Erica, at the hands of Dan and Ron Lafferty.
     Dan and Ron Lafferty began as regular members of the Mormon Church, however, after Dan’s business was shut down for lack of proper license, he became increasingly anti-government. He found solace in Book of Mormon - particularly Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which validated the principle of plural marriage.
     But there was one problem – their sister-in-law, Brenda. Highly educated, Brenda encouraged the other wives to resist their husband’s decent into polygamy and other strange, non-Mormon beliefs. Ron’s wife listened, leaving her husband and moving to Florida with their children. Soon, the two brothers were excommunicated from the LDS Church. Eventually, the brothers claimed receive a commandment from God, ordering the death of Brenda and Erica Lafferty.
     Emily Bazelon of The Los Angeles Times notes that Krakauer’s book is far from an easy read. It is terribly disturbing to hear the countless stories of young girls being brainwashed and raped in abusive marriages. Not to mention, in many of these exclusively FLDS towns, the entire law enforcement system is run by the Church. With nowhere to turn, these young women are trapped, unaware that a reality exists outside their town.
     Krakauer also speaks to several former members of the FLDS Church, who finally rose up against years of teachings to start a life of their own. These interviews, particularly with DeLoy Bateman, are incredibly insightful and interesting.
     As pointed out by Robert Wright of The New York Times, Krakauer’s jumps from present day to the beginnings of the religion can seem disconnected and choppy. However, the information provided gives the reader a better understanding of Mormonism and the church doctrine that allowed Dan and Ron Lafferty to evolve from perfect believers to excommunicated killers. Killing in the name of God is far from a new phenomenon, even in the Mormon Church.
     Obviously, the Mormon Church was less than thrilled by their portrayal in this book. Richard E Turley, the managing director of the Family and Church History Department for the LDS Church, posted a scathing review of the book. He claims that the book will only appeal to “gullible persons” and that “serious readers… need not waste their time on it.” However, this is a story that must be told. When Americans discuss the idea of religious violence, they often do not consider that this could be happening right here at home. It is very easy to dismiss religious fundamentalism as something that happens elsewhere, an action done by other people and other religions. However, this book points out the very dangerous and very real fundamentalism happening right in our own backyard.
     Turley was also upset that Krakaeur’s narrative left out the “vast majority of Latter-Day Saints” who are a “peace-loving people”. I believe that’s a fair assessment. There are thousands of Mormons who would never dare to kill someone or engage in polygamy. The majority of the atrocious acts highlighted in this book were committed by excommunicated fundamentalists. However, Krakauer makes a clear distinction between the two, never hiding the fact that his book is not about the common Mormon, just in the same way that a book about 9/11 is not about the common Muslim.
     Krakauer concludes the book by returning to the Lafferty trials, which posed highly important questions. Can Lafferty be truly deemed insane if he was simply following the orders of his God? If so, does that mean that every religious person is insane, and that their crimes done in the name of God are excusable? What sort of precedent does that set?
     In the end, Lafferty is found mentally capable of understanding the full nature of his crime. Now, he sits on death row, awaiting the day when he will be put to death.

When Plague Strikes: Year of Wonders

     In the 17^th century, a tiny English village called Eyam was stricken with bubonic plague. The villagers, led by rector William Mompesson, agreed to quarantine themselves in order to keep the disease from spreading to nearby villages. In the end, an estimated four-fifths of the town population perished from the outbreak.

     In Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks recounts this story from the eyes of the fictional Mompesson’s servant, Anna Frith, a young widower with a brain ahead of her time. Frith sees much of the early death, including that of her two young sons. Now alone, Frith agrees to help Mompesson and his wife, Elinor, tend to the villagers as they struggle through the difficult time.

     It is here that Brooks is truly at her best. As noted by The Guardian’s Alfred Hickling, it would be easy for Brooks to get caught up in recounting death after death. Instead, Brooks looks at how the living respond, from learning to tend to new herbs to digging graves for profit. Her deep knowledge of the subject shines through particularly in a scene where Anna and Elinor must mine enough lead to keep the owner’s only surviving daughter from losing her claim. The drama is real and intense, making for a very interesting read.

     Brooks does an excellent job with her portrayal of women in the book. The protagonist, Anna Frith, is highly intelligent, brave, and independent. Her employer, Elinor, and the Gowdie women are equally vital to the story and the life of the townspeople. As more and more people fall victim to the plague, the women are not afraid to step up and use their skills for a good cause. The most promising plague cures come from the plants housed at the Gowdie residence, which is solely tended to by women. Considering that the majority of historical narratives are told from the perspective of men, it is refreshing to see a book that looks at an event without leaving women off the page.

     However, Brooks’ work is not perfect. As described by David Liss of The Washington Post, “her characters often break down between seemingly good modern thinkers and seemingly bad early-modern thinkers”. The common townspeople are pigeonholed into ignorant, witch-hunting crazies while Frith, Elinor, and the Gowdie women make medical conclusions far ahead of their time. In fact, Anna Frith seems almost too perfect of a character.

     The book concludes with a shocking and almost unbelievable twist. In an epilogue told from a few years later, Anna Frith finds herself on a boat to Oran, where a Muslim doctor happily takes her in as his assistant and member of his harem. There, she raises her two children in this amazing cultural center. As pointed out by John Vernon of The New York Times, “no mention is made of the number of their servants.”

     Ultimately, the goal of historical fiction is to help the reader become interested in a certain historical event. Geraldine Brooks far and above accomplishes this goal, bringing the story of Eyam to life in an interesting and dramatic read.