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Levi S. Peterson
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The Backslider Paperback – January 1, 1990

by Levi S. Peterson (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 40 ratings
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"Recognized as a Mormon classic twenty 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 proven controversial among readers, who interpret it either as an extreme impiety or as a moving and entirely plausible rendering of a biblical theme in a western setting."--
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Signature Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1990
  5. Dimensions
    4.5 x 1 x 7.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1560850159
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1560850151
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Provocative, entertaining, illuminating ... and deeply gratifying." -- Dialogue

About the Author

LEVI S. PETERSON, professor of English at Weber State University, is the author of Aspen Marooney, The Backslider, The Canyons of Grace: Stories, Juanita Brooks: Mormon Woman Historian, and Night Soil: New Stories. He is the editor of Greening Wheat: Fifteen Mormon Short Stories and a contributor to Bright Angels and Familiars: Contemporary Mormon Stories, A Literary History of the American West, Multiply and Replenish: Mormon Essays on Sex and Family, Tending the Garden: Essays on Mormon Literature, Where Coyotes Howl and Wind Blows Free: Growing Up in the West, and The Wilderness of Faith: Essays on Contemporary Mormon Thought. He has received Best Book and Best Short Story awards from the Association for Mormon Letters, the BYU Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature, the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies (USU), and the Utah Arts Council.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signature Books; 2nd edition (January 1, 1990)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1560850159
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1560850151
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.5 x 1 x 7.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 40 ratings

About the author

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Levi S. Peterson

Levi S. Peterson

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
40 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ges
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic that deserves more attention
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024
I lived in the community that this novel was based in and its portrayal of the place and time rings true. While its focus is on Mormonism, the conflicts of conscience that are depicted could fit with almost any religion. Insightful, funny and tragic.
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larry
5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2015
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Great book! i`ve lived in utah for 45 years, the book shows that the mormons are sometimes like real people.
3 people found this helpful
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Rocio Rosell
5.0 out of 5 stars ... as a Christmas present for my husband and he loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Bought as a Christmas present for my husband and he loved it!
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SunDevil98370
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
Great book. May be a little racy for some tastes, but I think that's kind of the point. Highly recommend it.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2015
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Enjoyed
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susannah eanes
5.0 out of 5 stars a sweet, intelligent novel deserving of wider exposure
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2006
i love this book, it is one of my favorite novels of all time. because of the regional emphasis i believe it has been vastly overlooked by mainstream america, but if more people were aware of it, it would be a bestseller. honestly.

although it is a book about a young man coming of age in the mormon world, it isn't what you think. it explores the basic tenets of faith in a very gnostic way. i am one of those people who actually believes mormonism should probably be classified as a cult rather than a religion, and yet i still believe the struggles of this man to find his faith mirror those of any searcher who is looking for authentic truth in christianity itself.

powerful characters, timeless wisdom, honest passion, and hey, it's even uproariously funny in places.

no spoilers for me, just read the book. you'll be glad you did.
10 people found this helpful
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Isaac Cohen
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story about a character and a culture
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2000
The Backslider is not a light temptation story with a hero who gives in at first and then repents with complete success. Rather, like many great works, it presents a hero who succumbs, first denies his actions to himsef and others, and then repents, only to succumb again. The Blackslider tells the story of a simple, well-meaning Mormon cowboy who can barely keep his pants on and head together. Neither very attracted nor committed to his Lutheran girlfriend, he finds himself well on the way to marriage and all sorts of other obligations to her. Meanwhile, his family encounters much hardship with a brother and his mental illness.
The novel's themes of temptation, redemption, religious hypocrisy and cultural pressures are convincing. Neither preachy nor prim in description, the Backslider has an earthy quality that draws the reader in.
Probably a racy story for the average Mormon reader, the Backslider is also somewhat disappointing for the non-Mormon reader as the conclusion includes a seemingly obligatory conversion, thus maintaining the traditional and official Mormon worldview in an otherwise spirited and intrepid narrative. Sigh. But given that this is the premise of the book anyway, and given that the conversion comes across as sympathetic, general readers might do best to suspend judgment on that front and appreciate the book's ultimate visions of faith and love, which are original and very moving indeed.
14 people found this helpful
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R. W. Rasband
5.0 out of 5 stars A Landmark In Mormon Fiction
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2000
This is a legitimate contender for the title of "The Great Mormon Novel" (if there is such a thing.) It's a comedy of the most profound order. A young LDS cowboy in the 1950's wrestles with guilt, especially that of a sexual nature, although ironically he has very little to feel guilty about. His struggles lead him to one of the great epiphanies of recent fiction--the "Cowboy Jesus." Some Mormon critics see this figure as blasphemous; other see him as quintessentially LDS (I think this scene is one of the most touching things I have ever read.) This novel established Peterson as one of the foremost Mormon writers, and one of the most shamefully neglected American fiction authors. He should be at least as famous as any yuppie Montana writer.
18 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Duels
5.0 out of 5 stars Yep
Reviewed in Australia on September 23, 2015
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Loving the Cowboy Jesus
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