I Know This Much Is True audiobook

I'm glad I finally finished because it was one of those books I kept thinking about when I was in the middle of it and I had trouble getting things done until I knew what would happen. I really enjoyed it, I think it's hard to write a book with such a complex story line which all ends up coming together neatly in the end. Like some how even the mysticism and twists weren't over done and felt like they flowed nicely. I think this is one of my favorites now honestly.

This book just went rocketing to my all-time Favourites shelf. I cannot imagine spending over 20 hours reading a book and not loving it.On my eReader, this book was just 3 pages short of 900 pages, and not one paragraph, not one sentence, not one word in the book could be cut without doing the book (and one’s reading experience) irreparable harm.The main narrator of this book is Dominick whose twin brother Thomas suffers from mental illness. This we know from the beginning. Throughout the book, both brothers crash and burn a few times as they make their way on their journeys through life. Yet they persist in searching out answers for themselves (and each other) to make those journeys more meaningful and fulfilling. Twinship can be a very complex dynamic at the best of times. These two take complexity to a level I’ve never witnessed before.A secondary narrator is the twins’ maternal grandfather who dictated and/or wrote out his “life history” before he died. It is fascinating to see the parallels play out between the grandfather’s time and the twins’ time and the authenticity of his voice is remarkable.This book takes a thorough and honest look at many facets of life: twin-ship, mental health, family dynamics (including secrets – and why they remain secrets), death and grieving, race relations through many decades, and so much more.Within these pages the story is powerful and moves at a fast pace; the characters have strong and unique voices; the writing is sublime, raw, exceptionally moving – just excellent. This book rates more than 5 Stars but it’s all I have to give . . . along with a treasured spot on my Favourites shelf.

This is one of those books I read that has never left me. After I finished it I just sat in my chair and cryed for a long time. And I can't explain why exactly, as the ending was surprisingly hopeful. It explores the nature of close family relationships and how you can love someone and also hate them and be embarrassed by them, and the guilt that results from these conflicting emotions. The main character has a mother with physical defects which have inhibited her whole life, a brother with severe mental disabilities that have profoundly affected the entire family, and an abusive step-father who damaged everyone under his control. Yet in spite of all the really depressing themes, it is really quite moving and inspirational. It's about survival and forgiveness and atonement. I also loved the secondary story about the grandfather. The book was an astonishing achievement.

$1.99 Kindle special today! This was a GREAT PAGE TURNING STORY!!!!Just sayin. :). I’d buy it for $1.99 ... but I already own it. Sometimes a reader is simply looking for a stay to lose yourself in. This book fits that need. This was another on of those 5 star books that I guess I never rated!I wasn't always active on Goodreads you know --There was a time I read before this site....lol

** spoiler alert ** This is my favorite book ever. I was reading it while I lived in New York, during the 2 weeks I was holed up in my apartment in New Jersey recovering from the shock of 9/11 . . . adjusting to life all alone in a big city with just my baby daughter (who, at that time, I felt some ambivalence about) . . . missing my older two children . . . and mostly learning how to live after extracting myself from a rigid and controlling church experience. I felt very much like I was learning how to live with a consolation prize as a life. I was very, very lost at that time.The protagonist had also had his life turned upside down by the death of his baby daughter, his wife leaving him and his brother's suicide. The story weaves it's way back and forth from his present to his past and back again as you piece together the story of his life and learn how he got to where he is. In the end, he's restored.When I finished the last page of this book, I cried because my time with him was over. I tried to read another book by Wally Lamb but it wasn't the same. I love, love, love the main character in I Know This Much Is True.

