read in 2009 ( )

I'd heard lots of good things about Wally Lamb before getting hold of this book (my bookshop didn't have I Know This Much Is True which was the one recommended to me). I began reading on a long flight and couldn't put it down.

The book is about a married couple - Caelum and Maureen Quirk - who are working at Columbine High School on 20th April 1999. They've moved to Colorado from Connecticut, where Caelum had assaulted his wife's lover and disgraced himself at the high school where he worked. Colorado is supposed to be a fresh start for their marriage, but the events of 20th April 1999 have a devastating effect on their lives.

Maureen is unable to cope after her experience that day, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Caelum struggles to be strong for her, and the rest of the book details the aftermath of Columbine, and its effect on their relationship with each other, their families, and the people they meet.

Lamb is a very good writer, and I found myself sniffling back tears on quite a few occasions while reading this. The Quirks really suffer, and while Lamb doesn't paint Caelum as a particularly sympathetic character at first, you can't help but feel so sorry for him as his life takes one turn for the worse after another. He has no option but to take a good look at himself and his family history on his quest to find peace in his life.

There's a lot going on in the plot, which makes it all the more compelling and emotionally affecting. Very good. ( )

Above all, this is a story of loyalty.

Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, work at Columbine high school; he as a teacher and she as a part-time nurse. She is in the school while the shootings take place; he is out of town at the funeral of the aunt who raised him.

As I read the story of Maureen's PTSD, her subsequent addiction to medication and her arrest for manslaughter, I was continually moved by Caelum's unwavering love and support for her. Even though she had had an affair that nearly ended their marriage. Even as he learns that his family has lied to him about his birth. Caelum isn't perfect, but he is loyal to his wife.

Wally Lamb is an excellent writer who plumbs the depths of his characters and of their histories. Like some other reviewers, I got a bit tired of the story of Caelum's great-great-great Grandmother, and even had to draw myself a quick family tree to keep track of who was who. But it was interesting to contrast that portrayal with that of Maureen's, who severed all ties with her family and whose story is almost exclusively in the present.

I could hardly put the book down. ( )

Received for Christmas - read over Christmas weekend. Excellent book - haunting for those of us in Colorado at the time. ( )

http://www.caribousmom.com/2009/11/20...

Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen both work at Columbine high school in Littleton, Colorado – he as an English teacher, her as a part time school nurse. Their marriage is strained after Maureen had an affair and Caelum retaliated against the interloper and was arrested back in Connecticut… just before they packed up and moved to Colorado to start over. When Caelum’s aunt (who raised him after his mother’s death) falls ill from a stroke, Caelum boards a plane back to the east coast to see her. Little does he know that only days later two boys will open fire at Columbine, killing and maiming dozens. Maureen finds herself cowering in a cupboard in the library during the tragedy – and when she emerges, everything will have changed…for not only her, but Caelum as well.

The Hour I First Believed centers around the Columbine high school shootings. Wally Lamb uses the names of the actual shooters and victims in his book, but revolves this around the fictional Quirks and their families. The first half of this over 700 page book moves quickly, taking the reader through the events of that fateful day and the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. I found myself glued to the pages during this part of the novel. But then Lamb becomes rather tangential as Caelum struggles to deal with his wife’s PTSD and addiction to prescription medication leading to an accident that puts her behind bars. Caelum begins to look back and analyze his life, trying to understand his father’s alcoholism and suicide…and getting caught up in the history of his extended family – all the way back to the civil war. Caelum’s search for understanding involves long chapters devoted to his great-great grandmother’s diary, his mother’s background and life, and a mystery involving two children. The middle of the book slows tremendously because of these additional story lines. By the end of the novel, Lamb redeems his story somewhat – finally tying up the multiple loose ends and providing some closure for the reader.

Thematically, the story is about chaos vs. order, belief in a larger power vs. fate or chance, and how tragedy warps and changes a person through time. It also explores the idea of family connections and how they shape who we become.

I had a hard time rating this book. On the one hand, Lamb is an incredible writer who has a deep understanding of his characters…and is able to translate that understanding to the reader (although I will admit, I did not particularly like Caelum Quirk). On the other hand, the book was heavy with information. Even though a writer must understand EVERYTHING about his character before writing that character’s story, it is not necessary that the reader have all that information. In many ways, I believe The Hour I First Believed was overburdened with too many plot lines. What I really wanted to understand was Caelum and Maureen’s reaction and recovery from tragedy. I did not want to know all about Caelum’s family history. I actually think this novel could have been two novels… one a family saga, the other about the Quirks and how their lives collided with the Columbine shootings.

