Sunday, May 17, 2009

I Know This Much is True


I recently finished Wally Lamb's "I know this much is true".  I have been avoiding it for years having been less than impressed with his first book, "She's come undone".  I'm happy to report that Lamb's latest is brilliant.  The first chapter introduces you to the narrator's schizophrenic twin brother.  As a student of clinical psychology I cringed to think of how the author would dramatize, exaggerate, underestimate, and unrealistically portray the reality of schizophrenia.  To my surprise, Lamb did his research and provided a clinically accurate portrayal of the disease and the deleterious effects it has on those coping with it.  Therapy, as it was explored in the context of the novel, appeared true to form and the detail Lamb uses to depict the mental health system is startling on point.  In short, although Lamb failed to create a believable female protagonist in his first book, he was triumphant in his attempt to characterize an equally as complicated narrator in this latest text.  Although Lamb's work resembles Hugo's in length, his story telling is more akin to Lahiri's and, as such, I think most would find the length tolerable.  My only qualm with Lamb's latest is the ending.  I won't spoil it for those who've yet to enjoy it, but suffice it to say that the "happily ever after" conclusion was jarringly discordant with the rest of the story.  I'd give this one an A-

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I felt the same way about this book-- loved it, but was less than impressed with lamb's other book. this has been on my list of favorites for years now. he has a new book that just came out, but i didn't find it as compelling as this one. in fact, not even as interesting as she's come undone.

D.R. D.I.Y. said...

That's a bummer about his new book... have you read any of Pat Conroy's stuff? I loved Beach Music and Prince of Tides, but spent the evening reading The Water is Wide only to conclude that it was a total waste of time:( I'm on to My Losing Season...