Ufta. Well...it's a testament to the quality of this book that I was willing to stick it out the entire 900 pages (well, 856, but who's counting?) If you can get past the intimidating bulk and stick it through to the end, there really is some quality writing here that is well worth the time it takes to read.The plot centers around Dominick Birdsey, the "sane" counterpart to his schizophrenic and paranoid identical twin, Thomas. Most of the novel is dedicated to Dominick acting as an advocate for his brother: Thomas has been admitted to a high security forensic institute and Dominick fights to have him removed while at the same time struggling with his own personal battles. The last third of the book is also a foray into the past as Dominick (and the reader) explores his grandfather's written history and discovers perhaps more than he would have liked to have known about his ancestors.The author's strong points include well-rounded and extremely interesting characters, a terrific ability to make everything come full circle thematically, and a good ear for dialogue. I can forgive the small bits of mysticism here and there because I felt they weren't there simply for artsiness or filler, but rather to develop character and move the plot along. I will say that I thought the ending was too "wrapped up." He spelled every little thing out, tied up every single loose end, made everything resolve itself in a nice little package. But I was so invested in the other 840+ pages that it was the characters and their quirks and their heartbreaks and their conflicts, not the ending, that stuck with me.

I first read this book shortly after it came out 22 years ago. I’m a little shocked at how little I remember—I basically just remembered the main idea, which is that identical twin brothers grow up and one, Thomas, is diagnosed with schizophrenia. The other, Dominick, has a different kind of mental anguish that he expresses with anger. His anger and fear comes from always protecting his twin while also wanting Thomas to figure out how to defend himself against verbal assault from their stepfather and the kids at school when they were younger, before the diagnosis. Both his anger and Thomas’s deterioration have led to unsavory results. The novel starts with Thomas going to a public library and chopping off his hand, but we’re told the story in a way that bounces around with time, including the manuscript left by their grandfather, who died a few months before the twins were born—Dominick has always wanted to know who his father was, but his mother went to her grave without telling him. As a way to help Thomas, Dominick starts seeing Dr. Patel, a psychiatrist with a degree in anthropology, and he befriends Ms. Sheffer, a social worker in charge of Thomas’s case.This is a very well-done novel. Our protagonist, Dominick, is flawed and has made and continues to make mistakes, but you’re definitely rooting for him to get better.

Lots of firsts with me and this book:1. The longest book I've ever read (898 pages).2. The most pages I've ever read in a day (300)3. The first time I've literally had to put the book down and close my eyes so I didn't cry on it...Books get to me, I admit it. And in the past year or so, I've read quite a few books that got to me...but nothing like this. Hands down, the best book I've ever read in my life. I could not stop reading.So my friends and I always joke about how we read depressing books, and this book would fit in that category, yet I wasn't and am not depressed. In fact, I almost feel hopeful, as if there's hope for all of us. If Dominick can find happiness, who can't?

This book is recommended for drama lovers. It’s a full plate with plenty of second helpings.Triggers: mental illness, emotional and physical abuse (including rape), animal cruelty, sexism, religion...I had this book sitting on my shelf since its release (1998!). I have some older books waiting for my attention and that is something that does not bother me. Seriously. I feel some comfort knowing that a certain book is at my reach. But I’m so glad that I have finally decided to read it. I don’t think that I would have appreciated this book back then (1998), as much as I have right now.What pleased me the most was the author’s writing style. I was totally absorbed from the beginning. It’s absolutely engaging. The structure is brilliant.This is a very heartbreaking story, but not one that I would call depressing.There is so much drama and sadness but the writing is superb. The dialogues are great.On the last 5 or 3 pages of chapter 35 there is a small scene involving animal cruelty that I thought was not necessary. It added nothing more to that particular character. As for myself, I can’t stand animal cruelty, no matter how small a scene is, so I was very disappointed about it. Regardless, it did not diminish my whole impression of this book and I do think that this is a terrific work of fiction, and perhaps one of the best books that I’ve read.Again, this is full of dramas. There isn’t a break of joy until the very end. But the writing is so good that the amount of sadness did not bother me.I do have a twin brother, but we are fraternal, so I did feel some connection at some level. I’m looking forward to watching the HBO adaptation, but I have heard that they changed the ending but I hope that they were faithful to the book.I was very pleased with the conclusion of this book and I had to holdback my tears as I was reading in public.

another book that was like a sucker-punch to the gut. even with 900+ pages, i didn't want this one to end, though it ended beautifully. cried again at this one, which is rare. and it contains one of my favorite written sentences. i didn't care if it is an oprah book. i loved "she's come undone," but this book is leagues better.

