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but think that's a stretch. Lamb have not made the same points without his dedication to him. Domenick simply isn't an interesting enough character to warrant 900 pages in his mind. Why can't we get in the head of Concetta, Dessa, Joy, Thad, Ray, etc. Patel, nevertheless, in a book with strong themes of parallelism, cyclicallism, repetition, his structure reinforces none of this. So what's the point of Thomas' character. and can Mr. They work together an entire summer, smoking, drinking, hanging out.
He's stated to be smart, but this doesn't translate into his interactions in the book. Do we need almost any of Thomas. Also, the choice of first person narrative misses real opportunities to explore the other characters. Give me I Know This Much Is True at 500 really good pages, and I think we've got something.Structurally, I found the book to be a mess, with little rhyme or reason to how this was fit together.
I guess this could be an homage to the schizophenia. Do I know more about treatment than I did going in. Do I know more about schizophrenics than I did going in. he has no compassion.
Some spoilers here, so watch outJust finished this, and unfortunately, it has neither the ideas, characters or plot to sustain it for 900 pages. Etc.The parts I thought really worked were Dom and Dessa, Dom and Joy, Dom and Ray, Dom and Dr. He has no patience. Uncredible.Lastly, and I can't decide if this is a flaw or an artistic choice by Mr. Secondly, there's no way Ralph Drinkwater goes through his life thinking that Dominick knows that those two are related, and never says anything. Ray is held up as a monster, again by Dominick, but except for one incident, never seems to cross the line.
Give me 400 to 500 pages of that, sprinkled with Ms. Lastly, the slapped on 10 hollywood-ending-pages aren't developed enough, don't seque from the rest of the novel, and seem as a result to be gratuitous attempt to make us feel good for slogging through this whole thing.Plot wise, much of this is unnecessary. We find as we go that many of the historical passages are in deed sessions w/Dr. What about his character as a child suggests he would want to be a teacher. Lamb to the woodshed on his drafts before allowing it to go to print. He never says a word. Does he need to cut off his hand. Dominick is described as smart, but never acts smart.
Floon, Concetta and Domenico, and I think we've got something. Yes, it's readable at this length, but a good strong editor needed to take Mr. Dominick never "carries" his brother, never sticks up for him, never defends his mother against Ray, yet constantly is lauded by himself and others for his dedication to these efforts. Lamb, and I've mentioned this above, but the characters are given certain traits in explanation -- either by themselves or others -- but they don't demonstrate these. Lamb himself proved this fact with his more insightful discussion of Concetta and Henry's relationship, retold by Ray and Minnie.Two other aggrevations -- There's no way Dominick is a high school history teacher. Calabash and Ms. The same impact could have been made with a max of 20 -- Mr. The book is all about pairs and trios, and yet there's no pairing or trioing in the structure.
Patel. no, not really and no. Similarly, do we need 100 pages of Domenico's treatise. Etc. At least I think that much is true.
My own struggles seemed to pervade the characters of the book. Reeling from my own emotional trauma, I began reading this book in one of the deepest depressions of my life. I sat in amazement as Domenico fought against his pride, fear, and anger -- I had battled with my own. I was absorbed by this book. I'd read and melt into the characters. His past life haunted him -- as has mine.By the last hundred-and-fifty pages of the book, I couldn't put down the book. I sat focused as the story comes together and apart.A roller-coaster of emotions and an amazing introspective journey await -- buy this book.
It's definitely blissful, moving, and heartbreaking. Although after a while I decided to go on and buy it already. At first I was skeptical about this book because of the 897 pages of the paperback edition, and I kept putting off on buying it every time I see it. In the beginning I thought it would just be about a schizophrenic twin brother, but the author adds more into the story, and as I read this novel, the author takes me into different paths of the story including Thomas' grandfather's journal (which was his grandfather's past life), and Thomas' & Dominick's past & present life. As I was reading this novel, I was really entranced by it. I thought it would take me several weeks to finish it but instead I ended up finishing it in less than one week. The book was not just concentrated on a single objective but it had multiples, including mental illness, brotherhood, confession, penance, family history, abuse, marriage failure, SIDS, and self-discovery. Don't be intimidated by the 897 pages of this book, it will be worth your while.
I highly recommend it for long car trips, or even to play while lounging around the house. Absolutely and completely entertaining. This audio-cassette is nearly as good as the book, and believe me, that is saying a lot. If you like a good story, this is one of the best I've ever read/listened to. Wally Lamb is nothing short of genius.--steph
I Know This Much Is True is one of my favorite books. Once I started I could not put it down.
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