The Scholar of Moab

The Scholar of Moab is a 2011 American novel written by Steven L. Peck. Considered an important work of Mormon fiction, it explores themes of belief, faith, science, Mormonism, superstition, and mysticism through the use of satire and an unreliable first-person narrative. Since its publication, the novel received generally positive reviews, and was recognized by organizations including the Association for Mormon Letters and By Common Consent.

The Scholar of Moab
Book Cover
AuthorSteven L. Peck
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreBlack comedy, Fiction, Mormon fiction, Satire
PublishedDecember 2011 (Torrey House Press)[1]
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages302 [1]
ISBN978-1-937226-02-2 [1]
Website

Overview

The plot of The Scholar of Moab centers on Hyrum Thayne, a colorful character from Moab, Utah. Thayne, a high school dropout and an often unreliable narrator,[2] works for the United States Geological Survey, but longs be a scientist and a scholar, despite displaying little understanding of what scientific inquiry entails. Thayne is poorly educated, and his writing features frequent misspellings.[3]

The book is told from four points of view: Thayne's broken writing, poet and mistress Dora Daphne Tanner, conjoined twins William and Edward Babcock, and a frame narrator known as the "Redactor."[4][2] Some sections have characteristics of mysticism and magic realism.[2]

Throughout the book, Thayne becomes morally corrupt and begins to produce fictional stories which are believed by the superstitious Moab community. He comes to believe that his flaws are preventing him from becoming the scholar that he wants to be.[3] Critics have characterized Thayne as an antihero.[3]

Critical reception

The Scholar of Moab was part of By Common Consent's essential readings in Mormonism[5] and is read in at least one course on Mormon literature.[6] Rosalynde Welch, writing in Dialogue, called it "a wonderfully strange, deeply philosophical narrative that interrogates the nature of the first person" while drawing on Mormon traditions of diaries and regionalism.[7] In 2017 also for Dialogue, Shane R. Peterson stated that with The Scholar of Moab and A Short Stay in Hell, Peck "moved the [Mormon Literature] genre into the twenty-first century because of his willingness to push boundaries, embrace the unorthodox, and explore difficult themes."[8]

The novel received the 2011 AML Award for best novel from the Association for Mormon Letters.[4]

See also

References
  1. "The Scholar of Moab". torrey-house-press. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  2. Miner, Shelah M; Clark, David M; Harrell, Jack; Peck, Steven L (2012). "The Death of a Disco Dancer; A Sense of Order and Other Stories; The Scholar of Moab". BYU Studies Quarterly. 51 (3): 12.
  3. Hales, Scott (2015). "Steven L. Peck, The Scholar of Moab and A Short Stay in Hell". Mormon Studies Review. 2 (1): 23.
  4. "AML Awards 2011". Dawning of a Brighter Day. Association for Mormon Letters. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  5. Park, Benjamin (9 May 2013). ""What Books Should I Read?": Essential Readings in Mormonism for Every Member". By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  6. Miner, Shelah (7 July 2016). "Teaching Mormon Literature". associationmormonletters.org. Association for Mormon Letters. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  7. Welch, Rosalynde (2012). "Faith and Doubt in the First-Person Singular" (PDF). Dialogue. 45 (4): 158. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. "Review: On Apple Seeds, Rats, and the State of Mormon Literature Steven L. Peck. Gilda Trillim: Shepherdess of Rats". Dialogue Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
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