The Hour I First Believed

A Novel

De: Wally Lamb

Narrado por: George Guidall

When high-school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in the library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed. Miraculously, she survives. But when Caelum and Maureen flee to an illusion of safety on the Quirk family's Connecticut farm, they discover that the effects of chaos are not easily put right.

While Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers five generations' worth of diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in his family's house. As unimaginable secrets emerge, Caelum grapples with the past and struggles to fashion a future from the ashes of tragedy. His quest for meaning is at once mythic and contemporary, personal and quintessentially American.

©2008 Wally Lamb (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Difficult to push through, but glad I did

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes.. Having read She's Come Undone, We Are Water, and I Know This Much is True, I forced myself to go through this very slow, rich read and get to the finish line. It seemed the more I listened (and I mean well into the book), the more interested I became in the characters. I would have to say, I agree with an earlier reviewer that the narrator threw me off. It sounds like a grandpa reading the story, and the majority of the book is takes place in middle adult age and flashbacks. I would have enjoyed this more with a man's narrative, not a grandpa. Did not fit. If you are looking for a edge of your seat experience, this book is not for you.. it is incredibly layered and deep with details and "pages" worth of flashbacks and inner thoughts.

Would you be willing to try another book from Wally Lamb? Why or why not?

I gave this book a go because of his other fabulous reads!

What didn’t you like about George Guidall’s performance?

Too old for this story line. Did not fit even a little. Maybe a chapter or two at the end.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Love Wally Lamb!! :)

Captivating

As a Wally Lamb fan, this wasn't his best. I found the switchbacks to K's origins confusing at times. However, as usual I was captivated by the weaving of the story. 4 stars, compared to other Wally Lamb novels.

Where did my Wally go?

This certainly lacks the greatness of Wally Lambs other novels. If he wrote an outline or had a concept in mind, he sure got distracted. This book tells several stories at once and becomes tedious and unmercifully boring. By the latter part of the book, well into the civil war bore, I found myself skipping chapters. Oddly enough, one would want to feel sorry for the wife who was a victim at Columbine, but even she becomes a cliche. The main character is not terribly likable either, but that could be due to the narration which was the worst I had ever heard. The narrator sounds like a booze laden, smarmy old man who has a voice that would be better off narrating a book about a guy who lures children into his windowless van with the promise of candy. Thrown uncomfortably into the book is "humorous" banter between the main character and his long time friend. Though some of the comments are mildly amusing, they are mostly cringe worthy and seem pushed into the novel in odd places because the author felt funny that night or had a few drinks.

Overall....this is not a horrible read. It just drones on and requires someone who is easily entertained and has a lot of patience......and....has never read another Lamb novel to have to make the sad comparison.

Worth 2 Credits

I listened to this book on my commute to and from work. I found myself on more than a few days, sitting in my garage at home or the company parking garage not wanting to stop listening. The narrator was very easy to listen to and the story was excellent. Highly recommend.

Heartbreaking yet beautiful story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Hour I First Believed to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version

Any additional comments?

This is not a lift you up, happy ending story. It really is heartbreaking but a great read. I love Wally Lamb's writing, I Know This Much Is True is one of my all time favorites and I wish it was an audio book! This is a great story and the fiction and non fiction come together very nicely.

Chaos Theory in Practice

I love Wally Lamb. I love how layered and convoluted his stories are, how damaged his characters. With George Guidall’s outstanding performance, I held my breath through each convolution, bifurcation, and twist in the maze. This book is life-changing.

One suggestion: tighter editing of the Lizzie Poplar story. Long and not always relevant.

Ambitious book that delivers

This book is vast and has a number of parallel stories. Sometimes I thought it spread itself thin but it all comes together very well. Lots of tough issues to deal with but in the end, it’s about compassion redemption and forgiveness… even forgiving oneself

He takes WAAAAAY to long to get there

I have worked with Columbine survivors and was interested to see what one of Oprah's stars had to say about that tragic time. It's great for the first half but he just gives us too much tragedy after tragedy and then it just gets tedious.I found 2/3 of the way through I was really itching for it to be over. It is very heavy handed. Better editing would have made this a much better book. Get the abridged version and it will probably be better.

A soul searching experieance.

Would you listen to The Hour I First Believed again? Why?

I will listen to The Hour I First Believed again because I was left with to many unanswered question for myself.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Caelum was my favorite character. He gets angry enough to question and analyzed what was happening and trying to find his fault (if any) in the outcome.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

George Guidall is an A+ narrator. He makes you feel that you are as much a part of the story as the characters.

If you could rename The Hour I First Believed, what would you call it?

When Fear Takes Over.

Any additional comments?

The book for me was an emotional and spiritual therapist. I find at times I am Maureen cowering in the corner cabinet and then I transform to Caelum - and scream my way through the next few statements. When I am alone and in a quite room do I finally begin to "Why did I do that?"

tries to cover a huge scope...does a marvelous job

The story covered so much material, but woven into an exquisite tapestry. it was Masterfully done. You sense the emotions are real, the outcomes inevitable.

Mr. Lamb is an excellent story teller.