I Know This Much Is True

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Summary: 901 pages!!!!!!!!!!
Review: First of all this story could've been condensed into 200 pages. Alot of chapters should've been avoided. I also thought it had alot of exagerated situations.

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Summary: I Know This Much is True: one amazing book
Review: I know this much is true I will never forget this book nor the images and thoughts it left with me. First off I will tell you that I am not a big reader of the Oprah books, in fact this is only the second one I've ever read, so it was not Oprah's name that led me to this book, but rather a good friend who recommend it. I will also tell you that I'm an 18 year old male and yet I was moved and could relate to the characters in this book.

This is the story of twins, one who is mentally ill, I won't go into all the details I'm sure all the other reviews do that as does Amazon.com's description. But I will tell you that this book will make you think on so many issues it's truly a masterpiece. The book challenges you on so many things, like loyalty, god, forgiveness, and most importantly the bonds we have with our family. What makes a family? What makes that bond so strong? How far would you go for your brother? Would you forfit your happiness, your life, your everything for him?

The size of this book may have some effect on people, but don't worry, this is the longest book I've ever read and yet I read it quicker than many other much shorter books. It moves you like a lightening across the page.

You will get lost in this tale but in the end you will find a part of you. Partly quoting the book you will find yourself in the woods but you will find a way out, and that journey is priceless, go buy this book

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Summary: Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Wally Lamb has done it again! He has written an indepth page- turner that I hated to end. I cannot wait for his next novel... keep writing fast, Wally!!

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Summary: A book with an ending!!
Review: I loved this book. One of the main reasons is because the author actually gives you an ending. I hate a book that is left open ended and you are left to wonder what happened to the characters. After reading nearly 900 pages I was happy to learn what happened to everyone instead of having it left to the imagination. Bravo!!!

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Summary: A wonderful read
Review: Despite Oprah's endorsement, this book is not very chicky or new age or many of the other characteristics that Oprah's recommendations usually carry. It is the story of a pitiable man, Dominick Birdsey, and his life and relationships with all of the characters who surround him-a schizophrenic brother, abusive step-father, insightful mental health workers, an ex-wife, sleazy car-salesman/best friend, and others. Most of the story has Dominic fighting for his twin brother, who is institutionalized and can not fend for himself, despite his inner turmoil and anger about the circumstances in which he was raised. The book is very contemporary, has wonderfully created "real" characters, and anyone can relate to the people and the situations in this novel. It is very readable despite the length, and while I was disappointed in the last 35 pages, as a good book turned into a neatly sewn up fairy tale, I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in reading a very revealing book that will make them think a lot about themselves, their relationships, and what they are doing with their lives (don't worry it is not a self-help book by any means, these are merely byproducts of the story).

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Summary: Dominick shows how to pick up the shattered pieces of live
Review: It took me a while to finish this book and there were some chapters that I couldn't wait to pass by, because, as one of the reviewers here mentioned- it is not a quick read. I don't feel like I'm giving away much of the story since it's in the summary, but it was hard reading Domenico Tempesta's autobiography. He was a misogynistic ...who felt he was "a chosen one" where others must follow his example. I almost hated this book when I read his autobiography. I think the author meant for it to be this way. But the reason this book fascinates me the most is that I (and others)could reflect on it. When everything in this world brings you down and you are angry at the world, Dominick shows that it is possible to pick up the shattered pieces of your life. Let go of your hate and break down the walls of your emotional barriers. He learns not to hate his grandfather or stepfather. Accept them (even start loving them) and learn from their mistakes. Do NOT in any circumstances turn into them; which was the path he was going down in the first place. Since I am also a twin this book had that significance that comes with being a twin. Dominick's other half, Thomas needs to be cared for and I admired how much Dominick stood up for his brother till the bitter end. I strongly recommend this book. It will NOT be a quick read but in it are some lessons we can learn. Extremely heartwarming.

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Summary: paralells
Review: initialy, i bought this book becouse of my father and brothers mental illness. perhaps i could better understand if i had anothers experences to examine. i actually found the charactors attempt to deal with his brothers illness and life in general very much like my own. its a gripping novel written by a talented witer.and even though i found no eppiphanys, im comforted that others, in fact, have dealt with these things, and survived. ability to convey such devistation is a great talent, and wally lamb is just that.

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Summary: Epic and Miserable and Gratifying
Review: This novel is like a trip into a mine shaft. It takes you down, down, down, farther than you'd ever think possible, into the narrator's somewhat depressing and pitiable life. Down past a schizophrenic yet Christian pacifist identical twin, down past a failed marriage to a still unrequited love, down past an adolescence filled with the guilt of participation in racism and sexism, down past a shy, mysterious mother, a cold stepfater, and a quasi-psychotic girlfriend. Once you're down at the bottom, along with the hero, you are somehow, in a jarring, confusing, and eminently satisfying literary treat, brought back up by a mysoginistic grandfather and his almost comically ridiculous life story. It sounds, even as I write this having read the book, like it's too much, like it doesn't and can't make sense. But after finishing all 900-odd pages, you'll see the sense and you'll understand the story and you'll scream to read it again.

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Summary: Great book--Disappointing Finish
Review: This book was a great document of healing the past, a work of "poesis," of "making better" the lives in the past that we have lived (survived). It uses the therapist tradition ala Scott Peck, or the old novel, "Ordinary People," or the novel, The Manticore by Robinson Jeffries, (or a thousand others), and it employs the hero of mysterious birth archetype. It does a wonderful job of delivering a fully developed central character. The female characters are much less developed.

The story ameliorates, over the course of the novel, the deep resentments and anger of Dominick Birdsey--a twin whose brother functions as a symbol of his other self/unconscious, who is mentally dis-eased. The novel is wonderful until the last 35 pages or so, when Mr. Lamb turns the whole thing into a Disney finale. Dominick Birdsey becomes so mentally healthy(and PC) that he not only becomes a poster child for Oprah--he actually becomes Oprah!! Plus he suddenly becomes a member of an oppressed minority (although he never experienced any oppression personally) and is turned into a millionaire with one sentance. (Although the source of his new money is politically suspect.) On top of it all, he gets the girl. Well, it's way too sweet for the initial challenges Dominick suffers during the preceding 850 pages, and therefore disappointing. I think if Mr. Lamb had left Dominick in ordinary circumstances, but with the added understanding of the process of reflection and forgiveness that the book is actually about, that that would have been a much more satisfying end.

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Summary: totally compelling read
Review: I was thoroughly engrossed by this book. This is an extremely compassionate, insightful book. I was slightly letdown in the last 100 pages as the book moved swiftly ( a bit too neat and clean in my opinion ) to bring the various threads to resolution. Wally lamb is a superb writer with a great deal of insight into the interior lives of people.