Caught up in "The Hour I First Believed"

[Pitter]

I found this book to be a slow start but have now gotten really caught up in it and it's really flowing now. All the detailed information about the Columbine shootings made me not want to go on, but I forced myself and I'm glad I did. I would definitely recommend this book... at least at this point.

[Ash]

I appreciate that this book wasn't just about the Columbine shootings - it seemed like it would be that way for a while, and then it evolved into something bigger than that. The last line was like being punched in the face ... but in a good way.

[Valerie]

I agree the beginning was a little slow in teh beginning but once you get into the real story it was wonderful. It is sometimes hard to say a book is good or great given the subject matter but I loved this book.

[Monica]

I agree with Valerie and Pitter. I never felt I was as into the novel as I had been with Lamb's other work, but by the end I had come to understand and empathize with the characters and was sad to see the book come to an end.

[Carrie]

I couldn't put this book down. I've read a few others of his and they were all really good, but there was something about this one..... I reccomend it as well.

[Heather]

Totally agree! I loved this book!

[Susan (aka Just My Op)]

I really liked this book, but I liked Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True even more. I highly recommend it.

[Kristy]

I'll admit I didn't love it as much as She's Come Undone (how could I?), but I really am enjoying this book. I appreciate that Lamb really gives us every bit of information that we can get about the characters. I've found myself sympathizing with Maureen, being frustrated with her, and again sympathizing with her as this book goes on, so I think he's really managed to draw me in. I've found myself really researching the topics (Columbine particularly) in the book to find out more about them. I'm only about halfway through so maybe I'll learn to hate it, but I doubt it.

[Patricia]

Just a great book. I loved the insight into PTSD, which is something I had never really understood. And never associated that with something like Columbine. The book does take some time to get into, because the characters are, at first, not 'likeable' - but the way the characters evolve, and your understanding of their character - as you get to know them and understand them, things change. I finished this and went right back to the beginning to do a re-read. Also, I listened to all the music he referred to in his afterword, and it was great. New songs and new artists, and new insight into an author's mind.

[Carol]

I enjoyed the book and found that it added a demention to my understanding of these horrible "shootings" that I never had before. 19 seconds by Jodi Picoult adds again to my understanding.

[Donna]

I got into this right away. Love reading Lamb's books and wasn't disappointed.

[Amber]

Love Wally Lamb and loved this book. Parts of the history of his ancestors was a little drawn out for my taste, but overall I had a hard time putting this book down. I became attached to the characters and felt for them during their struggles.

[Marcia]

It's Wally Lamb. enough said.

This book was amazing...and very sad...but valuable.

[Richie]

Anybody else listening to this book? I'm not much of reader but I'm an avid audiobooker. The only reason I tackled this 20 disc monster is that George Guidall was narrating it. Glad I glad George is perhaps the greatest narrator out there. These fleshed out characters that Lamb creates are brought to life by Guidall's amazing performance. I still got about 5 disks to go and hope this ancestor stuff pays off a little more because it def breaks the pace of the engaging story.

[Richie]

Oh i love the 'unlikeable' characters nothing I hate more than stories about perfect little people with perfect little lives and maybe a flaw or two. Give me real, give me ugly, give me life.

[Donna]

Totally agree!

[Richie]

Done. I can totally understand the complaints of the long-windedness. The modern day stuff was so much more engaging than the 19th century stuff. It was cool how it tied it all together, but again it was a little much. All and all it was good read and again I listened to the book narrated by one the greatest performers ever, George Guidall, so take that into consideration.

[Terry]

loved it. I agree, give me real people and the short comings and it becomes a truly engaging book I can't put down