The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall

Phenomenally told story of a polygamist family in the late 1970's. Golden Richards and his 4 wives and 28 children have the most awkward social dynamics EVER in this book, which walks a fine line between humor and tragedy, and lands safely at a kind of grace. Golden is a character I haven't seen before- he is not the oppressed wife, the forced-into-marriage teen, the outcast son- he is, in theory, the lion of the pride, but he is beset on all sides by familial obligations and financial responsibilities that take him further and further, physically and psychically, from home. He, improbably, even falls in love with yet another woman, causing further complications that leave the entire family wounded. This was so incredibly well done.