I Know This Much Is True

Rating:
Summary: A enjoyable book!
Review: Enjoy this book very much. I don't know if it was because Wally Lamb seem to write alot about the past in our area. Example: Dailatone was a place in Waterford Ct back in the early 70's. The Shabo was a place in Willimantic Ct. ect.... It just brought back alot of good times for me. I felt like I was put back in time as he describes they places very well. It was great!

Rating:
Summary: Editor needed.
Review: While I found this to be a good read and Wally Lamb to be an excellent writer, the book could have used a good editor. The parts that I thought I would hate, like Dominick Tempesta's memoirs, turned out to be my favorites. Good story.

Rating:
Summary: amazing,very powerful
Review: I Know This Much Is True, not only took me by surprise,but completely absorbed any thought of mine,whilst reading it from cover to cover.Rarely have I read such a compassionate,powerful,and emmotive novel,that explores thoroughly the dynamics and structure of human relationships,and in turn the insecurities that inevitably develop.Wally Lamb,accurately,and importantly addresses issues that so often others shy from.Definately this is an extraordianry book,that everyone should treat themselves to.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST BOOK EVER
Review: I THINK THIS IS ONE BOOK THAT WAS WRITTEN TO KEEP PEOPLE SUCH AS MYSELF AWAKE ALL NIGHT FOR DAYS. IT WAS VERY INTERESTING, NOT JUST HERE AND THERE BUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH, I HAVE SMALL CHILDREN SO THE ONLY TIME I CAN READ IS AT NIGHT, AND LET ME TELL YOU, IT SURE WAS WORTH IT. I ENJOYED IT SO MUCH THAT I HATED FOR IT TO END.

Rating:
Summary: It made me laugh, it made me cry.
Review: I can hardly describe in words the way I felt when I read this book. I couldn't help but laugh and cry at certain parts. The struggle of the characters is so real, I had to check the cover, a million times over, just to double check it wasn't a true story. This is a book that I will keep forever. I can't wait for Wally Lamb to write a third novel.

Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT PAGE TURNER
Review: This was one of the best books I've ever read. Although, I loved She's Come Undone, I enjoyed this story more because every lose end was wrapped up. I seriously could not put this book down, and don't think you will be able to either. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A hall of mirrors and bla, bla, bla...
Review: Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is way too long for what little has to say. As in his previous book, Mr. Lamb burdens his characters with so much dysfunctionality --paranoid schizophrenia, self-mutilation, rape, suicide, murder, spousal abuse, child abuse, SIDS, AIDS, amputations or just plain brutality-- that the plot becomes instantly unbelievable. And if that wasn't enough, the novel is a paradigm of stereotypical characterization. Italians, Jews, Greeks, Native Americans, lesbians, car salesmen, nobody is spared. The one-sided point of view of the narration, allows for one and only one character to have some volume, that of the narrator, a whiner who can't see past his belly button except for some short-lived pangs of self doubt. The rest of the characters go through the novel like a parade of cardboard figures. Few times is the reader allowed to have direct contact with the rest of the characters. Consequently, we are left wondering how the story would have been perceived and narrated by the ex-wife and/or the narrator's twin brother, the only characters that show some potential. But, Mr Lamb very conveniently silence them by making them absent (the wife) and mentally ill and dead (the twin brother). In the area of literary devices, Mr Lamb uses and abuses "coincidence" and "parallel" to such a degree that it becomes insulting to the intelligence of a minimally critical reader. His is, in his own words, "a hall of mirrors" (sic) where everyone and everything has its double. As for the book-within-the-book, its location in the second half of the novel is the only enticement for the reader to continue reading in the hope that some crucial truths will be revealed to give the story of the family reasonable historical depth. Instead, it's nothing more than a self serving confession of brutality and arrogance with unnecesary side-stories that don't contribute much to the advancement of the plot. Towards the end of the book, Mr Lamb seems to have lost interest in his characters and their lives. In contrast to the slow pace of the first 850 or so pages, the action is hastily pushed forward. Mr. Lamb carefully ties all the loose ends, punishes the sinners, pardons those that are good in the inside but crusty on the outside and rewards those that have been unfairly beaten by life or society. In an incredible twist of events, the protagonist is reunited with some long lost relatives that restore his sense of belonging, make him feel whole and wealthy to boot. All the characters that are still alive are assembled on some kind of Walt Dysney picture perfect stage, they all figuratively hold hands and walk into the horizon to live happily ever after. In my opinion the only redeeming points of this book are Mr Lamb's attempts at portraying the unique bond that exists between twins and his ability to capture the nuances of coloquial discourse. Other than that this is another sub-product of the Oprah-ification of our society and our culture.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I read this book in 4 days...a definite page-turner! Lamb's writing is extraordinary and the story...the story is facinating! Never a slow or dull moment in all 900 and some-odd pages! That, to me, is amazing. You will come to care about the characters very early in the novel. This is a must read!

Rating:
Summary: THEE most profound stories I have ever read.
Review: I didn't know how he could top She's Come Undone but he did with I Know This Much is True. I didn't want the book to end. I cannot express how moved I am. Congratulations, Mr. Lamb, and I send you my heartfelt thanks for your creation! I have not enjoyed a book so much since Prince of Tides. Write another one real soon! I await your next work with great anticipation.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating and Delicious
Review: This was my first exposure to Lamb and it was well worth the fear of approaching its 900 pages: filled with unique, well-drawn characters, woven into a cogent, memorable tale.

I'll have trouble finding a next book as engrossing as this is!