I don’t believe a lot of readers will have the patience to wade through this entire book without skimming. Even Lamb fans may find it hard to keep reading past mid-book in order to finally get to the satisfying, albeit melancholy end. The best part of the book, in my opinion, was the first half when he focuses in on the Columbine tragedy. Perhaps had Lamb more aggressively edited his tome down to a more manageable 400 or so pages, I would have walked away feeling more positive about the book. Not everyone agrees with me…so please be sure to check out the other reviews linked below. ( )

I breezed through this 700+ pages and completely forgot the central story (the Columbine massacre) until it was introduced - Mr. Lamb's story of Quirk was that engrossing. I enjoyed the insertion of Quirk's family history through century-old letters and the fictional publisher of his first (and only) novel was Simon & Schuster but Mr. Lamb's book was published by Harper Collins. ( )

Despite the criticisms I have of the book - and I am surprised to find myself at the end of it with so many, Lamb's style is so compelling to me, so rich and full and perfectly paced, that I stayed up well past my bedtime for four days because I couldn't put it down. To me, that's an incredible marker of talent - while half my brain was engaging in criticisms, the half that controlled my fingers kept turning the pages.

All of Lamb's work is excellent. His characters are human. As the reader, you often can know much more than they do - can see much more than they do, can watch them walk into some stupid call they've made and screw up and want to yell at them about it. The experience is really like being able to see through someone else's eyes - you can't change them, you can't make them learn more or know better, but you can experience everything with them as they learn, themselves. His subjects are often ordinary people to whom really difficult, and sometimes extraordinary things happen - he's like Donna Tartt meets Michael Chabon. If you like to read books that demonstrate internal struggles and growth, if you like to become deeply enmeshed in a character's "head" and if you like to read about people who themselves are fairly ordinary, with routine responses and feelings and failings - this book (and all of Lamb's work) should make you very happy.

That being said, there are parts of the book I was unhappy with. I didn't realize, before I started reading, that this story would be connected, slightly but consistently to I Know This Much Is True, Lamb's previous book about the Birdsey twins. I felt that Lamb got a little heavy with his reliance on the images and theory of twinning - which the previous book had grappled with beautifully, and I myself didn't feel that these themes added that much to the story. They felt too contrived to me, unnecessary and distracting. Additionally, the last 20% or so of the book contains a large quantity of recited historical narrative about an ancestor of the main character, presented in the form of a presented paper or doctoral thesis. I found this rough slogging - I don't care for historical listings of facts, much, myself - and the often-dry recitations there "so and so did this, which was unusual for people like so and so at this time. Then so and so did that." were a striking and unwelcome contrast to Lamb's usual style. It felt to me that he had given up on writing the story and wanted us to know this biography - but it wasn't clear to me why that was. I didn't care much about the character mentioned - we didn't know that much about who she was. And while it was an important plot point for the narrator to have that information, there were other ways to accomplish this. But I think this will really depend on what you want from a book - a previous commenter says exactly the opposite, preferring historical recitation to interiority and character development, that reviewer says s/he preferred the last pages to the rest.

Lamb does a workable job of weaving larger themes into the personal struggles of the narrator - he manages, with varying degrees of subtlety, to work in some meditations on the unforseeable effects of traumatic events, both large and small, on how little one person can know another, on feelings of helplessness to change much in the worlds in which we live. I find his characters not only compelling, but likeable. And Lamb's name on a cover will still be enough to convince me to buy whatever he comes out with next.

