From the Publisher
"[A] truly weird and beautiful memoir about an insane-sounding guy who retraces the geographical territory of the Book of Mormon in order to prove that it, the Book of Mormon, is the Great American Novel. If you need America to be reënchanted for you this year—and, let’s face it, who doesn’t?—pick this one up; you won’t regret it." —Elif Batuman, The New Yorker
"A multilayered narrative that grapples with some of the most fundamental questions of literature and of life ... [A] book about books, a story about stories, that sets out to explore why we tell them, how we craft them, and what makes some stand the test of time while others are forgotten." —Chicago Tribune
"It is as if [Steinberg] has managed to find a way of telling a Faulkneresque family saga through the form of a perfect sitcom ... [W]ith its vivid, honest and often hilarious prose The Lost Book of Mormon does justice to an electric text." —The Believer
"A wonderfully thoughtful exploration of how The Book of Mormon itself is obsessed with the idea of stories being preserved to be passed on, and what that might tell us about Joseph Smith not just as a prophet, but as a writer. There’s something almost holy about the way Steinberg celebrates the humanity revealed by this book." —Salt Lake City Weekly
"Steinberg’s epic voyage is one born of admiration, and it never loses the thrill of discovery ... Steinberg gracefully navigates the tricky line between fan and voyeur." —The Boston Globe
"[Written] with real humor and honest self-reflection." —Pacific Standard
"[T]he story of a winsome, questing narrator’s search for what it means to be a writer ... Steinberg is a funny and smart guide." —The Salt Lake Tribune
"Avi Steinberg cuts no corners as he ranges from a Mexican military checkpoint to a pageant in upstate New York, to retrace the founding myths of Mormonism. The Lost Book of Mormon isn't just a good cheat sheet for curious non-Mormons (though it is that). It's a funny, humane, surprisingly moving account of a literary pilgrimage. All scripture should have it this good." —Kevin Roose, bestselling author of Young Money
"Without a doubt, The Lost Book of Mormon will soon have you buying more books: anything written by Avi Steinberg and, yeah, most likely, the actual Book of Mormon. Steinberg could write about what he did yesterday and it would be glorious." —Jacob Tomsky, New York Times bestselling author of Heads in Beds
"Steinberg's sardonic writing style is a delight ... Using Smith as a backdrop, this enjoyable read raises questions about what it means to be an author and what type of person becomes one. It will appeal to a variety of readers, particularly those that appreciate a biting wit." —Library Journal
Library Journal
10/15/2014
Straddling the line between literary commentary and personal memoir, Steinberg's (Running the Books) new book considers Joseph Smith—the American religious leader who founded Mormonism and wrote The Book of Mormon—as an author rather than a prophet. Steinberg explains how his fascination with the religious text, in which Smith traced a path to several spiritual areas throughout the world, led him on a journey from the streets of Jerusalem, where the work is extremely difficult to obtain, to Central America, where a Utah-based company offers historical tours to spiritual seekers. (Steinberg is an ardent nonbeliever.) This sojourn became an odyssey of sorts as the author's quest began to teach him as much about himself as about the book he was researching. VERDICT Steinberg's sardonic writing style is a delight; his descriptions of the varied cities he visited throughout his travelog point out the ridiculousness of situations without truly mocking them. Using Smith as a backdrop, this enjoyable read raises questions about what it means to be an author and what type of person becomes one. It will appeal to a variety of readers, particularly those that appreciate a biting wit.—Keri Youngstrand, Dickinson State Univ. Lib., ND
Kirkus Reviews
2014-08-12
A search for the roots of Mormonism. Steinberg (Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian, 2009), who is not a Mormon, admires The Book of Mormon and its translator and publisher, Joseph Smith. "Joseph's ambition to publish his bible," writes the author, "struck me as a refreshingly honest acknowledgment of what it means to be a writer, a regular Joe with an unreasonable faith in oneself and in literature." Steinberg sees the book as an exemplary tale "about writing books." Every few pages," he notes, "the story's various narrators describe to us how the writing of this book is going." Moreover, he considers it a prototype of "the big American literary project…to create America in words and deliver it to the people in a book as big and shameless and unruly and haunted and deeply problematic as the country itself." He admits, of course, that the book is a religious tract and Smith, a Mormon prophet, so to investigate "the difference between prophecy and fabrication, angels and inspiration, delusion and fact," he "set out on a journey through the exotic locales of this lost Great American Novel." Steinberg's travelogue is more about those locales and his personal trials and self-doubts than about theology. His marriage was doomed, he confesses, and he was worried about his writing career, which explains his eagerness to learn about writing from Smith. His journey took him to Jerusalem, where the sect began; Central America, where seminal events occurred; the Midwest, site of the real Garden of Eden; and Hill Cumorah, in New York, where Smith allegedly dug up the golden plates on which the book was inscribed. A mixed bag. Relating his occasionally amusing adventures in breezy slang, Steinberg seems to be vying for the same audience that has made Broadway's Book of Mormon such a huge hit.
