I Know This Much Is True: A Novel (P.S.) |
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| Title: | I Know This Much Is True: A Novel (P.S.) |
| Author: | Wally Lamb |
| Publisher: | Harper Perennial |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 01 April, 2008 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0061469084 / 9780061469084 |
| List Price: | $16.99 |
| You Save: | $4.76 |
| Amazon Price: | $12.23 |
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This book is also available, brand-new, from 3rd-party marketplace sellers at Amazon.com, from $7.96.
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
On the afternoon of October 12, 1990, my twin brother, Thomas, entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut, public library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemed acceptable. . . . One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.
Amazon.com Review
Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 1998: What if you were a 40-year-old housepainter, horrifically abused, emotionally unavailable, and your identical twin was a paranoid schizophrenic who believed in public self-mutilation? You'd either be a guest on the Jerry Springer Show or Dominick Birdsey, the antihero, narrator, and bad-juju magnet of I Know This Much Is True. Somewhere in the recesses of this hefty 912-page tome lurks an honest, moving account of one man's search, denial, and acceptance of self. This is no easy feat considering his grandfather seemed to take parenting tips from the SS and his grandmother was a possible teenage murderess, his stepfather a latent sadist, and his brother, Thomas, a politically motivated psychopath. Not one to break with tradition, Dominick continues the dysfunctional legacy with rape, a failed marriage, a nervous breakdown, SIDS, a car crash, and a racist conspiracy against a coworker--just to name a few. A stretch, both literally and figuratively from his Oprah-christened bestseller, She's Come Undone, Lamb's book ventures outside the confines of the tightly bound beach read and marathons through a detailed, neatly cataloged account of every familial travesty and personal failure one can endure. At its heart lies Freud's "return of the repressed": the more we try to deny who we are, the more we become what we fear. Lamb takes Freud's psychological abstraction to the realm of everyday living, packing his novel with tender, believable dialogue and thoughtful observation. --Rebekah Warren
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Customer Reviews:
• Identical Twin Gives A Big Thumbs Up!!!!
12 March, 2010
As a twin myself I found that Wally Lamb was so completely accurate when describing the bond regardless of the relationship in being a twin. I LOVE how he wrote the main character Dom as someone I greatly disliked throughout the entire story until he becomes more compassionate at the end. The story was well written and although it was a longer novel, you NEVER knew what kind of crazy drama would pop up next. This novel was completely random and I honestly love it!!! I did find most of his grandfathers memoir was long winded, and sometimes I wished it was shorter but it def had a purpose. All things aside this novel is def one of my favorites, and my twin sis absolutely loves it as well. I speak for both of us when we say ride on Wally!
- Amazon Customer Review
• Couldn't Finish It.
16 March, 2010
I'm usually not a quitter, but this book bored the heck out of me about 2/3rds of the way through and I just had to stop. It was sooooo slow and boring. I can't really think of anything good to say about it.
- Amazon Customer Review
• It Needs To Be Said
06 March, 2010
Some spoilers here, so watch out
Just finished this, and unfortunately, it has neither the ideas, characters or plot to sustain it for 900 pages. Yes, it's readable at this length, but a good strong editor needed to take Mr. Lamb to the woodshed on his drafts before allowing it to go to print. Give me I Know This Much Is True at 500 really good pages, and I think we've got something.
Structurally, I found the book to be a mess, with little rhyme or reason to how this was fit together. We find as we go that many of the historical passages are in deed sessions w/Dr. Patel, nevertheless, in a book with strong themes of parallelism, cyclicallism, repetition, his structure reinforces none of this. The book is all about pairs and trios, and yet there's no pairing or trioing in the structure. I guess this could be an homage to the schizophenia? but think that's a stretch. Also, the choice of first person narrative misses real opportunities to explore the other characters. Domenick simply isn't an interesting enough character to warrant 900 pages in his mind. Why can't we get in the head of Concetta, Dessa, Joy, Thad, Ray, etc? Lastly, the slapped on 10 hollywood-ending-pages aren't developed enough, don't seque from the rest of the novel, and seem as a result to be gratuitous attempt to make us feel good for slogging through this whole thing.
Plot wise, much of this is unnecessary. Do we need almost any of Thomas? Does he need to cut off his hand? Do I know more about schizophrenics than I did going in? Do I know more about treatment than I did going in? no, not really and no. So what's the point of Thomas' character? and can Mr. Lamb have not made the same points without his dedication to him? Similarly, do we need 100 pages of Domenico's treatise? The same impact could have been made with a max of 20 -- Mr. Lamb himself proved this fact with his more insightful discussion of Concetta and Henry's relationship, retold by Ray and Minnie.
Two other aggrevations -- There's no way Dominick is a high school history teacher. What about his character as a child suggests he would want to be a teacher? he has no compassion. He has no patience. He's stated to be smart, but this doesn't translate into his interactions in the book. Secondly, there's no way Ralph Drinkwater goes through his life thinking that Dominick knows that those two are related, and never says anything. They work together an entire summer, smoking, drinking, hanging out. He never says a word? Uncredible.
Lastly, and I can't decide if this is a flaw or an artistic choice by Mr. Lamb, and I've mentioned this above, but the characters are given certain traits in explanation -- either by themselves or others -- but they don't demonstrate these. Dominick never "carries" his brother, never sticks up for him, never defends his mother against Ray, yet constantly is lauded by himself and others for his dedication to these efforts. Ray is held up as a monster, again by Dominick, but except for one incident, never seems to cross the line. Dominick is described as smart, but never acts smart. Etc. Etc.
The parts I thought really worked were Dom and Dessa, Dom and Joy, Dom and Ray, Dom and Dr. Patel. Give me 400 to 500 pages of that, sprinkled with Ms. Calabash and Ms. Floon, Concetta and Domenico, and I think we've got something. At least I think that much is true.
- Amazon Customer Review
• Don't Get Intimidated By This Long Book
12 February, 2010
At first I was skeptical about this book because of the 897 pages of the paperback edition, and I kept putting off on buying it every time I see it. Although after a while I decided to go on and buy it already. As I was reading this novel, I was really entranced by it. I thought it would take me several weeks to finish it but instead I ended up finishing it in less than one week. It's definitely blissful, moving, and heartbreaking. In the beginning I thought it would just be about a schizophrenic twin brother, but the author adds more into the story, and as I read this novel, the author takes me into different paths of the story including Thomas' grandfather's journal (which was his grandfather's past life), and Thomas' & Dominick's past & present life. The book was not just concentrated on a single objective but it had multiples, including mental illness, brotherhood, confession, penance, family history, abuse, marriage failure, SIDS, and self-discovery. Don't be intimidated by the 897 pages of this book, it will be worth your while.
- Amazon Customer Review
• The Best Book I've Ever Read
14 February, 2010
Reeling from my own emotional trauma, I began reading this book in one of the deepest depressions of my life. I was absorbed by this book. I'd read and melt into the characters.
My own struggles seemed to pervade the characters of the book. I sat in amazement as Domenico fought against his pride, fear, and anger -- I had battled with my own. His past life haunted him -- as has mine.
By the last hundred-and-fifty pages of the book, I couldn't put down the book. I sat focused as the story comes together and apart.
A roller-coaster of emotions and an amazing introspective journey await -- buy this book!
- Amazon Customer Review
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