Five Wives

By Joan Thomas,

Book cover of Five Wives

Book description

WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION

A GLOBE AND MAIL, CBC BOOKS, APPLE BOOKS, AND NOW TORONTO BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In the tradition of The Poisonwood Bible and State of Wonder, a novel set in the rainforest of Ecuador about five women left behind when…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Five Wives as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I grew up with the true story of the missionaries to an isolated Indigenous tribe in Ecuador who, in 1956, were killed by the people they’d come to help. I loved Five Wives because it’s an incisive but compassionate interrogation of a story from my own religious background, but you don’t need to be familiar with the source material to find it riveting. 

As a religiously fervent teen, I was inspired by the courage of the wives of these martyred men, who later returned to bring the gospel to their husbands’ murderers. As an ex-Christian adult, I was awed by…

Want books like Five Wives?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Five Wives.

Browse books like Five Wives

Book cover of The Vanishing Half
Book cover of Americanah
Book cover of Crossroads

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,546

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in missionary, presidential biography, and London?

Missionary 35 books
London 869 books