Lamb's tale of one man dealing with his twin brother's schizophrenia is honest and true to life. Spanning decades and making a number of digressions (a grandfather's biography, a flashback to when Dominick realizes he and his brother are not the same person), the story was always engaging.The description of Dominick's infant daughter's death at three weeks is heart wrenching. Even sadder is his indulgence in a "what if" fantasy seven years later, as he imagines taking her to dancing lessons, something he would have done if she hadn't died.At the time I read it, I had finally come to the realization that my husband and I would not be having any more children and I was feeling very sorry for myself. On reading that passage, I realized that Dominick's wistful fantasy was my real life. My little girl was alive and well and I was able to take her to dancing lessons and soccer practice and kindergarten and everything else little girls do. I never felt sorry for myself again after that.

„ - Jūs skrupulingai stengiatės suinventorinti visas kančias ir neteisybes, kurias patyrėte iš kitų. Galima jus vadinti kruopščiu koroneriu.“4/5Skrodimo stalas. Ir skalpelis Wally Lamb rankoje. Ant stalo čia telpa kur kas daugiau, nei galvoji, kol nepradedi analizuoti. Broliai ir tėvai, seneliai ir patėviai, alkoholikai ir išdavikai, kareiviai ir psichiatrai, religiniai fanatikai ir šventieji, Amerika ir indėnai, mirę ir mirštantys viduje. Knyga skaitosi stebėtinai lengvai ir greitai – jei reikėtų lyginti, sakyčiau, kad beveik Irvingiškai. Tik autorius sau leidžia kur kas mažiau nei pastarasis – atsitraukia, nesikiša, dažnai atrodo, kad čia jo visai nėra. Tik kalba ir kalba, o visa knyga kaip ilgas psichoterapijos seansas – praeitis ir ateitis, dabartis ir atmintis pinasi į tokį mazgą, mainosi vietomis kaip įgudusio mago rankose – prireiks atidumo, kad atpažintum, kur prasideda viena ir baigiasi kita. Jau senokai neskaičiau taip smulkmeniškai išanalizuotų veikėjų portretų – Lamb skalpeliu rėžia taip giliai, kad vietomis net pabosta. Ypač jo noras įtraukti knygą knygoje – tikriausiai pagrindinė priežastis, kodėl romanas 4*, ne 5*.Vienas iš pagrindinių mano priekaištų – dramatiškumas. Nepasakytum jokiu būdu, kad čia nieko nevyksta, bet knyga man kelia panašią emociją, kaip žinau, jog daugeliui kėlė Mažas gyvenimas – tiek kančios, kad po kiek laiko beveik atbunki. Tiek skausmo, toks jų cunamis, kad pavargsti kapstytis ir beveik nebenori galvos laikyti paviršiuje – kokia prasmė? Tuoj užgrius dar viena. Nes tikrai – viską, ką blogiausio gali sugalvoti, W.Lamb sugrūda į vienos šeimos gyvenimus. Nevardinsiu, nenorėdama sugadinti skaitymo malonumo, bet beveik galima susidaryti siaubo bingo, o skaitant braukyti – didelė tikimybė, kad didžiausi ir baisiausi jūsų baubai čia vienu ar kitu pavidalu tikrai pakels galvas. Po kiek laiko man tiesiog nebeveikė. Ir laikausi nuomonės, kad knygai nebuvo reikalo išsitęsti į 900 puslapių – tiesą sakant, nesu sutikusi tokios, kuriai reikėtų. Ties 700 jau pajaučiau poreikį greičiau užbaigti – net kai įdomu, net kai autoriaus talentas nepaneigiamas, net kai veikėjai gąsdinančiai tikri. Natūraliai nebeturėjau emocijų, kurias dar galėjau šitam romanui skirti. Bet skaityti vis tiek rekomenduoju – puikiai suprasiu visus, kuriems kris prie metų geriausiųjų. Man ne taip wow, bet vis tiek romanas didis įvairiomis prasmėmis. Kažkada bandysiu susikaupti ir serialui.