Scan barcode
elliehamilton38's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.”
tracib's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 if I could give half stars.
I felt the first half was well paced, but as soon as we got to Thomas's release everything felt rushed. I think too much time was spent on Domenico's manuscript. Thomas's death almost felt like an afterthought, and everything was a little too neat and tidy at the end. That being said, it read really well for a long novel, and even though Dominick was kind of a jerk, you really understood him at the end.
I felt the first half was well paced, but as soon as we got to Thomas's release everything felt rushed. I think too much time was spent on Domenico's manuscript. Thomas's death almost felt like an afterthought, and everything was a little too neat and tidy at the end. That being said, it read really well for a long novel, and even though Dominick was kind of a jerk, you really understood him at the end.
elisabeth7291's review against another edition
5.0
My complete review here:
http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2011/08/book-review-i-know-this-much-is-true/
http://www.literatureandleisure.com/2011/08/book-review-i-know-this-much-is-true/
rely's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I understand why people love this story. I had a hard time with the sexual assults and how they were seemingly excused. I feel like the women in this story were sacrificed on the alter of the men's stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Gaslighting
rhodaj's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
5.0
twellz's review against another edition
5.0
Wally Lamb has a gift! 912 pages & I thought about this story when I didn’t have time to read! I started reading I Know This Much is True during the summer of the pandemic & ran out of free time to read due to the start of a crazy school year. But, as tired as I was at night, I made time to finish this beast of a book. Wow. Just wow. It was a great novel.
No words can describe my emotions as I read...it was depressing, frustrating, uplifting, honest, scary & soul-reflecting. Ray Birdsey (step-dad) & Thomas (brother)...the darkness & mental illness yet warmth & loving I saw in them had me pausing to reflect on my own life and family growing up.
Dominick (main character & twin brother)...is an emotionally abused child, whose identical twin Thomas develops schizophrenia. He describes his life & it becomes intertwined with the history of his horribly unlikeable grandfather, Domenico Tempesta. I think everyone can relate to at least one of Dominick's struggles & find hope in how he resolved them through self reflection, therapy, & forgiveness with Dr. Patel. Ultimately, no one is perfect & we all struggle, but how we emerge from our struggles, no matter how late, determines our worth.
Wally Lamb even perfectly describes my most feared creature on Earth...a moth. He writes “voices of moths—those fluttering creatures which, she believed, were the souls of the dead who had failed to attain heavenly light.” Exactly!!!
Wally Lamb's gift is a story that slowly lightens the heaviest burdens of the human heart...not by changing its weight but rather by lifting & shifting each piece of the puzzle until it fits just right. “...love grows from the rich loam of forgiveness; that mongrels make good dogs; that the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.”
No words can describe my emotions as I read...it was depressing, frustrating, uplifting, honest, scary & soul-reflecting. Ray Birdsey (step-dad) & Thomas (brother)...the darkness & mental illness yet warmth & loving I saw in them had me pausing to reflect on my own life and family growing up.
Dominick (main character & twin brother)...is an emotionally abused child, whose identical twin Thomas develops schizophrenia. He describes his life & it becomes intertwined with the history of his horribly unlikeable grandfather, Domenico Tempesta. I think everyone can relate to at least one of Dominick's struggles & find hope in how he resolved them through self reflection, therapy, & forgiveness with Dr. Patel. Ultimately, no one is perfect & we all struggle, but how we emerge from our struggles, no matter how late, determines our worth.
Wally Lamb even perfectly describes my most feared creature on Earth...a moth. He writes “voices of moths—those fluttering creatures which, she believed, were the souls of the dead who had failed to attain heavenly light.” Exactly!!!
Wally Lamb's gift is a story that slowly lightens the heaviest burdens of the human heart...not by changing its weight but rather by lifting & shifting each piece of the puzzle until it fits just right. “...love grows from the rich loam of forgiveness; that mongrels make good dogs; that the evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.”
vish2694's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
beckapk's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
2.5