Product ReviewsThe Hour I First Believed : A Novel by Wally Lamb (2008, Hardcover)

I betcha fifty bucks this wins the Pulitzer

We've all know since Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" hit the shelves that this is a man who is a gifted writer. He followed his first triumph with the amazing "I know This Much Is True" so we saw that he was able to change voices in narrative; his writing skills were defined well. Ten years later his novel "The Hour I First Believed" came out and the voice of narrative was that of Caelum Quirk. Wally Lamb does not exist in this first person novel. Lamb is a master at creating character and his character's are as well done and as brilliant as a character created by Meryl Streep. Wally Lamb is, without question, one the most gifted American Writer alive today and, perhaps, ever.

Mr. Lamb very thoroughly and humanly examines PTSD or posttraumatic stress disorder should you have spent the last five years unaware. He takes a normal American couple: Caelum is a high school English teacher; his wife Maureen (we grow to love her as "Mo") both left the family farm (five generations in the same home,) and moved to Colorado to be closer to Mo's family. They both get a job at the same school and the book begins on April 16, 1999. It is Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and it is four days prior to Hitler's birthday. So, like "Titanic" or "Tale of Two Cities", we know what the characters do not: that they are doomed very soon. As a result it becomes less about plot and more about melodrama and character, the exact definition of which is how our characters react to outrageous ans horrific situations.

Caelum's Aunt Lolly has died and Caelum must return to the family farm in Connecticut on Sunday the 18th. Mo has assured him that she will join him on the next available flight, which turns out to be Tuesday evening, January 20. A solid five hours after the two now-famous boys create a war zone in and around Columbine High School. Caelum is watching it on live television from his friends bakery in Connecticut and then from his Aunt's television at the farm house. His aunt has died and he needs to arrange the funeral. More than that, he needs Mo, but now he watches on Live television as the building in which Mo is right at the moment is under siege. He doesn't know if Mo is alive or dead. He watched live as friends of his are killed.

She survives physically but her mind is essentially convinced her that she will never be safe again. And she may not. But who is? Caelum begins a quest of his own, begrudgingly but he literally searches his family roots to discover things about his own survival. He can't ever quite keep a conversation about the chaos theory out of his mind during during his flight of despair where a man who studies and teaches about the chaos theory gives him the first half of the formula. It's Caelum's job to find the rest of it. The same is true for us.

Typical of Wally Lamb the story is charges with plot twists and ways to understand what it is to live in someone elses shoes for a while. Because his great grandmother was politically inspired as a suffragette, the only woman's prison in the State of Connecticut happens to be on his family farm; a huge white elephant and an even larger metaphor.In the end, you will be very moved, no matter your own personal circumstance, condition or grade of happiness or satisfaction. A fire will bring new life and a flood will bring out shoots of new plants and animals.Read full review...

A deeply profound novel, heartfelt and heart wrenching.

As with Wally Lambs first two fictional novels, The Hour I First Believed dives deep into the life of it's main character and takes you along for the ride. Through the horrors of Columbine, the pain and agony of a disfunctional marriage, and the life of a school teacher Lamb takes readers into the inner workings of the mind of Mr. Quirk. Through his pain and fear he manages to be a pillar of strength for those around him, all the while discovering family history that was probably best left untouched. Filled with raw emotion, and unbelievable heart, this book made me laugh, cry, think, love and hate all through the eyes of one incredibly remarkable man.
I would strongly recommend this book to any one, and every one. It's hard to find a book that simply won't allow it's pages to be closed and it's words unread. This is one of those books. I waited for years between the release of I Know This Much Is True and The Hour I First Believed simply because of my faith in Lamb as a writer. His words and style bring life to even the simplest of characters, and turn them into blue-collar heroes in their own sense. I hope that I don't have to wait as long for his next release, but if that's what it takes I will.Read full review...

The Hour I First Believed

The Hour I First Believed is about the main character (Maureen) struggle to recover from being part of a horrifying Columbine-like attack. It is about what it means to be a victim and to live with anger, fear and post-traumatic stress. It is about the ways in which violence mars and changes us - often forever. Maureen emerges from the library cabinet physically whole, but it is as if she’s died. Her struggle to heal is long and painful, and her husband is never quite able to help her the way she needs him to and he wants to.

The author’s writing about the Columbine shooting and its aftermath is gripping, chilling, and intense. He uses the killers’ and victims’ real names and incorporates entries from their diaries, transcripts of their videos and webpages, and material from the nationwide news coverage to successfully imagine the fictional Quirks into the real-life events. This section of the book reads like a memoir by a person who really was there, and Lamb’s ability to capture the emotional journey Caelum takes as he attempts to make sense of the incident and to help Maureen heal is powerful and touching.Read full review...

Relevant to our times

Mr. Lamb takes historical facts intertwining these seamlessly with fictious additives that one cognitively has to read between the two. This is not saying his style is distracting, far from it, one needs to be awake to catch the nuances between fact and fiction. I found it to be an intriguing page turner! Excellent read and quite relevant to our country's present state.Read full review...

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An Excellent Book!

The new book by Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, is a tremendous book. It starts first with its size – over 700 pages – and then with the depth of the story found between its covers. It begins with a husband and wife who have “survived” the shootings at Columbine. But the story then proceeds to be more much that just their reaction to the terrible day in 1999. The depth and detail taken with all the characters is a testament to the writing ability of Lamb. The story spans generations and the reader becomes genuinely invested in so many of them. This was a hard book to put down. I have loved every Wally Lamb that I have read – this is the third – and I hope he has many more to write in the future.Read full review...

I cannot put down this book-- amazing work!

Wally Lamb returns again, ten long years later, with this profound novel. It is on the long side, coming in at around 700 pages, but well worth the read. Wally did not disappoint me in the past with She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, and The Hour I First Believed is no different-- amazing work from an amazing author.Read full review...

Special book, fantastic read

I just finished this book today and passed it to a co-worker who is in a bookclub and gives me fantastic books to read. Couldn't put it down, even though not quite as good as I Know This Much Is True. I loved how he referenced the characters in his first two books in this book! So cool. Get this book if you enjoy thorough, detailed writing that wraps you into the character and makes you gasp, cry, laugh and ponder your existence. If you like James Patterson, then this isn't for you. Patterson writes like a kindergartener compared to Wally Lamb.Read full review...

I love this book. Very compelling.

Reasonable price and speedy delivery. I love this book and others that Wally Lamb has written.

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Another Good Wally Lamb novel

Another great novel by Wally Lamb. He again had a novel within a novel, much like in I Know This Much is True. But it was well written.

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Just another great book by an amazing author!

Like his other novels this is a large book that I read in two days. I could not put the book down. He is an amazing author and every book of his leaves you anxious for his next book. He is a genius and this book is amazing!Read full review...