Rating: 
Summary: oy
Review: 885 pages of Murphy's Law death, tragedy, and angst. Throw in a silly wabbit (two, actually). 15 final pages of th-th-that's all folks--and you have this tedious mess.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful story
Review: I just finished reading 'I know this much is true' and I can't stop thinking about it. It was by far the best book I have ever read. For the past week I was racing through every page and I just couldnt put it down and my only dissapointment is that it is over. I still find myself picking it up and flipping through the parts which really moved me. I especially enjoyed reading Dominicks memories about Dessa. They were beautiful and showed the sensitive side of Dominick and the depth of his love for Dessa. The book was incredibly realistic and it's hard to imagine these characters as being purely fictional. Although some may argue that the ending was unbelievably perfect, I was actually hoping that things would turn out that way and was very pleased with the ending. Throughout the book you share Dominicks pain that at times it is too difficult to keep on reading. The ending got me out of the depression that is present throughout the book and I would not have been satisfied if the it had ended any other way. Once again this book is magnificant and worth reading. I have read hundreds of books but no book has ever touched me the way 'I know this much is true' has.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Browbeating
Review: For a 900 page book, this book offers far too much repetition, megatons of male anger & self-flagellation and too little resoultion. (How many times does the reader have to be told that the main character hates his stepfather? I gave up counting at 30.) The author spends over 800 pages telling us over and over again about what a mess the various characters have made of their lives and then gives us a Cliffnotes ending where everyone finds resolution, love and redemption in the last 26 pages. This book was recommended to me by someone with whom I've exchanged dozens of books over the years and, until now, enjoyed each book she's sent my way. If this book had been 200 pages long, I wouldn't have bothered to write this review. But at a voluminous 900 pages, this book offers too little for such a large expenditure of time.
Rating:
Summary: I Know This Much is True
Review: If you have plans fors the weekend, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Once you pick it up, nothing, I mean nothing gets done. This story of twins, one schizophrenic, one "normal" is absolutely riveting. Within the first few pages you are immersed in the saga of the Birdsey twins, Dominic and his brother. Lamb spares the reader no emotion as you travel through this family. Anger, grief, total rage, you get the entire rollercoaster! There were times when reading this novel I had to put it down and literally walk away because the events, as they unfolded, were just too much to bear. I recommend this book heartily, just clear the decks, unplug your phone, and turn off your beeper, and in the words of the great Bette Davis, "fasten your seat belts it's going to be a bumpy night (ride)!"
Rating:
Summary: Get into this one.
Review: This is the thoroughly, wonderfully engaging story of Dominick Birdsey, a likeable, complicated, rather angry man with a lot to deal with when we get to know him: a schizophrenic twin in crisis, loss of a child, a failed marriage, a career in limbo, and profoundly unresolved family relationships and history. Every character in this intricate novel (and there are many) is authentic, well-developed and interesting. Nothing about this story is shallow or careless. The novel has multiple and overlapping themes: twin-ness, fatherhood, cycles of destructon and rebuilding, and the long journey of seeking self. It's a heartfelt journey. This story sticks with you long after you've read it. I was sorry it ended.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: This book was pretty good. I enjoyed the fact that we got to delve into Dominick Birdsey's trials and tribulations both as a child and as an adult. The only problem is that there were just way too many bad things happening to him and thus, made it unbelievable. I know that sometimes these things happen (and believe me, I've had my fair share) BUT there were just too many. From abusive father, to schizophrenic twin, to wacko girlfriend, to suicide, it just got to be a bit much. The length was a bit much too. But I must say that Wally Lamb is an awesome writer and totally brings you into the character. TO make a character that in one way or another, everyone can relate to, makes it an easy read. Keep peeling out the books, Mr. Lamb!!
Rating:
Summary: I Know This Much Is True
Review: I have read hundreds (thousands?) of books. This one is BRILLIANT!. It is easily the most moving and profound book I have ever read. The characters are so real you feel for each and every one of them. Two things: I cant believe that it is not a true story, it is so real; secondly, I am frightened now to read another novel because everything else will pall and be so shallow when compared to this!
Rating:
Summary: A Long But Worthwhile Read
Review: When I first saw this book I felt a little overwhelmed. 900 pages, I've read longer but not recently so I was planning on reading this book for quite awhile. But that wasn't the case because when I picked up the book I couldn't put it down. You feel as if you become an actual Birdseye family member because you are there for the good times and the bad times. My only problem with the book was the ending. The 'and they lived happily ever after' just didn't fit in with the rest of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Here's something true: it's not worth it.
