Only one word, incredible.

One of the best I've read this year.

Sept 27, Being offered as a bookring.

The topics it unflinchingly exploresAmental illness, dysfunctional families, domestic abuseAare rendered with unsparing candor. But thanks to well-sustained dramatic tension, funky gallows humor and some shocking surprises, this sinuous story of one family's dark secrets and recurring patterns of behavior largely succeeds in its ambitious reach. The narrative explores the theme of sibling responsibility, depicting the moral and emotional conundrum of an identical twin whose love for his afflicted brother is mixed with resentment, bitterness and guilt. Narrator Dominick Birdsey, once a high-school history teacher and now, at 40, a housepainter in upstate Connecticut, relates the process that led to his twin Thomas's schizophrenic paranoia and the resulting chaos in both their lives. The book opens with a horrific scene in which Thomas slices off his right hand, declaring it a sacrifice demanded by God. Flashbacks illuminate the boys' difficult childhoods: illegitimate, they never knew their father; diffident, gentle Thomas was verbally and physically abused by their bullying stepfather, who also terrorized their ineffectual mother. Scenes from the pivotal summer of 1969, when Dominick betrayed Thomas and others in crucial ways, are juxtaposed with his current life: his frustrating relationship with his scatterbrained live-in, Joy; his enduring love for his ex-wife, Dessa; his memories of their baby's death and of his mother's sad and terrified existence. All of this unfolds against his urgent need to release Thomas from a mental institution and the psychiatric sessions that finally force Dominick to acknowledge his own self-destructive impulses. Lamb takes major risks in spreading his narrative over more than 900 pages. Long stretches are filled with the raunchy, foul-mouthed humor of teenaged Dominick and his friends. Yet the details of working-class life, particularly the prevalence of self-righteous male machismo and domestic brutality, ring absolutely true.

This book is going on an international ring. Please journal when the book arrives and of course when you're done reading it and let us know when it gets mailed to the next person. Here's the list of participants in order:

Ramya NJ Can ship anywhere

brewster13 Canada Prefers to ship within Canada and the US but will ship surface if necessary

BigBird2002 Az ship US only

Mamikaem Missouri Can ship internationally

Helly77 UK Can ship anywhere but will be surface mail if out of the Europe

suzen France Can ship anywhere

violetsforfurs Au Can ship anywhere

Back to me.

Happy reading! :-)

This arrived in the mail yesterday. A few books come before it on my TBR shelf.

This book is a fat one, and I've got a few other fat ones before this. I'm going to send this on unread and check out a copy from the library at some point. But I'll read with interest others' comments as this book makes its way through the ring. The book is now packed up and ready to be shipped. I’ll get to the PO Thursday morning and make a brief journal update once the book is actually in the mail. Thanks, jarrett622, for sharing this book!

I sent this off to Canada on Wednesday, 4-6 transit by surface mail.

Got this in the mail yesterday ... will start reading right away.

What a fabulous book. At first I was somewhat intimidated by the sheer size of the book, but once I started reading I didn't want it to end. I found myself reading late into the night (and grogging my way through work the next day) because I absolutely could NOT put it down.
It's how Wally Lamb gets inside each character - makes you feel what each character in the book is feeling. There are several characters' stories told in this book, and I feel that I know each of them intimately. The flow of the book was great - how each 'story' was interwoven, how different times were brought together seamlessly.

I think this is a truly great book. It's one of the few bookring books that I will now go out and buy to have a permanent copy for myself. Thank you so very much for sharing. I hope the remaining bookring participants enjoy this as much as I.

I will get this book packaged up and in the mail next week. Brew

Received this a few days ago in the mail. Thanks!

UPDATE: 04/26/2005 - Finally starting this today!

04/27/2005 - helly77 has obtained her own copy of this book, so has asked to be skipped. Suzen also wishes to be skipped.

05/05/2005 - I'm really enjoying this book! I have PMed the next in line, violetsforfurs, but have received no response. It doesn't look like she's been active since January. I will try again when I'm near the end of the book.

I am thoroughly captivated by Wally Lamb's storytelling and was kind of sad to see this one end. It's going back to its "owner" now since some participants have asked to be skipped or were unavailable.

Thanks so much, jarrett622, for sharing this book with us!

Mailing back to jarrett622 on 05/23/05.