''The Scholar of Moab'' is a 2011

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

written by

Steven L. Peck Steven L. Peck (born July 25, 1957) is an evolutionary biologist, poet, and novelist. His literary work is influential in Mormon literature circles. He is a professor of biology at Brigham Young University (BYU). He grew up in Moab, Utah and live ...

. Considered an important work of

Mormon fiction Mormon fiction is generally fiction by or about members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), who are also referred to as Latter-day Saints or Mormons. Its history is commonly divided into four sections as first organiz ...

, it explores themes of

belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

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Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

, and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

through the use of

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and an unreliable first-person narrative. The novel has been recognized by the

Association for Mormon Letters The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to "foster scholarly and creative work in Mormon letters and to promote fellowship among scholars and writers of Mormon literature." Other stated purposes have inc ...

and ''

By Common Consent ''By Common Consent'' (BCC) is a group blog featuring commentary and discussion especially of Culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, thought and current events. It was founded in 2004, and is one of several blogs in the g ...

.''

Overview

The plot of ''The Scholar of Moab'' centers on Hyrum Thayne, a high-school dropout from

Moab, Utah Moab () is the largest city and county seat of Grand County in eastern Utah in the western United States, known for its dramatic scenery. The population was 5,366 at the 2020 census. Moab attracts many tourists annually, mostly visitors to th ...

. Considered an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unrel ...

, Thayne works for the United States Geological Survey and longs be a scientist and a scholar, but displays little understanding of what scientific inquiry entails. Thayne is poorly educated, and his writing features frequent misspellings. The book is told from four points of view: Thayne, poet and mistress Dora Daphne Tanner, conjoined twins William and Edward Babcock, and a frame narrator known as the "Redactor." Some sections have characteristics of mysticism and magic realism. Over time, 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. Critics have characterized Thayne as an

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

Critical reception

''The Scholar of Moab'' is cited as an example of Mormon literature. It was included in ''By Common Consent'''s essential readings in Mormonism and received the 2011 AML Award for best novel from the

. Rosalynde Welch, writing for ''Dialogue,'' called the novel "a wonderfully strange, deeply philosophical narrative that interrogates the nature of the first person" while drawing on Mormon traditions of diaries and regionalism. In 2017 also for ''Dialogue,'' Shane R. Peterson stated that with ''The Scholar of Moab'' and ''A Short Stay in Hell'', Peck "moved the ormon Literaturegenre into the twenty-first century because of his willingness to push boundaries, embrace the unorthodox, and explore difficult themes."

References

External links

Publisher website
*

on Deseret News
The Scholar of Moab review
on ''By Common Consent'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholar of Moab 2011 American novels Mormon fiction

Overview

Critical reception

See also

References

External links