The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

The Hour I First Believed

By Wally Lamb

I knew I was in trouble when I was in tears halfway through the forward. Wally Lamb is one of those writers who always hits me where I live: he's funny, he's detailed, and he's not afraid to go to incredible sentimental and simultaneously dark places. I bought this book the instant I saw it having LOVED his first two, and was salivating at the thought of it while I pushed through my other (albeit excellent) reads.

And it did not disappoint. I remember having this experience when reading I Know This Much is True; I can read his books while the television is on. I am so engrossed in his stories that I am able to tune out everything around me. And though I am insanely busy right now, and the book is no light weight (over 700 pages) I finished it in just under two weeks, through tear clogged eyes, naturally.

And, I happened to begin it the very day of the tenth anniversary of the Columbine shootings, which was just a weird coincidence. But the use of Columbine in this book, while pivotal and life changing for his characters, is just a jumping off point for a much larger story, spanning whole centuries, and encompassing more that one personal and national tragedy. If there is any criticism of WL's writing I would imagine it would be that he's almost too topical, incorporates too much of real-life events, but personally I appreciate that about his writing. He, like the rest of us, struggles to assign meaning to all of it.

One particularly thrilling moment of the book for me was an undeniable shout-out to his readers by mentioning a character and event that occurred in one of his other books. Like many writers (Anne Tyler, Stephen King) he is committed to his New England location and world, and even though Columbine plays a huge role in this book, Connecticut and its citizens are the main characters and most of the story takes place in that part of the country. Some might feel it is a bit of a cheap gag to throw in a reference to another book, but personally, I love it when a writer is so confident in the universe he has created that he is able to do that.

Naturally, as with all his books, it is not for the easily depressed, or those who loathe sentimentality. It goes to some pretty dark and depressing places. And it still wraps up nicely in the end, but I felt a lot less neatly than did She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True. His ability to capture the average, selfish, yet relatable and likable man is proven again in this novel, and it had me gripped from cover to cover.

I highly recommend.

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UP NEXT: The Believers by Zoe Heller