Day 11: "I Know This Much Is True" by Wally Lamb

Day 11 of #BookSpine365.

Don't let the Oprah's Book Club seal of approval be the hipster like dismay which you judge a book a by a cover. Wally Lamb's second novel, I Know This Much Is True is absolutely as riveting and poignant as reviewers described. It's a little dusty and smells beautiful cracked open within those 894 pages. The spine is cracked, pages are thin, and wrinkled from moisture somewhere unexplained. So my copy is a little beat up. This is what happens to mass market paperback books-many just don't stand the test of time.

Paperback Books Get Love Too.

The words inside don't seem to mind. They lay dormant waiting to tell the tale again. The words tell of twins-one definitely not like the other as told through a series of flashbacks in heartache and pain. One regarded normal, one cutting off his hand claiming it was for God; schizophrenia and paranoia seems only secondary to the abuse and dysfunction within the household they grew up in. The resentment is clear but as the story unfolds more, we find dark secrets that only some readers can possibly stomach or face-as the writing is brutally honest, clear, and deals with issues that many sweep under the rug. Not all stories are fairytales, you know. Some are just...stories that need to be told. This novel exemplifies that notion. This is the second book by the author. 

Book Details

Title: I Know This Much is True

Author: Wally Lamb

Format:Paperback-mass produced sized. Spine titling. Embossed lettering. Fiction. 894 pages.

Contents: Reviews, Other Books By Author Page, half title, dedication, acknowledgements, list of sources consulted, author photo(b&w), appendices and bio. 

©1998 HarperTorch

-brrivera