I Know This Much Is True

De: Wally Lamb

Narrado por: Ken Howard

#1 New York Times Bestseller and Oprah Book Club selection

"Thoughtful . . . heart-wrenching . . . . An exercise in soul-baring storytelling—with the soul belonging to 20th-century America itself. It's hard to read and to stop reading, and impossible to forget." — USA Today

Dominick Birdsey, a forty-year-old housepainter living in Three Rivers, Connecticut, finds his subdued life greatly disturbed when his identical twin brother Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic, commits a shocking act of self-mutilation. Dominick is forced to care for his brother as well as confront dark secrets and pain he has buried deep within himself—a journey of the soul that takes him beyond his blue-collar New England town to Sicily’s Mount Etna, the birthplace of his grandfather and namesake. Coming to terms with his life and lineage, Dominick struggles to find forgiveness and finally rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his troubled twin.

I Know This Much Is True is a masterfully told story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal—an unforgettable masterpiece.

Tough to hear but good

As with most of Wally Lamb's books, this one had some truly tough parts to listen to. I had to close my eyes and hold on tight to get through them. However, the depth of feeling adds to this great story. Very satisfying on all levels.

Excellent

What made the experience of listening to I Know This Much Is True the most enjoyable?

The story and the narration by Ken Howard.

What other book might you compare I Know This Much Is True to and why?

Healing Faith. Both have a spiritual element based on forgiveness.

What does Ken Howard bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A calmness!

Who was the most memorable character of I Know This Much Is True and why?

Both twins.

Any additional comments?

Loved it

BAD audio

I had read this book years ago and remember loving it, so when the abridged version was on sale, I purchased it in order to refresh my memory of the story, but not have to commit to re-reading the notoriously verbose Mr. Lamb.

The story was great- I am always amazed by the depth and truthfulness in Wally Lamb's male characters. I obviously would have probably been more engaged had they chosen to flush out certain parts (impossible when you go abridged), but overall, enjoyable and informative.

The narration was SIMPLY. HORRIBLE. First of all, this must have been taped eons ago b/c it had the clarity of a 1930s newsreel being projected through a 1980s answering machine. To make matters worse, Mr. Howard's voices were simply distracting. Often, despite the fact the story takes place in Rhode Island, he sounded like an Italian uncle from North Jersey, but then appeared to tire of the affectation, and returned to his normal (non-irritating) speaking voice mid-sentence. Also, the schizophrenic brother's voice was almost identical to Buffalo Bill's famous, "I'd $%^# me" line in Silence of the Lambs, which had the unfortunate affect of dehumanizing the character (which is likely contrary to Mr. Lamb's intention).

I'd go ahead and read this book, in its entirety, over the abridge audiobook.

Good- but didn't live up to the hype

My sister raved about this book. Having a mentally ill family member, I thought I'd be able to relate to it. It was a good book. But it wasn't great. She's Come Undone is 100x better (Which I've only read, not listened to).

Fantastic. inspiring to listen to the reinvention

Loved it and enjoyed how all the characters were connected. The story telling was fantastic.