The problem with reading a really good book is that it spoils you for a long time. It creates a bit of havoc in your routine in that you put off things that need doing, go to bed later than you should and get up earlier than you want to…ignore those around you and generally turn into a very un-social person for a period of time. Thank you very much Wally Lamb!
“I Know This Much Is True” by Wally Lamb is the book, the really good book, I refer to. It’s probably my favorite book ever, and I read a lot. The problem with having a favorite book that is 897 pages long is that you KNOW that every time you re-read it (and you will) you’re going to piss off your family, friends, and associates for a week as you turn inward. That having been said, knowing this book is on my bookshelf is like knowing you have money in the bank….it’s reassuring to know she’s there and she gets better with age. We’re planning on moving to Florida in the next few years, and its books like this that will force me to box up and ship the library. I can’t imagine NOT having them close by. Our family is into e-books (Kindle, I-Pad’s, I-Phone’s etc) but the physical books we have seem to connect us to our earlier days, our journey through life as our tastes in books and our interests expanded and contracted over time. Does that make any sense?
I’m sure some of the appeal of “I Know This Much Is True” is the location of the novel (SE CT) and the former Norwich Hospital which is in our town of Preston. Also in the work the Mohegan tribe is coming of age with its new Mohegan Sun Casino and some of the characters in the novel are Mohegan’s….as is our oldest son Anthony (adopted at age 3 and a half, found his biological parents at age 21 just before the Tribe was federally recognized and the Casino approved)… But even if we lived in Los Angeles and had no family connection with the Tribe…the story of the Birdsey brothers would be as compelling. It’s a book that grabs you early on and doesn’t let go. Initially I found myself “speed reading” a bit just dying to find out what was going to happen next, which is OK as the next time(s) you go in you can sip rather than slurp….enjoy the progression rather than race to the summit if you will, and the subsequent reads don’t disappoint as you find things you missed during the first trip.
If you haven’t read I Know This Much Is True you have something to really look forward to…enjoy it! I do.
