I Know This Much Is True

Rating:
Summary: Life comes full-circle in Wally Lamb's second novel.
Review: Wally Lamb's novel sheds light on paranoid schizophrenia, love, and family. If you have enough time to read this 900-page masterpiece, definitely do. It documents Dominick Birdsey's struggle to take care of his mentally ill twin brother, deal with his stepfather and find his real father. Funny and sad. A novel I would read again.

Rating:
Summary: Haven't finished yet.....
Review: Help!! I have really struggled through the first 300 pages of this book but because of the rave reviews and all of these 5 star ratings I don't want to give up. Can anyone give me some motivation to keep going? Did anyone here have a hard time getting "into" this book?

Rating:
Summary: A potentially good book that gets lost in the foul language.
Review: I really enjoyed Lamb's "She's Come Undone" which is why I picked up this book. However, I was very disappointed in the authur's excessive and gratuitous use of four letter words among other expletives. He is such a talented writer that I'm sure he would have a much more effective way to have his narrator communicate. The excessive use of foul language does not fit the character who is narrating the story nor does it propel the story line.

Rating:
Summary: A five star story that was 300 pages too long
Review: I found the second half of this book to be the most interesting. It took me days to get through the first half, but I zipped through the second half in just one. Just a few chapters into the book I knew exactly where it was going to end up - I thought it was somewhat predictable - but I truly did enjoy the second half of the book and watching how we got to that predictable conclusion. The most fascinating parts for me were the portions of the book where his grandfather's story and his own were interwoven. Even though the first half of the book set the stage for the second, I think it could have been streamlined. Unlike most of the other reviews, I enjoyed Lamb's first book a great deal. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this writer.

Rating:
Summary: The emotionally unavailable male revealed at last.
Review: I loved this book. As a male author, Wally Lamb amazed everyone when he revealed, so completely, a female character in "She's Come Undone." I think what he's done in "I Know This Much Is True" is even more remarkable for he has revealed the biggest enigma of all, the emotionally unavailable male. I'm from back east and of Italian American heritage. I grew up with many Dominick Birdsey's and I feel as though I understand them all a little bit better now. This is a remarkable book on so many levels and I anxiously await Wally Lamb's next book.

Rating:
Summary: The Second's Always the Best
Review: This book was so well written it was hard to put it down. I found myself getting into it a lot more than his first novel of the two, "She's Come Undone." Compared to "I know...", the first was boring and never ending it seemed. Read this novel, you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTE AND UNQUALIFIED JOY - READ THIS BOOK
Review: A very few times in my life, I have read a book that at some point struck me with this specific sadness: I WILL NEVER AGAIN HAVE THE JOY OF READING THIS BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME. This is one of those books. I read it on the subway every day during my daily commute and then long past my bedtime at night. When I finished the book, I was on the "6" train and I know my fellow commuters must have wondered what I was crying about. This book is SO powerful and true. I think that Wally Lamb will be remembered among the greatest American authors, and that 100 years from now, if there are still schools and books, this book will be taught. But more important than that, it will be READ 100 years from now. It is important, authentic, brilliantly and beautifully written and compulsively readable. READ THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: The best book I ever read
Review: I have read both this and She's Come Undone and I thought this was much better. I loved the translation of Thomas & Domenick's grandfather's life story. I think without this the story would have been left with big holes and it brought the story together. I finished it in two days and recommend it to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent reading from the first page on
Review: Well, let me be the first to say that I am a 100% Wally Lamvb fan. I find his reading to be amazingly insightful. I was first intimaidated by the length of the book, but after I read the first few pages, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book and in case you haven't read his other book, She's Come Undone, read that too....Especially all you women out there...

Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Insightful, and Mesmerizing
Review: This book is one of the best I've ever read. I didn't want to put it down and when I did, I couldn't keep the book out of my thoughts. Do not be put off by the size of the book. Like a friend that you are concerned for and care about, I only wish the book could've been longer. I read three to four books a week and many of them disappear from my memory. This book is one that I will always remember and has raised issues that will keep me thinking for a very long time.