I Know This Much Is True

Rating:
Summary: Hooked from page one!
Review: Wally Lamb is a genius at threading stories. He embroiders them in such a way that there is no telling what the end product will look like. This book had more hairpin turns than the road from Reno to Lake Tahoe, and trust me, this road completely winds around the mountain in circular repetition. I could not put this book down. I devoured it for two weeks, even forgetting to eat for 14 hours at a time, and this 900+ page tome was delicious! I have never read any other book that kept me in as much suspense for that long a period. I hate when I can figure out what is going to happen in the first few chapters, and there was no chance of that with Lamb. It was like riding the best rollercoaster in the world. Emotions were palpable. The writing was nothing less than spectacular. I think though, that he could have skipped a lot of the gratuitous swearing, because it wasn't necessary. I am no prude, and I have a mouth on me, but I felt like that part of this book detracted from the experience a bit. That is my only criticism of this work. A sprinkling of cuss words would have been ample to get the young male point of view across. He dumped in the whole bottle here. Still, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I think that one has to appreciate the book for its magnificent meanderings rather than focus on the one negative. I liked this book so much that I bought a number of copies and gave them to friends. I am awed at Wally Lamb's talent, and as I write my own fiction and non-fiction, I hope I have at least a third of his talent.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I ever read in my entire life!
Review: All I can tell everyone is that this is the best book I have ever read. All I wanted to do is read this book. Just ask my husband! He couldn't wait till I finished this book so we could have time together again. I am a very good judge of books and I want to tell everyone to read this book. And Wally if you read this review could you please let me know when you are going to complete your next book because I am waiting patiently. Thanks Wally! Please write me at [e-mail] Wally.

Rating:
Summary: a good book
Review: like "She's Come Undone", this is an excellent book about human nature and one's struggle for self-discovery. Although a smooth read in general, it gets a bit tedious at some points probably due to its length.

Rating:
Summary: A sparkling, champagne bubble read.
Review: After the cracking "She's Come Undone", I eagerly anticipated Wally Lamb's next effort. I was not let down. I purchased this book on the day of it's release, and set straight into it. Since then, I have read it (cover to cover - no skipping of Dominico's story!) at least 6 times.

Wally Lamb's book is a masterpiece. In the era of the trash novel, he has written a work of literature which I am positive will go down in history as one of the finest works of literature of this era.

To live with a mental illness, and feel a half of yourself slip away is an experience that only other suffers can understand. Mr. Lamb has captured the chaos that exists in the quiet realm of the mind exquisitely.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. It speaks to the heart, the soul and the mind. Five stars are not enough for Mr. Lamb - I am convinced he will go down in history and deserves to stand alongside the literary greats.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down!
Review: I Know This Much is True is one of the best books I have ever read. 900 pages has never gone so fast! Each time you get to the next chapter, you won't want to stop. This is a truly unique story. You see Dominick grow and develop as a person, and how he copes with numerous difficulties. I have never found myself so wrapped up in a book that I have cried at the end...and this book did it for me! After reading She's Come Undone, I couldn't wait to read this book, and I am officially a Walley Lamb fan!

Rating:
Summary: An Emotional Roller-Coaster
Review: Like some other reviewers, I was initially a little gunshy about starting to read a 900-plus page book about a pair of twins, one of whom is a paranoid schizophrenic. However, the first chapter graps your attention and the next thing you know, you are halfway through the book and looking forward to coming home to it every night.

Lamb was woven a tapestry of characters who come alive and stay with you, not the glamorous models and young aggressive attorneys of most bestsellers these days, but real people. The book is narrated by Dominic Birdsey, a 40-ish housepainter and former teacher who feels a tremendous burden in caring for Thomas, his identical twin. Often told in flashback, the passages recounting school trips and summer jobs involving the two brothers are so vivid, and so heartwarming, they almost become your own memories.

Perhaps the most original portions of the book revolve around the long-hidden manuscript of Dominic's maternal grandfather, an Italian immigrant, which Dominic reads (as his world crumbles around him) to try and uncover clues regarding his family's past, and specifically regarding his own father's identity. This "book within a book" steals the show, with its coarse Italian style and the unmistakable bravado of the grandfather-narrator.

The novel is tied up almost a little too neatly at the end, as if Lamb saw the size of his manuscript and decided to quickly wrap things up. That's almost a testament to the enjoyment I had in reading the book, as I thought, after 912 pages, that it ended too quickly.

However, as the bibliography at the end makes clear, the author has clearly done his research regarding paranoid schizophrenia and the difficulties faced by caregivers. Many of the flashbacks are woven into the plot through Dominic's therapy sessions. What started out as a sad and moving tale of sickness and brotherly devotion ultimately turned into a novel of spiritual renewal and awakening. I give it a big thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: so what if the ending is happy?
Review: I liked this book and it really kept my attention-I read it in just a couple of days. I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed the "happy" ending some of the other readers hated. I read different books for different reasons - this one was for pleasure while at the beach. It served its purpose - sort of like a big unhealthy meal. I know it's not particularly "good" for me, but it left me satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: It took awhile, but I grew to love this book
Review: I am very much a fan of Mr. Lamb's first novel, "She's Come Undone", so when I heard about this, I ran to the bookstore.

It did take me some time to warm up to this, and there were parts where I thought I couldn't take it any longer, where I felt, that if I could only put it down I would be out of my misery...but the problem was, that I couldn't put it down...I wanted to find out how this horrifying and tiring ordeal that Dominick--the main character and the twin who is sane--has to go through ends.

When I finally did get to the ending, I was overjoyed, satisfied and even a little sad to see it end.

I believe Wally Lamb is a gifted writer, with a lot to say. I can't wait for the next one!

Rating:
Summary: A moving, believable soap opera!
Review: This book was a charming, moving adventure into the life of one dysfunctional but ultimately wholly genuine man. The most amazing thing about this story is that on the surface, everything about it is outlandish and bizarre, but Lamb makes it seem true and perfectly plausible. It's a book that I just couldn't put down, and I've heard the same from everyone I know who's read it. Recommended to anyone who wants a complex family drama to read and has at least a weekend free in which to do it.

Rating:
Summary: i know this much is true.
Review: 'i know this much is true' was given to me as a gift, a supposed gift of life, to teach me the things that i could not see with my own eyes and feel with my own heart. i first picked it up as an obligation, my gift to the friend who had passed this novel on to me. the nine-hundred pages frightened me, and i was constantly thinking "when will i ever find the time to read all this?!" however, once started, this book can never be put down. it is, as my friend referred, the kind of book that swallows you whole. dominick birdsey becomes you, and all of the characters that create his lifestyle become the people that create yours. his pain becomes your pain. never have i grieved, loved and remembered a story such as i did 'i know this much is true'. at seventeen years, i can hardly relate to dominck's experiences. i think that perhaps i have known what it is to love, and have experienced several great losses, and at a young age, i have been confused about the direction of my life. however, wally lamb puts everything into a perspective that (once all of your tears have tried) gives only hope and faith. he reminds the reader of the smallest beautiful things in the world. i have read the book many times through, and loved it more and more each time. never in my life will i experience a piece of literature that will move me in the way 'i know this much is true' has. i too, have recommended it to several friends, and all have come back to thank me for it. this book is irreplaceable, truly the best piece of literature ever written.