Wives and Sisters
Natalie R. Collins
(Reviewer - Carolyn Howard-Johnson)
2004 St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0312334281

A little girl witnesses an abduction from within the closed religious community of Utah.

Associate Reviewer Carolyn Howard-Johnson writes:

I make it a point to read just about every piece of fiction set in Utah. This area has huge literary potential. Its geography is majestic &, because of its unique culture, it has latent literary possibilities. Unfortunately, I am usually sorely disappointed. That is because writing about this place requires more than research: Utah, like the South, is in a class of its own. Research alone doesn't cut it. A writer needs more than facts; she needs a sense of the religion, of the place, even a feeling for the language.

Natalie R. Collins, born in Logan, Utah, attended UofU, & worked more than a decade for The Salt Lake Tribune, has perfected Utah's voice. Her Wives and Sisters fits comfortably within my expectations for Utah fiction, as well as for a well-written novel of suspense.

The protagonist, Allison Jensen (Collins shows the way Utah names are colored), is a young woman raised in a rustic suburb of Salt Lake City. Rural areas tend to spawn narrow religious thinking, a quality this author captures perfectly in the first chilling chapter. When Allison was six she'd watched her friend's being abducted by a bearded man & a young boy, & is unable to do anything about it.

Readers who enjoy true crime stories will be reminded of the Elizabeth Smart case (although there are many differences). Between this event & the strict climate provided by an ultra-conservative Mormon family, Allison is faced with both psychological & physical constraints.

Wives And Sisters is the suspenseful story of how she builds the strength to overcome her family's grip. Even better, those who choose Wives and Sisters will come away with a bonus or two. Even those who know the place well may learn something more about an aspect of this unique culture. They may also sense the attraction of this place nestled at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, & even understand at a visceral level why it is so important that religion & government be kept completely & forever separated. That, for any reader, should put Wives and Sisters at the top of their reading list.

More from Natalie R. Collins: SisterWife.
(05/08/05)

Carolyn
2005©Carolyn Howard-Johnson
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Associate Reviewer Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the award-winning author of This Is The Place, & her book of creative nonfiction, The Harkening: A Collection Of Stories Remembered, has won three awards & The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't.

She writes about Utah's culture, tolerance & other subjects. Her fiction, nonfiction & poems have appeared in national magazines, anthologies & review journals. She has appeared on TV & radio stations nationwide. She is an instructor for UCLA's Writers' Program. She loves to travel & has studied writing at Cambridge University, United Kingdom; Herzen University, St. Petersburg, Russia, & Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, as well as UCLA & the University of Southern California.

Her editorial contributions include:
No One Book Pleases Everyone
Publisher Raises the Ire of its Authors
A Rant About Arrogance.

Her website is: www.carolynhowardjohnson.com