The Backslider

By: Levi S. Peterson

Narrated by: Charles Kahlenberg

Recognized as a Mormon classic 20 years after its release, The Backslider features longstanding Christian conflicts played out in a scenic, sparsely populated area of Southern Utah.

A young ranch hand, Frank Windham, conceives of God as an implacable enemy of human appetite. He is a dedicated sinner until family tragedy catapults him into an arcane form of penitence preached among frontier Mormons. He is saved by an epiphany that has proved controversial among readers, either interpreting it as an extreme impiety or celebrating it as a moving and entirely plausible rendering of a biblical theme in a Western setting.

Frank comes into contact with a host of rural and urban characters. Of central importance is his Lutheran girlfriend, Marianne, whom Frank seduces, begrudgingly marries, and eventually loves. Frank’s extended family is just a generation removed from polygamy and still energized by old-time grudges and deprivations.

Along the way, Frank encounters a closeted secular humanist, a polygamist prophet, a psychiatrist, a mason, government employees, college professors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs - all drawn with heightened realism reminiscent of Charles Dickens or the grotesque forms of William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor.

The story engages listeners as it alternates almost imperceptibly between Frank’s naive consciousness and the more informed awareness of its narrator. It can be listened to as a love story, a satiric comedy, or a dark and sobering study of self-mutilation. Shifting from one to another, it builds suspense and elicits complex emotions, among them a profound sense of compassion. More joyous than cynical, it sympathizes deeply with the plight of all of God’s backsliders.

©1986, 1990, 2009, 2012 Signature Books Publishing (P)2019 Signature Books Publishing

Struggle and perseverance in 1950's Utah

Honest and at times risque novel about a young man's coming to terms with his family, his faith and his community and finally with himself. Beautifully written and read in a vernacular that rang true to the time period. Story is not preachy - this book is not trying to convert anyone. Touches on the dangers of absolutism - either in the rejection of religion or the more fanatical adherence to the strictures imposed by it. I am not a member of the LDS but have gotten to know and to admire many members since moving to Utah for work. Seeing what this more strict Mormon faith was like in 1950's was particularly fascinating. Story itself was of a similar vein to Pat Conroy or Brady Udall or Wallace Stegner (in both quality and subject matter)- fine company to be in. This was a hidden gem. Highly recommended.

I do wish the title art didn't make it look like a romance novel though...

Someone PLEASE change the book cover!

This is a fabulously written and performed novel relating Mormon 1950’s mindset drama. The character perceptions, oddly enough, still play out today. It gave me a good chuckle quite a few times. The cover art makes it look like a soft porn cowboy romance. So weird!?

Relatable

Growing up LDS, this book really made me laugh about the way we all manage to let guilt and shame ruin some of the best parts of our lives.