I Know This Much Is True

Just because you can’t see mental illness like you could see a broken bone, doesn’t mean it’s not as detrimental or devastating to a family or an individual” – Demi Lovato

Dominick and Thomas Birdsey are identical twins living in the fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut. Dominick is mentally typical, but Thomas is a paranoid schizophrenic. They were raised in a chaotic and abusive household. Ray, their adoptive step-father, was a former military man with an explosive temper. He was abusive to all of them, but his prime target was Thomas. Their mother, was a quiet, gentle woman plagued with a cleft lip and an inability to stand up to her bullying husband.

Now in his adulthood Dominick struggles with the ramifications of show more his own lost childhood and his brother's mental illness. His marriage has failed following the tragic death of his infant daughter and his business as a housepainter is in trouble. When his mother, Concettina, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Dominick promises to take care of Thomas after she is gone. A few years later, Thomas enters a public library, pulls out a knife, and cuts off his own hand in protest of the impending Gulf War. He’s committed to a maximum security asylum and Dominick struggles to protect him from mistreatment in a system that has little regard for human dignity. Dominick finds himself torn between his dedication to his brother and mounting resentment over what that is costing him.

After his mother death, Dominick discovers an abundance of ancestral history in the pages of his immigrant grandfather’s, Domenico Tempesto, memoir. The more Dominick reads, the more he learns about his delusional grandfather, generations plagued by mental illnesses, and the heart-breaking details of his mother’s own troubled childhood.

'I Know This Much Is True' offers layers of multiple themes: love, shame, loss, survival, abuse of power, suicide, family dysfunction, and of course the effects of mental illness on family dynamics. Lamb gives a poignant and moving presentation of just how the love, commitment, and exhausting efforts of loved ones are met with the grim reality of their own utter powerlessness when dealing with mental illness.

The imagery and descriptive nature of this novel makes this a harrowing read at times. It is an extremely intense, multi-layered novel that delves into some very dark issues, We are reminded that every generation contributes to family dysfunction, and that we are shaped by our beginnings no matter how we might like to alter them. My copy of this novel was just short of 1000 pages long that requires an emotional investment as well as a time one. As has been stated elsewhere this novel rather reminds me of 'The Cutting of Stone' by Michael Verghase as each book deals with twins who end up leading very different life paths. Whilst I'm not sure that love is the correct adjective for this book due to the harrowing details it reveals and perhaps with my own son living with schizophrenia for the last decade or so it is a little too close to home for comfort, I would still highly recommend it. show less

Thomas and Dominic. Identical twins.
Dominic's life reminded me of a country song. You know the ones where anything that could go wrong eventually does. Consider: Dominic spent his entire life worrying about three things. One, who was his father? By not knowing his father Dominic feels he does not know himself. As a child he dreamed of his biological father and fantasized about the day this mystery man would swoop in and save him and Thomas from their abusive stepfather, Ray. Two, Dominic was convinced his mother loved his brother more. Maybe she really did because of Thomas's mental illness. On her deathbed she makes Dominic promise to look after Thomas, all the while refusing to reveal the true identity of their father. Three, show more Thomas's mental illness could be hereditary and sooner or later Dominic would inherit his brother's schizophrenia. Was he just as crazy as his brother and just not know it? All of these worries weigh on Dominic as he tries to cope. In giving up his own life to fulfill the promise he made to his mother his marriage falls apart and he quit his job as a history teacher (ironically, it is history that sets him free).
In order for this story to be successful the reader needed to be grounded in the current events of the time, otherwise Thomas's internal angst doesn't make sense. Eric Clapton's son falling from a window. Desert Storm. The beating of Rodney King. The world on fire. In addition to these unsettling times, Lamb throws in some equally difficult subjects like racism, AIDS, post traumatic stress suffered by veterans, diabetes, and of course, the complicated system of treating mental health.
I deeply love flawed characters; ones who find a way to change just enough that by the end of the book they are going to be okay, even if it is only somewhat okay. They haven't gone from devil to angel but their lives are not the disaster they once were. show less

I Know This Much is True offers stories within stories, and although the book offers as much heartbreak and character analysis as humor and plot, it is such an incredibly clever and careful exploration of a person's story that it's kind of wonderful, and very often difficult to put down. Although it dragged for me when it got to the manuscript excerpts in the middle/second half of the book, even those were such an interesting snapshot of character that I was never inclined to skim or skip them--I just couldn't help being anxious to get back to the voice that held this book together. Because it is the voice that is so powerful, and which makes this book.

