false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637910m/3284377.jpg 3086160 13 <p>Wally Lamb's two previous novels, <i>She's Come Undone</i> and <i>I Know This Much Is True</i>, 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 (<i>New York Times</i>). </p> <p>In his new novel, <i>The Hour I First Believed</i>, 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. </p> <p>When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Maureen, 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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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&#8212;and American.</p> <p><i>The Hour I First Believed</i> is a profound and heart-rending 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.</p> 3811636 book 1 11 2008 The Hour I First Believed: A Novel total:8048|5:1848|4:2936|3:2158|2:860|1:246| 8048 29424 14998 2504 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 2 34 false Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 16:13:50 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 16:17:07 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 25 false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 12 19:31:41 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 19:38:22 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 1 20 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 06 05:49:18 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 06 05:50:45 -0800 2008 “(H)a...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 2 20 false Thu Nov 27 12:38:35 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 12:51:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 11 false Wed Nov 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 05:37:42 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 05:44:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 2 10 false Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 08:55:45 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 18:12:00 -0800 2009 Here goes ...

Why is it that in an era of 'Green' being the new Black, of ADD being the new normal, and 'fast and snippy' the new 'slow and steady,' do otherwise talented authors suddenly feel the need...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 3 12 false Thu Nov 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Oct 29 19:43:01 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 27 13:20:09 -0800 2008 The Hour I First Believed? By Wally Lamb? Yeah, I read it. Hey, I didn't say it was great or anything. In fact, it seems like Mr. Lamb was really inspired by that show. Law and Order? Yeah, you know the one where they use crappy dialog to push forward bizarre plot points and explain complex technica...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 4 7 false Tue Dec 16 13:59:53 -0800 2008 Sun Sep 14 17:31:50 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 16 13:59:53 -0800 2008 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 1 7 false Mon Dec 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 10:48:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 08:10:24 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 3 4 false Sat May 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Feb 18 14:00:21 -0800 2009 Sat May 02 18:42:00 -0700 2009
In esssence, this is a book about the aftermath of violence: What do people do to thrive, or cope--or not?

There are some very powerful aspects to this book: everything from Columbine to life in a women's p...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 1 7 true Thu Jan 22 01:30:31 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 03:47:56 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 01:30:31 -0800 2009
This book is absolutely terrible, but well crafted. It's like a well lit, professionally taken picture of a headless puppy. Don't read it, unless you consider gratuitous constant tragedy to be the definition of depth. Believe me, this is the worst example of the McDeep conce...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 2 10 true Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 26 06:47:16 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 09:51:25 -0800 2009 The Hour I First Believed.

Lamb takes the major events from the decade: Columbine, Hurricane Katrina, Iraq War,...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 5 false Mon Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 20:10:54 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 19:59:09 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 5 false Sat Nov 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jul 13 15:52:11 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 30 06:47:02 -0800 2008 1
I thought Lamb took a huge risk by weaving fictional characters in with the...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 5 false Mon Nov 10 13:07:32 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 12:12:02 -0800 2008 It has about 5 different story lines going on-each of them are intriguing. Found myself gasping out loud, laughing and crying. Gives you alot to think about. The Columbine story hooks you instantly,...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 4 4 false Tue Nov 18 07:32:50 -0800 2008 Sat Oct 03 09:46:00 -0700 2009
This one, "The Hour I First Believed," focuses on the tragedy of the Columbine shootings. Names are not changed; the killers and the victims are the real ones.

For more about this book, see my review on amazon.com under ...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 5 false Mon Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 13:04:59 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 14:40:39 -0800 2008 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 5 3 false Thu Nov 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 16 18:25:51 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 13 10:56:46 -0800 2009 one Caelum is trying to live in the aftermath - guilt because he could have said something about th...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 3 3 false Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 07 19:48:53 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 12:18:21 -0800 2008 He truly did give you all the information you could ask for, chalked full of history and ...more...]]> 3086160 0060393491 9780060393496 7507 2371 3.66 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255637905m/3086160.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3086160.The_Hour_I_First_Believed_A_Novel 3 3 false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 07:22:15 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 07:34:19 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3284377