I Know This Much Is True

Rating:
Summary: Sorry I read it.
Review: I tried hard to like this book. The premise was very intriguing, with limitless possibilities for profound insight into personality, mental illness, and family dynamics. Alas, it did not live up to the promise of its first pages. I simply could not warm to these characters. The dialogue was juvenile and artificial. How did a former high school teacher retain the ability to express himself only in obscenities? Dominick is the perfect poster-boy for sturm-and-drang arrested adolescence. There were long, pointless, rambling scenes in which nothing moved the plot forward or enlightened us about these ultimately two-dimensional characters. At the least, there was no need to write 800 pages to tell this story. (Where, oh where, was the editor?) Worst of all, Dominick's twin was a dumbed-down caricature of a schizophrenic, and this performs a vast disservice to people out there who truly are suffering from schizophrenia, and to the friends and family members who love them. Sorry, but this book gets a D-minus from me.

Rating:
Summary: Warning: Not for bedtime relaxation...
Review: ....Unless you enjoy going through somebody's mental health record for entertainment! Wally Lamb writes a well researched book on the mentally ill and the difficulties of being a twin. His skillful prose really lets readers feel the horrific anger that Dominick felt most of his life. However, after 900 pages of this exhausting recital, he hands us 30 pages or so of namby-pamby happy endings as a consolation prize, a sort of going away pat on the back, and thanks for sticking it through... This is really belittling to readers. If the central theme is forgiveness, then Mr. Lamb didn't give it a half hour's worth. Whom did Dominick finally forgive? Ray? His mother? Thomas? Dominico? What about the others who forgave him, like Ray, or Ralph, or Dessa? That's more of consequence to me than knowing that Leo got the general manager's job, or that Dominick and Dessa got back together. But then again, it's tough to wrap up that kind of ending in 30 pages.

Rating:
Summary: Writing style made this book torturous.
Review: I paid my money, so forced myself to wade through this "schlock". Subject matter should have made one care about these characters. It was downright silly. Trying to get Thomas out of Hatch was drawn out to the point of being ridiculous and I finally didn't care. This was one very predictable book. I could readily see the need for Mr. Lamb to run off in so many directions that you could scarcely keep track of them. SO VERY BORING. Wish there had been less than 1 star I could've given.

Rating:
Summary: What's the allure?
Review: I dutiflly plowed through all 900 or so pages of this book andjust do not understand why it is considered worthwhile. The book wasso full of unlikely and wholesale turmoil -- even including the improbable life of the dead grandfather (one brother killed for adultery, the other for falling off a roof while seeking to comfort his monkey-mistress) -- that after a while each plot "turn" just made me laugh. Consider this: if you described this book to someone who had not read it, what would he or she say to you? They'd say, I suspect, that it sounded like a bad Jerry Springer show. The ridiculous "plot" -- if any there was -- combined with the gratuitous adolescent descriptions of sex and needless profanity, made this book banal at best. The only redeeming feature was the Indian psychiatrist, who was a delight. For my two cents -- use your reading time of 900 pages on something more realistic or at least better written.

Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: This book was one of the best books I have ever read. The ending was perfect it wrapped everything up so nicely and furthermore it made you kind of disappointed that the end had already come. Everything was perfect and totally worked out! Thank you Wally Lamb for giving the world such a superb book! This is a must read for anyone who loves great literature. I commend you and hold you in the highest respect Mr. Lamb! I must read She's Come Undone now! Lamb has me hooked!

Rating:
Summary: I was compelled to finish it despite its weaknesses.
Review: Within this book of epic proportion is a deep and moving story that compelled me to pursue my reading to the very end. Had this novel's contents been edited more thoroughly, and the author's choice of words pertaining to sex been less course and adolescent, the book certainly would have had been 5 star. I often found myself skipping entire paragraphs, and at times pages, when reading papa's memoirs. Unfortunately, its weaknesses did interfere with my ability to truly cherish and enjoy the story. Do I feel like I have lost a friend now that its finished? No. I was a bit relieved.

Rating:
Summary: Wanted more from the ending...
Review: I found this book to be really engaging. It held my interest throughout, even when it was slower than I would have liked it to be. I became really wrapped up in the characters' lives, especially Dominick's, and enjoyed the excerpts from his grandfather's writings. I was, however, disappointed with the ending. The first 890 pages were alot to read only to come to an ending that was such a cop out. I was glad that Dominick and Dessa got back together, though that was pretty fairy tail-ish. The part that got me is that, by the end of the book, I thought that maybe it wasn't necessary for Dominick to discover who his real father was - especially since he and Ray had come full circle. Aside from my disappointment with the ending, I really thought this book was quality. Now that I'm done, I think I might go and read "She's Come Undone" again, since so many seem to have liked it better. As it stands now, I liked this one better.

Rating:
Summary: A book of so many intertwined lives!
Review: I loved this book! It is very clever the way Wally Lamb interweaves the lives of so many people. And the ending made me smile for days.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I started reading this book while browsing in a Montreal bookstore and couldn't leave without it! It was the best souvenir. The characters are so well written that you feel they're real. The story is so personal, it reads like an autobiography. Lamb is a gifted story-teller. I look forward to more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: A GOOD BOOK, WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!
Review: I thought this was a very good book. I think there could have been a little more to the ending but other than that it was excellent!