But if you're going to start somewhere, I'd read I Know This Much Is True first - and if you'd like to read about a Columbine type situation, I think that We Need to Talk About Kevin is a much more solid, even, and less-contrived feeling book. ( )

Reviewed by Mrs. Belcher (English Language Learners)
The narrator of the book is a male English teacher at Columbine High School who happens to be away at a funeral when the shootings take place. However, his wife is the school nurse at Columbine and is with a student in the library when the boys go on the killing spree during the lunch hour; she escapes by hiding in a cabinet. The book follows their lives as a couple after the tragedy. ( )

I liked the last quarter of the 700+ page book better than the first three quarters. It is evident that Wally Lamb struggled initially, which is unfortunate. I think the book could have been half of its length, and it could have been more powerful. I much preferred "Columbine" by Dave Cullen; sometimes non-fiction is better than fiction. ( )

Having read both of Wally Lamb’s previous novels, She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much is True, I knew what to expect when I began his latest, The Hour I First Believed. The latter two books even overlap ever-so-slightly, with a brief mention and a mutual character. Both feature a dense story, one that would delve into a previously-unknown-to-the-protagonist backstory at some point, a great deal of inner reflection, and after further crisis, a hopeful ending. And Lamb stayed true to form in that regard, though, if I must compare, with slightly less success.

The novel begins with a tragedy from real life, the Columbine shootings. Handled with great grace and insight, the pictures we all saw on television are brought to us once again, this time through the eyes of the fictional characters Lamb has interwoven with the real victims. Caelum Quirk and his wife survive the attacks – Caelum is across the country, visiting his dying aunt, and Maureen hides in a cupboard in the Columbine library, praying and terrified – but are scarred deeply by the experience. Their struggles, both as a couple and separate from each other, are unapologetic and human.

Caelum Quirk’s voice sounds a great deal like Dominick Birdsey’s, from I Know This Much is True; the two men also share the experience of being the one to deal with the fallout from a tragedy, rather than suffer it themselves. Collateral victims, Caelum and Dominick’s families both have secrets in their past, and in both cases, Lamb delves into that in the latter half of the book. With The Hour I First Believed, though, I felt it was done less successfully. Some of the letters from Caelum’s ancestors were hard to follow, and the intricacies of the family scandals were equally confusing. Although they eventually added to the story, and certainly to Caelum’s story, they somewhat abruptly interrupted the flow of the novel at times.

Ultimately, Lamb’s writing is as polished as ever, and this story, like the others, is one worth telling. I Know This Much is True is a story about redemption and forgiveness, and in many ways The Hour I First Believed is about the same, and about finding the faith to do so and move on. Deeply impactful and insightful, the book does falter in spots, but the overall value gained from the experience of reading it is worth getting through them. ( )

I agree with the other reviewer, the story revolving around Caelum, Maureen, and Columbine were compelling and well done. The immediate and long term effects of PTSD and the examination of evil were provocative and enlightening. The book then wandered through at least three separate stories, all books unto themselves, treading through the same themes. Lost the impact. I was glad to finish. But glad for the bits that touched me.

This is not a book I would have picked up to read but it was a Book Group selection so dutifully read. I'm glad I did. The book is about Caelum and Maureen Quirk, teacher and school nurse at Columbine. He is absent on the fateful day and she was a survivor. The author writes with great clarity on the event at the school itself, the history of the shooters and the impact on the whole community. Lamb details the impact of Maureen's post-traumatic stress on her husband and marriage, her downward spiral and ultimate tragedy. The story is told from Caelum's point of view and the reader gets to experience his slow understanding of himself and his behavior. My biggest problem with the book comes with the second half. Lamb leaves his original story and veers off on a related but essentially separate story of Caelum's history and exploration of his family through the discovery of some old family documents. I found myself skipping ahead to try to figure out who these people were that he was writing about. This could have been done as a sequel. ( )

I really enjoyed I Know this Much is True and was eagerly anticipating Wally Lamb's new book which was quite a long time coming.
I loved this book - it was a great read - hard to put down with believeable characters and a story line that wove characters and past and present together into a facinating story of family and their secrets and how in a split second things outside of our control can change lives irrevocably. Wally Lamb is an author that delivers great holiday reading - can't wait for his next one! ( )

I don't know why I read his books. They all seem to interest me at first, but lose me about halfway through. I was fascinated by the post-traumatic stress angle, especially since it was after Columbine, but most of the rest of the book just didn't grab me. ( )

The story of the Columbine shootings was horrifically realistic, using real names and actual journal entries. Wally Lamb is a master at bringing the story to life describing the scents and sounds, helping the reader to feel what the victims must have. The lasting effects of violence is the focus of this story - from Caelum’s reaction to his wife’s betrayal to the teens’ deadly rampage. Powerful and heart wrenching, I couldn’t put it down. . . Then the second half of the book began. The author went off in a completely different direction as Caelum sets out to discover the history of his family. Unfortunately, the reader is forced to trudge along on this painfully drawn out trek. The storyline may have been mildly interesting if I wasn’t so anxious to continue on with Caelum and Maureen’s journey. I was thankful just to successfully struggle through the second, seemingly unrelated, storyline and finally put an end to the history lesson. 5 stars for the first half, 1 for the second. ( )

