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alyssajcori's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book where absolutely everything goes wrong, but those are the kinds of books I tend to love best. The novel goes back and forth in time, as well as changes narrators much later on to a memoir of the main narrator's grandfather. You follow identical twin boys through life - one is "normal", the other is mentally ill.
There are a lot of upsetting, horrifying storylines, but it is all told with such empathy and realness that it didn't turn me off. I would not recommend this book if you're looking for an uplifting read. I would recommend it if you want to be completely immersed in a life that is likely very different from your own, yet somehow you find yourself relating to the characters.
There are a lot of upsetting, horrifying storylines, but it is all told with such empathy and realness that it didn't turn me off. I would not recommend this book if you're looking for an uplifting read. I would recommend it if you want to be completely immersed in a life that is likely very different from your own, yet somehow you find yourself relating to the characters.
avidreadr's review against another edition
5.0
This book was extremely important to me growing up, in ways i cannot even articulate. I even memorized many parts and performed them for oratories.
kathleenguthriewoods's review against another edition
5.0
Wally Lamb is a genius. Hard reads, but so worth it.
When I told friends how much I admired "She’s Come Undone", they said, “You must read 'I Know This Much Is True'! It’s even better!”
“It can’t possibly be better!” I replied.
I was wrong.
When I told friends how much I admired "She’s Come Undone", they said, “You must read 'I Know This Much Is True'! It’s even better!”
“It can’t possibly be better!” I replied.
I was wrong.
jilly7922's review against another edition
5.0
This book was 1,000 pages was so extremely good that I read it in a week and a half. This book had so much depth to it, and was extremely well written.
nderiley's review against another edition
2.0
The one thing I found really distracting is Wally Lamb's over use of italics. I personally didn't like a characters vocal inflection being forced on me.
As for the story line, I thought parts of it were disjointed. The main character, Dominick reads a narrative written by his grandfather which is presented to the reader in the same way Dominick would read it - as its own story. While that made an interesting side story, when Dominick takes a break from reading the narrative if I hadn't picked up the book in a while, I found myself a little shell shocked from being engrossed in the narrative for so long!
As for the story line, I thought parts of it were disjointed. The main character, Dominick reads a narrative written by his grandfather which is presented to the reader in the same way Dominick would read it - as its own story. While that made an interesting side story, when Dominick takes a break from reading the narrative if I hadn't picked up the book in a while, I found myself a little shell shocked from being engrossed in the narrative for so long!
madeleinegeorge's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I have ever had the good fortune of reading. Entirely worth every one of the (at least in my edition) thousand pages. What a journey, what a tale, what a life. Lamb is singular in his voice and in his talent. IKTMIT is a thoroughly researched novel about twin-hood and mental illness, violence and generational pain, forgiveness and secrets, narrative, documentation, love, loss. Etc. When to walk away from a situation instead of just through. When not to forgive. And how to forgive when it is warranted, when it is earned. If you read any book this summer-- let it be this one. What a Gift.
Essentials:
“ ‘That’s the trouble with survival of the fittest, isn’t it, Dominick? The corpse at your feet. That little inconvenience.’ His voice, I remember, was cool and rational. To this day, what he said was a mystery to me. To this day, I can’t decide if it was his craziness or his sanity talking.”
“We never really fought. Fighting took too much energy. Fighting would have ripped the scab right off the raw truth-- that either God was so hateful that He’d singled us out for this (Dessa’s theory) or that there was no God (mine). Life didn’t have to make sense, I’d concluded: that was the big joke.”
“ ‘The myths of the world are laden with twins,’ she said. ‘It’s a fascinating aspect of the collective unconscious, really. The ultimate solution to human alienation. I assure you Mr. Birdsey, whatever burdens you bear as a twin, the untwinned world is quite envious.”
“Story. It is the way we teach our children to cope with a world too large and chaotic for them to comprehend. A world that seems, at times, too random. Too indifferent.”
** “You are merely giving me a tour of the museum. Your museum of pain. Your sanctuary of justifiable indignation. [...] We all superintend such a place, I suppose, although some of us are more painstaking curators than others. That is the category in which I would certainly put you, Dominick. You are a meticulous steward of the pain and injustices people have visited upon you. Or, if you prefer, we could call you a scrupulous coroner .” **
“Free fall was probably going to hurt like hell when I hit the bottom, but goddamn if the ride down wasn’t a rush.”
** “I am not a smart man, particularly, but one day, at long last, I stumbled from the dark woods of my own, and my family’s, and my country’s past, holding in my hands these truths: that love grows from the rich loams of forgiveness; that mongrels make good dogs; that the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.”
Essentials:
“ ‘That’s the trouble with survival of the fittest, isn’t it, Dominick? The corpse at your feet. That little inconvenience.’ His voice, I remember, was cool and rational. To this day, what he said was a mystery to me. To this day, I can’t decide if it was his craziness or his sanity talking.”
“We never really fought. Fighting took too much energy. Fighting would have ripped the scab right off the raw truth-- that either God was so hateful that He’d singled us out for this (Dessa’s theory) or that there was no God (mine). Life didn’t have to make sense, I’d concluded: that was the big joke.”
“ ‘The myths of the world are laden with twins,’ she said. ‘It’s a fascinating aspect of the collective unconscious, really. The ultimate solution to human alienation. I assure you Mr. Birdsey, whatever burdens you bear as a twin, the untwinned world is quite envious.”
“Story. It is the way we teach our children to cope with a world too large and chaotic for them to comprehend. A world that seems, at times, too random. Too indifferent.”
** “You are merely giving me a tour of the museum. Your museum of pain. Your sanctuary of justifiable indignation. [...] We all superintend such a place, I suppose, although some of us are more painstaking curators than others. That is the category in which I would certainly put you, Dominick. You are a meticulous steward of the pain and injustices people have visited upon you. Or, if you prefer, we could call you a scrupulous coroner .” **
“Free fall was probably going to hurt like hell when I hit the bottom, but goddamn if the ride down wasn’t a rush.”
** “I am not a smart man, particularly, but one day, at long last, I stumbled from the dark woods of my own, and my family’s, and my country’s past, holding in my hands these truths: that love grows from the rich loams of forgiveness; that mongrels make good dogs; that the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.”
hannahpom's review against another edition
5.0
While this book was quite the undertaking, it was certainly worth it. The resolution was hopeful and satisfying and complemented, rather than cheapened, the narrative.
lynz454's review against another edition
4.0
Literally could not put this book down. Dominick Birdsey is a wonderful character. You can be totally on his side one minute and the next wondering what in the world he was thinking. All of the characters have their gifts and their flaws that just make them real. The story is well-written and engaging. You really care about what happens to the Birdsey twins on their journey. I definitely recommend this book.
alisha247's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
would’ve been a 5 if it wasn’t for grandpas boring memoir! all in all, beautiful and utterly heartbreaking.
abbeyhar103's review against another edition
4.0
A sprawling and fascinating three generation family history, which was hard to put down. Deals with themes of self-forgiveness, as well as forgiveness of others.
My only minor complaints were that it all wrapped up a little too neatly at the end, and also that it bordered on schlocky very occasionally - specifically thinking of the psychiatrist sessions
But it was gripping and moving, for sure. May read another
My only minor complaints were that it all wrapped up a little too neatly at the end, and also that it bordered on schlocky very occasionally - specifically thinking of the psychiatrist sessions
But it was gripping and moving, for sure. May read another