The Hour I First Believed: A Novel
by Wally Lamb | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 9780060393496 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 9780060393496 Global Overview for this book
2 journalers for this copy...
I recently visited the OBCZ at Carroll Community College and found this book there, unregistered. I've read the author's She's Come Undone, and really enjoyed it, but I think I'll pass on this one.
From the cover -
Wally Lamb's two previous novels, She's Come Undone, and I Know This Much Is True, struck a chord with readers. They responded to the intensely introspective nature of the books, and to their lively narrative styles and biting humor. One critic called Wally Lamb a "modern-day Dostoyevsky," whose characters struggle not only with their respective pasts, but with a "mocking, sadistic God" in whom they don't believe but to whom they turn, nevertheless, in times of trouble (New York Times).
In his new novel, The Hour I First Believed, Lamb travels well beyond his earlier work and embodies in his fiction myth, psychology, family history stretching back many generations, and the questions of faith that lie at the heart of everyday life. The result is an extraordinary tour de force, at once a meditation on the human condition and an unflinching yet compassionate evocation of character.
When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Marureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Connecticut, to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.
While Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers a cache of old diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in an upstairs bedroom of his family's house. The colorful and intriguing story they recount spans five generations of Quirk family ancestors, from the Civil War era to Caelum's own troubled childhood. Piece by piece, Caelum reconstructs the lives of the women and men whose legacy he bears. Unimaginable secrets emerge; long-buried fear, anger, guilt, and grief rise to the surface.
As Caelum grapples with unexpected and confounding revelations from the past, he also struggles to fashion a future out of the ashes of tragedy. His personal quest for meaning and faith becomes a mythic journey that is at the same time quintessentially contemporary - and American.
The Hour I First Believed is a profound and heartrending work of fiction. Wally Lamb proves himself a virtuoso storyteller, assembling a variety of voices and an ensemble of characters rich enough to evoke all of humanity.
From the cover -
Wally Lamb's two previous novels, She's Come Undone, and I Know This Much Is True, struck a chord with readers. They responded to the intensely introspective nature of the books, and to their lively narrative styles and biting humor. One critic called Wally Lamb a "modern-day Dostoyevsky," whose characters struggle not only with their respective pasts, but with a "mocking, sadistic God" in whom they don't believe but to whom they turn, nevertheless, in times of trouble (New York Times).
In his new novel, The Hour I First Believed, Lamb travels well beyond his earlier work and embodies in his fiction myth, psychology, family history stretching back many generations, and the questions of faith that lie at the heart of everyday life. The result is an extraordinary tour de force, at once a meditation on the human condition and an unflinching yet compassionate evocation of character.
When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Marureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Connecticut, to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.
While Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers a cache of old diaries, letters, and newspaper clippings in an upstairs bedroom of his family's house. The colorful and intriguing story they recount spans five generations of Quirk family ancestors, from the Civil War era to Caelum's own troubled childhood. Piece by piece, Caelum reconstructs the lives of the women and men whose legacy he bears. Unimaginable secrets emerge; long-buried fear, anger, guilt, and grief rise to the surface.
As Caelum grapples with unexpected and confounding revelations from the past, he also struggles to fashion a future out of the ashes of tragedy. His personal quest for meaning and faith becomes a mythic journey that is at the same time quintessentially contemporary - and American.
The Hour I First Believed is a profound and heartrending work of fiction. Wally Lamb proves himself a virtuoso storyteller, assembling a variety of voices and an ensemble of characters rich enough to evoke all of humanity.
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I seem to remember having released this onto the shelf at Taneytown Cafe a couple (or so) weeks ago.
Welcome to BookCrossing!
To the finder of this book:
Hello and congratulations! You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing -- maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!) Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels - You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free. Happy reading!
I seem to remember having released this onto the shelf at Taneytown Cafe a couple (or so) weeks ago.
To the finder of this book:
Hello and congratulations! You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing -- maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!) Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels - You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free. Happy reading!
Brought this home from the recently closed Taneytown Cafe/Three Fine Cups. This hb will be released again soon.
Released 14 yrs ago (5/23/2010 UTC) at Baltimore, Maryland -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Taking this to our meet at Book Thing and Kosher Bite for Kerbam1421, who has it on her wishlist (and I believe will be attending our meet tomorrow). Enjoy!
5/28 update - Kerbam1421 didn't make it to our meet last weekend, so I dropped this in the mail to her today.
Taking this to our meet at Book Thing and Kosher Bite for Kerbam1421, who has it on her wishlist (and I believe will be attending our meet tomorrow). Enjoy!
5/28 update - Kerbam1421 didn't make it to our meet last weekend, so I dropped this in the mail to her today.
Received this in yesterday's (6/2/10) mail. What a nice surprise! I really enjoyed "She's Come Undone", so I'm hoping I will like this one as well.
Thank you so much for the unexpected surprise. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to the meet. I'll be keeping my eye on the group page to see when ya'll are meeting again. The summer's get so busy, so fast! :)
Thanks again! :)
Thank you so much for the unexpected surprise. I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it to the meet. I'll be keeping my eye on the group page to see when ya'll are meeting again. The summer's get so busy, so fast! :)
Thanks again! :)
