AML Book Review

By Jeffrey Needle, Association for Mormon Letters

Originally appeared on AML listserv, January 17, 2005. Used with permission.

Walt Stewart is a young Utah Mormon, not entirely clear what he wants to do with his life, but certain that he wants some clarity. He is engaged to a lovely girl; things are looking up. Then, one day, she comes to him and tells him that she will be marrying Walt's roommate. So much for things looking up.

When the phone rings with a job offer from AmeriGrow Enterprises in Alamitos, New Mexico, he jumps at it. Packing his few belongings, he heads out to the small town to begin his new life.

Alamitos turns out to be a somewhat smaller town than what he had expected. No street signs, a small Mormon ward, and lots of snoopy neighbors. His first stop is at a small restaurant, owned and staffed by a member of the local ward. A single man has come to Alamitos! The wheels start turning -- this restaurant owner, Sister Smith, has an unmarried daughter.

But Walt has other ideas. One day he catches sight of the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Clara Campbell, also LDS, is an employee at Platner Observatory, built nearby and the object of much scorn and resentment among the locals. Clara is brilliant, a scientist, and she falls for Walt in a big way.

Alas, there's trouble at the Observatory. Someone is sabotaging their work, and a creature resembling Bigfoot has been spotted at the plant. No one seems to know what's going on, but there's enough tension between the townsfolk, who lost some of their prime grazing land to the Observatory, and the scientists, to provide for a considerable list of "usual suspects."

The result is a rollickingly funny, bitterly satiric Mormon novel, a complete surprise and a total delight. I don't recognize the name Robison E. Wells; I don't think I've ever read anything by him before. I hope there's more to come.

Central to the humor is Walt's deep, abiding cynicism. Paired with his insecurities and uncertain self-image, his pursuit of Clara becomes something of a comedy of errors. Some of the funniest writing I've seen in years comes in Walt's yearning for Clara's hand in marriage, a debacle not to be believed. Near the end, when he composes an acrostic of her name as the text of his proposal, we wonder if this fellow will ever get his head sufficiently together to make a good husband. Funny!

Lying beneath the surface is the ever-presence of the Mormon way of living and thinking. I was amazed that there was no preachiness at all in this book. In fact, Mormonism is simply accepted as the backdrop of their lives, with no effort to convince the reader that he or she must change in some way. I kept expecting it to come at any minute; happily, it never did arrive. No preaching, just a wild ride on the back of a young man making his way through life.

It is also clear that Walt, the first-person narrator of the story, has never learned to take his religion, or his life, very seriously. He knows how to play the game -- go to meetings, take the sacrament, etc. -- but he also understands the comic background to much of his Mormon experience.

Years ago, Orson Scott Card, in "The Lost Boys," portrayed ward life in a funny, at times uproarious parody. Wells aims toward the same goal -- the sometimes eccentric members of a ward, their sometimes funny ideas, etc. Frankly, I think Wells does it better than Card. The ward scenes are wonderful.

I enjoyed every minute of this book. Well, perhaps *nearly* every minute. In two places. Wells makes the classic mistake -- using "I" when he means "me." I find it so jarring. I so wish it weren't so. A few bumps in an otherwise excellent story.

"On Second Thought" isn't great literature. This is not its purpose. But it is a great read if you're looking for an interesting, often hilarious story with plot twists and eccentric, fully human characters. Frankly, I'll leave the great literature for later. Give me a good read any day.

At the back of the book there is an excerpt from a book titled "A Familiar Ring." I was glad to see this -- evidently there was another Wells book in the hopper. But then I noticed that the author was given as "R. K. Terry." Apparently Covenant Communications put this in as a come-on for a volume by another author. Generally there is some sort of indication, other than a different name at the top of the page, that this work is by another writer. This is so curious. I have no idea what Covenant had in mind.

Bottom line -- if you get a chance, read "On Second Thought." Maybe sitting at the beach on a warm afternoon, or even in front of a roaring fire in your winter cabin. I think you'll really like it. And I do look forward to future efforts by Wells. (Pssst: figure out the difference between "I" and "me" and I'll be thrilled!)