Wally Lamb has the ability to create an interwoven tapestry of plot lines which result in a profoundly meaningful experience for the reader. The main themes of this story are: love, chaos and the bifurcation it engenders. In this story, a butterfly truly creates a tidal wave over time. A couple of favorite phrases are, "When a woman surenders her freedom, she does not have to surrender her dignity" and "Sometimes when you're looking for what you want, you run smack into what you need." A complex, cross-generational, contemporary and relevant novel. Loved it! ( )

I hate to say it because I loved Lamb's, "She's Come Undone" but this book was a tortorous read. It meanders and I just stopped reading. ( )

The story is about Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen. Caelum is a teacher at Columbine and is home burying is aunt when the April 1999 shooting occurs. His wife Maureen, a school nurse, however is at the school when the shooting occurs. Once this happens I spent a week or more investigating the shooting, its victims and the boys who were responsible, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. I spent a lot of time researching what really happened not just what the media let us in on 10 years ago. While it doesn't change the tragic events of that day it was enlightening.
The books goes into the post-traumatic stress Maureen experiences and how it effects she and Caelum's marriage. In hopes of reducing Maureen's stress they move to the farm owed by Caelum's aunt who recently passed. Many more people get involved in the story at this point and things do get a little confusing even if you are paying close attention.
Maureen commits a crime that lands her in a women's prison. This prison is on the farmland she and Caelum live on as the prison was originally started by one of his ancestor's. Caelum comes across paperwork chronicling the history of his family and the family member who started the women's prison.
Though the book is long it is a quick read, but pay attention or you will get lost. While sometimes I thought Wally Lamb was trying to do to much with this one book at the end I felt like it was all good. You needed it all to make it feel like a complete read and unlike other books you don't have to wonder what happened to the character's or the storyline when the book was over. It was all there. ( )

I started this book thinking that it was "about Columbine." But it meanders far outside the contrived boundaries of April 1999 into so many rivulets that it is more than that, and less. The novel fails, ultimately, as it tries to do too much. The main character, as Lamb notes in the afterword, is in a complicated labyrinth made up of family history, social inequity, genetics, fabrications, and universal chaos. In the end, the narrative offers up the platitude of "hope" and boils down to the secret of life being able to cope with whatever it hands you. I'm not sorry I read it, but I couldn't say it will stick with me for long. ( )

http://thebookwormslibrary.com/?p=265... ( )

Yes, this was a good book, but it just didn't do it for me. Perhaps you have to be American to relate to it. I felt I wasn't really learning anything from it, although, by the end, I had probably learnt a bit about post-traumatic stress disorder and a bit about what happens in women's correctional institutions. But how is it that wonderful, absorbing books are written that are not crowded with mass murderers, child abuse, prostitution, substance abuse, fatal car crashes, marital infidelity, suicides, skeletons in closets and so on? And I couldn't keep track of who was who amongst the family members. ( )

This book has received wonderful reviews from the critics and has been enthusiastically recommended by friends, but I was loathe to read a novel which used the Columbine Massacre as its raison d’être.

I was wrong and everyone else was right: Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen worked at Columbine High School in Colorado but on the day of the massacre he was in Connecticut, burying his aunt.

In the aftermath, while Maureen is struggling with the trauma, Caelum takes her to the family farm where he uses old documents to discover past secrets. It might sound drear and depressing but, trust me, it’s an excellent read. ( )

This book was amazing....I couldn't put it down! There were so many twists and turns....most I didn't even see coming!! It's worth all 700 plus pages. I highly recommend it. If you have read other books by Wally Lamb you will love The Hour I First Believed! ( )

I loved his book This Much I Know is True; read his earlier novels and was disappointed, and was even more disappointed in this book. In fact I gave up after 350 pages (only halfway through!). I liked the plot line, pretty much, once it got going, about the emotional and psychological effects on the protagonist's wife of being in the library on the day of the shooting. But there were just too many digressions; too many times I kept wondering "and why do I care about this?" - so that finally I gave up. ( )