The novel was actually recommended to me when I asked for recommendations from show more friends/colleagues on social media, asking that they tell me of the best contemporary book they'd read which was in first person. With most of my friends being readers, writers, and teachers, I expected some phenomenal recommendations, and this one didn't disappoint. Lamb's writing offers everything one could ask from a novel, and more. It is not a short read or an easy read, but it is worth every moment.

Absolutely recommended. show less

I picked up this book from a second-hand shop, for no other reason than the cover. The photo looked like the ultrasound of a monoamniotic twin pregnancy, which my wife and I were having at the time.

Man, am I happy I did... Even though it spent a few years unnoticed on my to-read shelf after that.

Meanwhile, I am the happiest father of not one, but two sets of identical twins, but don't worry, reading this book is a guaranteed life-changing experience for everyone. Life-enhancing even. Exploring the sheer amount of realistically portrayed anger, sorrow and doubt but also love, strength and persistence is tantamount to living an extra life of your own.

The story focuses on the most terrible year imaginable for Dominick, twin-brother of the show more paranoid schizophrenic Thomas. In between, we also get to know their asshole maternal grandfather quite a bit through his memoirs. While reading, I continually felt like I wanted to get to know Dominick more, hold him, console him. The first person point of view is masterfully applied since Lamb still successfully manages to create psychologically complete characters around the narrator, each with their own development and growth. The perfect blend with late 20th century East Coast USA serves for a great finishing touch of this otherwise timeless book.

Yes, there is a lot of drama in this book. Perhaps even a tad bit too much. Also, Lamb doesn't shy away from some caricaturesque personalities to start from.

Yet, this is a more than amazing book that made me cry. I know this much is true. show less

I read this book several years ago because a close friend recommended it so highly. I have to admit I started it reluctantly. On the other hand I finished it with a huge sigh of satisfaction and now I recommend it to people all the time.

I appreciated the insights into schizophrenia and living as a twin sibling of a person with a serious mental illness. The book, however, is about so much more than that. At the end though I had thought there was so much "order in the chaos" that it somewhat strained credulity, but not enough to change my opinion of the wondrous nature of this book.

At first I was skeptical about this book because of the 897 pages of the paperback edition, and I kept putting off on buying it every time I see it. Although after a while I decided to go on and buy it already. As I was reading this novel, I was really entranced by it. I thought it would take me several weeks to finish it but instead I ended up finishing it in less than one week. It's definitely blissful, moving, and heartbreaking. In the beginning I thought it would just be about a schizophrenic twin brother, but the author adds more into the story, and as I read this novel, the author takes me into different paths of the story including Thomas' grandfather's journal (which was his grandfather's past life), and Thomas' & Dominick's show more past & present life. The book was not just concentrated on a single objective but it had multiples, including mental illness, brotherhood, confession, penance, family history, abuse, marriage failure, SIDS, and self-discovery. Don't be intimidated by the 897 pages of this book, it will be worth your while. show less

The first time I read this book, I actually liked it less than She's Come Undone. I related to She's Come Undone more than this, being a woman. I hate to say it, but it took watching the miniseries (which is amazing, in my opinion) to really make me see how amazing this story is. The narrator is not necessarily too likable, but I feel that his behavior is understandable in relation to the life he has lived and the things he has experienced. If I had to name a great American novel, I would pick this book. Also, I love a long book that you can immerse yourself in and just feel like you know the people and places in the story. This has become one of my "comfort" books.