HarperCollins Canada, 2019
By Joan Thomas
Happy New Year! Over the holidays, L and I had plenty of time to sit down with the stack of books on her “To Read” list, and take in a few good stories. We just finished reading Five Wives by Joan Thomas which L says was a remarkably interesting, thought-provoking book that she couldn’t’ put down—I would know; her fingers were so busy flipping pages that I didn’t get nearly as many belly rubs as I should have!
Five Wives is a fictionalized account based on shocking real-life events. In 1956, five evangelical Christian men and their families travelled to the Ecuadorian rainforest to convert a group of Indigenous people, the Waorani, to Christianity. The Waorani had virtually no exposure to the outside world at that time.
Thomas’s novel begins as the men plan their trip, giving us background information on the participants and their wives, and the events leading up to the decision to embark on the journey. The men are clearly religious zealots in their quest to convert a community of people they consider “savages,” and their subservient wives, while supportive, are merely along for the ride. When all the men are brutally murdered by the Waorani, it is the wives who are left to comfort and raise their children, deal with the media and subsequent fallout of the failed mission, and grapple with their own doubt, grief, and emotions.
The book is certainly well-written and interesting, insofar as it tells a story that L had no previous knowledge about, but it is also an important book in how it confronts evangelism and colonialism and explores the consequences of trying to instill certain beliefs into others.
The men had certainly had deep convictions regarding their faith, but at what expense? What about the wives and children they left behind? Surely, they would have benefited from having their husbands and fathers around. The book raises many moral questions about the nature of these kinds of faith-based missions.
L’s verdict: Overall, Five Wives is certainly a thought-provoking book, and the author dedicates a lot of time to crafting the back stories of the men and their motivations--so much so that at times it was a bit challenging to keep the characters straight, and I found my attention flagging the deeper Thomas got into these character portraits. Nonetheless, it's a marvelously well-researched book for the careful, pensive reader.
Bingley’s verdict: L says that a good author keeps you thinking about what you read long after you finish the book, and she hasn’t been able to stop talking about this one! I’d say that makes Joan Thomas an excellent author—I’m just glad that dogs don’t have to worry about these deep moral issues!
Rating: 4.5/5
