Monday, August 13, 2007

Book review, sort of

I finally finished the book I started this summer, I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. It was huge.

It's the story of a man whose life pretty much blows up in his face; everything goes wrong! Not that his life was that great in the first place... his identical twin is schitzophrenic, his stepfather was abusive and he doesn't know who his real father is, his mother dies of breast cancer... and it goes downhill from there. I won't tell you more about his sucky life in case you want to read it, but I sure felt sorry for this guy!

It's really a unique book. There are a lot of flashbacks, weird dreams, and a sort of book within the book (written by the protagonist's grandfather) which includes a narrative within the book within the book. I came to care about the characters, so that's always a plus (very character-driven book). I have to say that it was kind of depressing, but am pleased to report that it has a happy (not perfect, but happy) ending.

Would I recommend it? Not sure. Would I read it again? Probably not. Do I regret putting the time into reading it? Not at all.

So I enjoyed it in a way, am pretty glad I read it, and wouldn't stop you from reading it too. How's that for a review?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Sounds a bit dark but interesting. I usually only read lightweight stuff. Currently reading through Janet Evanovich's numbered series.