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mamatk's review
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Alcohol, Addiction, and Death of parent
vanesst's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide
Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism, Car accident, Incest, Homophobia, Confinement, Alcohol, and Genocide
cheryl1213's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I read this rather quickly considering its length. There were certainly moments that dragged but it really did hold me. I'm absolutely one who favors character to plot (i.e., I can love a book with little action if it has great characters and makes them feel real), but this actually balances character and plot quite well. I think that broadens its appeal, although it certainly requires a reader who is willing to tackle a thick book!
I'd call it a family epic. There's a lot going on, but i think it really focuses on how we build our understanding of our selves, including how our past impacts our present and how much is all-but-preordained from birth (or even before). Lamb's narrator seems to be crafted as a vessel for asking these questions -- an identical twin who seems to have avoided/evaded a biological/genetic lottery that left his twin with schizophrenia but is doing penance by taking on his brother's care and whose complex childhood and adolescence led to an adult world marked by loss and a lot of bad luck.
Lamb does a great job of integrating several timelines (before doing so seemed to become almost the default) and even a "book within a book" (the narrator's grandfather's memoir). He hits you over the head with some things, including the similarities bw the narrator and his grandfather (he recognizes the grandfather's self-aggrandizing tendency but not his own), but that same factor probably helped make it relatively easy to keep the characters and plot points straight (I struggle with that in a lot of books so it's notable that I didn't have trouble here). There are some really interesting characters in there, including the narrator's closest friend and his ex-wife.
This one has been in my collection for some 20 years. The age needs to be kept in mind at times...in the grand scheme of things, it's contemporary literature, but there certainly have been changes in the world since then even putting aside things like answering machines. (It was particularly interesting to spot a story point on 9.11.1901!) It might be harder to read if you don't have a working memory of life in the 1990s...I wouldn't necessarily call it dated, but at times it seemed to presume a present-day reader (that may be true for most novels and it may simply be that I didnt approach it with the same mentality that i might had it been written in the 1890s).
A few things could have been cut (pretty much all of Joy's story made me want to skip ahead) and i prefer a less tidy ending ... I appreciated some answers but other parts felt quite random and uneccessary ... but if you're willing to invest the time, it's a rewarding read. It isn't a thriller or a mystery but there's enough plot to give it broad appeal.
If you like to have content warnings, I'd look for a review that's a bit better than I am at such things. There could be a lot of triggers in here....
Graphic: Self harm, Alcohol, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, War, Cancer, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
lynnad's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, and Domestic abuse
lets_book's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Outing, Colonisation, Misogyny, and Bullying
Minor: War, Death of parent, Incest, and Infidelity
bethvance's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Sexism, Bullying, Suicide, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Incest
raincloud's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Cancer, Colonisation, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Classism, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, War, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
noitsbecky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What I enjoyed:
This is my first Wally Lamb book, but it won't be my last. He's an incredibly gifted writer. To write a 900 page book that kept my attention all the way through is really a talent. To write a book about a character that is SO unforgivingly everything I despise about baby boomers that I didn't hate, frankly, is astounding. (Don't @ me, I'm not sorry.) The protagonist, Dominick, is so real to me. I rooted for him while simultaneously thinking he was the worst. He was a complex and very flawed character, a real person. All the characters were so well written.
This was a HARD read. Reading this wrecked me. I won't be able to read it again. But not in the way that books usually wreck me. It was DIFFICULT to read about the onset and progression and ultimate extremes of Thomas' schizophrenia. And coming from a home where a close family member deals with very untreated mental illness, it hurt. It was so so hard to read the anger and resentment and burden that Dominick felt about caring for Thomas because I've felt it myself. Dude, it was a tough read. But it was tough because it was so real. The writing was just so spot on. The ricocheting between love and hate, ach.
What I didn't enjoy:
Strangely, I thought I would feel more -something- when the *big event* happened. I'm not sure why. And I can't tell if I am content with that or not. Otherwise, I have no complaints, honestly.
Would I recommend?
Okay, trigger warnings abound. Just to name a few: Domestic abuse, emotional abuse, death, infant death, suicide, violence, rape, paranoia, mental illness. There's so many, I'm sure I've forgotten some. Please do your due diligence and research it if you have triggers. If you like heavy subject matter and realistic fiction, yes. Just yes. If you prefer your fiction to be very fictionalized, no. Definitely no. Happy reading. :)
Graphic: Animal death, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts