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    I Know This Much Is True
    I Know This Much Is True
    I Know This Much Is True
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    I Know This Much Is True

    Written by Wally Lamb

    Narrated by Ken Howard

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    #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.   

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 10, 2004
    ISBN9780060752286
    I Know This Much Is True
    Author

    Wally Lamb

    Wally Lamb is the author of five New York Times bestselling novels: She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much Is True, The Hour I First Believed, Wishin’ and Hopin’, and We Are Water. His first two works of fiction, She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, were both #1 New York Times bestsellers and selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Lamb edited Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, I’ll Fly Away, and You Don’t Know Me, three volumes of essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut, where he has been a volunteer facilitator for two decades. He lives in Connecticut and New York.

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    Reviews for I Know This Much Is True

    4/5

    455 ratings113 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a beautiful and amazing story, with wonderful storytelling and a captivating plot. The book explores themes of family relationships and mental health, and is highly recommended for its intimate portrayal of these issues. While some reviewers found the loud noises between chapters to be disruptive, overall, readers love this book and appreciate its depth and emotional impact. It is a true gem in Wally Lamb's style and continues to resonate with readers even after multiple readings.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      This is one of those books that is a book with a capital "B". This has two stories going at the same time, wonderful writing, great characters..... it's just got it all. I was actually glad that this book was so long because I enjoyed every page of this one.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Beautiful, sad and painful story. Very well written.Narrator read it perfectly.
    • 5/5
      Dominick is the one who deserved to catch AIDS and die. Couldn’t forgive what he did to Dessa.
    • 5/5
      I have loved this book since I read it in 1998. Every time I read it I get something else!
    • 4/5
      It was a short but interesting book I listened to
    • 5/5
      Amazing read! This is the 2nd Time I read this, the first time was about 14 years ago and I still feel like I took away as much now as the first time when I was 16.
    • 2/5
      Did not particularly enjoy this book, but it was an Oprah selection if you like those.
    • 5/5
      Son of a timid woman, stepson of a hard man, identical twin of a paranoid schizophrenic...Dominick Birdsey is both a sympathetic yet unlikeable protagonist, if that's even possible. He's so angry at weakness but doesn't stand up for it. Instead, he tramples upon it, takes advantage of it, allows himself to gain from it. However, as the story moves along and as he suffers through exceedingly difficult trials, there are people placed in his path that challenge him to become better. And he does. It's poignant. It's slow. It's certainly the growth process that we see in real life rather than the quick fix we find in many novels. It's painful to read but told so beautifully that I can't do anything but recommend it. I've become a true Wally Lamb fan.
    • 5/5
      This is a large, wordy but very comprehensive and involved book telling the story of Dominick, an identical twin, struggling to cope with his brother's schizophrenia. There are some wonderful and original characters here, who grow and unravel as the story progresses and we learn more of their shared history. Dominick, in particular, is a protagonist and narrator who is just as easy to hate as to love. The feeling of resolution at the end of the novel, together with the circular nature of the twins' family history were particular highlights that go towards making this such a marvellous read.
    • 5/5
      What can you say about a novel that starts out with a suicide, includes a monkey with an almost incestuous relationship, and a young man who comes of age, along with the other characters who mature through the story? This one is a keeper to reread in my old age.
    • 4/5
      I had this book on my shelf for forever and after reading some reviews decided to finally read it. I wasn't disappointed, it was pretty good, just not as great as everyone else seemed to think. The characters were good and so was the story line, it was just soooo long!
    • 3/5
      2.5 starsLamb writes the psychoanalytic process so well. However, this book bogged down with unnecessary detail (the grandfather's diary, for example).Twin brothers, one of whom is schizophrenic, struggle to find individual identities. Tom commits a horrific act of self-mutilation and Dominick struggles to "save" Tom - spiraling out of control himself. Only when Dominick can come to grips with his anger (at Tom, at his stepfather, at his late mother, at his grandfather, at his "missing" father) can he ultimately forgive those closest to him - and himself. The ending is a little too neat.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful ROOT discovery of this long-form fiction story of two twins lives during a time of upheaval. Very moving and engaging.
    • 3/5
      Definitely not as good as his first book and very difficult at times, but overall a good solid novel. It was awfully depressing at time and the main character was thoroughly unlikable for a good chunk of the book; but the theme of redemption brought both Dominick and me around. It was not an easy book, but it rang true in that it showed the nuance of life - nothing is simply black and white; everything in life has shades of grey.
    • 2/5
      I felt about this the same way I felt about Lamb's She's Come Undone.
    • 5/5
      This is one of those books that is a book with a capital "B". This has two stories going at the same time, wonderful writing, great characters..... it's just got it all. I was actually glad that this book was so long because I enjoyed every page of this one.
    • 5/5
      This story really winds up for the pitch and does not disappoint. I found myself nodding off a little towards the end of "she's come undone". Not so much reading this novel though. I was gripping the edges of the book to the very end. Perhaps to hear of sadness, tragedy, mental illness, but also sweetness, family and devotion. This is a really great book!
    • 4/5
      A sprawling and fascinating three generation family history, which was hard to put down. Deals with themes of self-forgiveness, as well as forgiveness of others.

      My only minor complaints were that it all wrapped up a little too neatly at the end, and also that it bordered on schlocky very occasionally - specifically thinking of the psychiatrist sessions

      But it was gripping and moving, for sure. May read another
    • 3/5
      Story of a set of twins -- one healthy and one mentally ill. Book focuses on the healthy twin and how having a unhealthy brother affects his whole life. It's a long book but a good story.
    • 4/5
      There is much to like about Lamb's writing. I found, in the end, however, that the thing I liked most is also the thing I liked least.What I didn't like about the book was the constant, deeply troubling graphic portrayal of severely dysfuntional individuals and families, the never-ending vulgar and obscene language along with descriptive episodes of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Not my normal reading fare.However, the thing that Lamb does so well is the 'true-to-life' rendering of a multi-generational, multi-faceted and riveting story of a family struggling with a bag full of life's biggest challenges - schizophrenia and domestic abuse, to name two. Each little detailed aspect of the character's lives, interactions and thoughts were presented in a way that engaged me on practically every one of the book's 897 pages.For all the dysfuntion, the ending seemed, to me, a bit too 'happily ever after'. While I admire Lamb's writing and found myself enthralled by the story, I was put off by some things to the point that I doubt I will read another of his books. 
    • 4/5
      Good characters who stick with you for a while after reading this book.
    • 3/5
      I would recomend this book for teens that are 15 or higher because the actual plot of this book is advanced.Its got a more detailed plot. It has grown up situations in it. Something adults and young adults will comprehend.
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I've ever read!
    • 3/5
      I had to read this for a book club, although I was reluctant because I hated the book She's Come Undone by the same author. However, this one was relatively painless to read and an interesting story. Although I read it a while ago, I remember being digusted by the ending... my assumption at the time was that the author had a deadline to meet.
    • 5/5
      I love this book. I really got into She's Come Undane and this one did not disapoint!
    • 1/5
      This is a terrible work. The story about a self-centred jerk is without any socially redeeming value. I have been deeply suspicious of any book labeled as 'Oprah's Book Club' ever since.
    • 3/5
      Great book, awesome characters. I didn't like the parts where it went way back into history.
    • 5/5
      The speakers voice was wonderful, each voice expression so descriptive
      Beautiful story
    • 4/5
      True to Wally Lamb style. Enjoyed every moment of it.
    • 3/5
      While some chapters made me eager to read on, others just at times felt long and draggy.Overall its not bad and if I was Dominick, I don't think I would have been able to manage thru like he did...really opened my eyes to real ppl who face such situations.