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Show Utah Arts Council Original Writing Competition 2008 Class F/Short Story 2nd Place F22-"The Bishop's Celestial Wife" The ironically titled short story, "The Bishop's Celestial Wife," is a raucous, full-steam- ahead, take-no-prisoners romp that still manages to plumb significant psychological and emotional depths. The story's teenage anti-hero, Levi -an Ogden, Utah, transplant originally from Truth and Consequence, Texas-finds it difficult to maintain the righteous life his Mormon aunt and uncle (with whom he has come to reside) expect him to live. Still, he tries to resist temptation. Despite his religious doubts and wry world view, he attempts to follow his bishop's suggestions "for avoiding temptation like playing yo-yo when I got the urge, or always going to the bathroom with the door open so I couldn't have privacy to defile my stuff." Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Levi, the bishop's antidotes to temptation are undermined by the bishop himself when he hires the randy young Priest to care for his yard, his swimming pool and, unintentionally, his young, attractive and very troubled wife. If the bishop undermines the antidote, Sister Hearthway, the bishop's celestial wife, entirely overwhelms them. A first person narrative, the story succeeds largely on Levi's wry intelligence and the credibility (and thus believability) he brings to the absurd world he struggles to navigate. The plotting is propellant, filled with suspense and anticipation despite the evolving action's inevitability. Levi and Sister Hearthway are complex, well-developed characters, though some of the other characters, the bishop included, seem more functionary and tread at times close to stereotype. A couple of things the author might think about: 1) This reader found the revelation on the first page that Levi and the bishop's wife had "done it" counter productive to the story's suspense. The first paragraph could remain much as it is (and continue to provide the intended hook) but might serve the story better without the spoiler. 2) By choosing to employ dialect, the author takes some real risks. Dialect is difficult to sustain. Nonetheless, this story does a pretty good job of it. A few times, however, the dialect seems to draw too much attention to itself, particularly in those instances when Levi entirely abandons proper usage. Because Levi is otherwise very articulate, those moments don't ring true to this reader. 3) Finally, not all of the Mormon |