Review: This book is tells the story of an angry man with a terrible life, who tries to come to grips with it while it continues to crash down around him. If you think your life is bad, and want to read the misadventures of one who is truly damaged, read this book. My biased review follows. I don't understand why this book received so much praise from the reader community. Maybe people rated it so high in order to pat themselves on the back for actually finishing this opus minimus (maximus in size, minimus in content), or they are deluded by the Oprah recommendation to the extent that they become willing consumers of anything without discerning whether or not it is beneficial. More likely, people who disliked it probably put it down after 300 pages, determining it's not worth the effort. I fear they were correct. Let's examine this book at face value. It is about 400 pages too long. The hyperbolic nature of the content made it hard to digest. Although we could relate to the protagonist in our darkest hours, he is extremely unlikable--if you disagree, ask yourself whether you would want to hang out with Dominick. Finally, the author spares no detail in describing some fairly perverse obsessions of certain characters. In my opinion, an intelligent author who is truly skilled with the art can find more creative ways of expression. I haven't really decided if some of that was necessary. The only reason I finished this book was on hopes that Dominick would undergo some drastic change or conversion process wherein he disrobes all of his hatred and anger and begins to see the value of grace and forgiveness. Unfortunately, the reader must wait far too long for this development to partially manifest itself in his life. I realize that the book is about counseling and psychotherapy and Dominick's act of processing his past in an attempt to gain insight into and healing for his current pain. It is definitely a study of psychological growth. It's what Dominick fights the entire novel, and it is the testimony of his grandfather (his included autobiography was brutal and nearly unreadable). This is where I finally related to Dom. This is where Dom actually starts to see the reflection of himself in his despicable grandfather and uses it as a catalyst for his own metamorphosis. I was pleased that Dominick went through a growth process, but disappointed that we didn't get to see how his positive choices began to make his life more satisfactory and complete. Lamb's philosophy is also a point of concern. The characters of Thomas and Dominick represent traditional thought versus postmodernism, respectively. Lamb attempts to deconstruct traditional western philosophy by presenting it as hypocritical, non-rational, and impractical, while exalting a patchwork religion of eastern thought combined with Native American shamanism. (If you don't believe me, note the treatment of all characters that possess the respective beliefs.) Dominick's conclusion is hasty; Lamb, mercifully, does not expose us to another 900 pages of Dom's growth, but attempts to tidy things up by covering 6 or 7 years in the final 20 pages. He must have shared our sentiments about the ridiculous length of this story. So my assessment is this: Lamb uses hyperbole, some fairly graphic content, puts a few things in your mind that you were better off without, and rambles on for 900 pages to promote a false notion about the "roundness of things." If things are truly round, the next 40 years of Dom's life will look like the first 880 pages of the novel. That is true "roundness." Who would want that? Things aren't even round for Dom, for the direction of his life is dictated by his concrete, and linear choice to bury the past and forgive. Roundness philosophy just doesn't hold water. And to think, I waited 900 pages for this payoff. I feel cheated. Wally, I want my 15 hours back. I wish you would have cut 400 pages from the beginning and added 200 to the end. I have to reject this book on content and philosophical grounds. It is illusory to award this work five stars. I am also concerned that one would compare this work to a Dostoevsky classic. This work will live out its days on dusty corner shelves of used bookstores, forgotten in 10 years.
Rating:
Summary: I am waiting for Wally Lamb to write more..
Review: This was my second Lamb novel. I had already read "She's come undone", and I was looking forward to this book. Lamb has let the main character, Dominick Birdsey, a schoolteacher, later a house painter, from Three Rivers, Connecticut be the storyteller in his novel. As the story unfold, Dominick is a character we get to know quite well and we get fond of him. He is the kind of guy that means well.. but things just doesn't go his way all the time. Like when he wanted to complete his grandfathers' story and have it translated from Italian to English. He chooses (and pays up-front) a young woman that in the end runs off with the whole project. It is quite obvious that Wally Lamb has done his homework, researching well on the relationships of identical twins, the illness paranoid schizophrenia, SIDS, and more. Lamb has created an interesting mix of characters. This is a beautiful story with some interesting twists and it has an authentic believable dialogue between the characters. "I know this much is true" was so easy to read and so hard to put down. I can understand if you are questioning how a story of a [not very successful] divorced, lost, middle-aged, schoolteacher-turned-house painter, trying to find himself could possibly be the foundation for a 900+ pages of superb reading, but it is. This is a novel I would like to read again later. Highly recommended!
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