True (I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb)

Member Name: ruth_cole

Product:	I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb
Date:	16/10/04 (354 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: emotional clarity, beautiful writing

Disadvantages: what disadvantages?

A while back, my sister and I decided to swap our favourite books. Amongst the stack (most of which, I have to say, I read with some wearisome disdain, having rather different taste) was Middlesex, which was great. There it is, I thought, the book we agree on. It was with some heaviness of heart that I hefted the 900 tiny print pages of Wally Lamb's doorstop and thought "I bet I'll hate this..."

How wrong can one person get?

Wally Lamb's 1998 New York Times Bestseller is a deceptively simple book. In many ways it's devoid of a plot as such. It is the story of Dominick Birdsey, forty-one years old, unhappily divorced and identical twin to Thomas, a paranoid schizophrenic. Thomas, in a doomed gesture to stop the Gulf War, commits a terrible act of self-mutilation, and once again it is Dominick, born to "run inteference" for his brother, who steps into the breach in a bid to protect him from permanent residence at the local high-security hospital. But gradually it becomes evident that this turning point in the illness of Thomas has become the ultimate push Dominick needs to look into his past, his actions and his fears in order to claim for himself the peace he has, rather ironically, fought bitterly for all his life.

Dominick is an exceptionally drawn and structured character. I know Dominick. I look into his eyes in the mirror and I know where he comes from. He is utterly human, an anti-hero railing against all that the world has thrown at him, identifying in some way with Job, but without the latter's humility. Dominick, a man who does not know who his father is but resents his bullying stepfather and fears the memory of his thunderous namesake grandfather, Domenico Tempesta, is searching to find the pieces of himself without a map. He looks for himself, with trepidation, in sweet, ill, passive Thomas, and sees (gratefully) only the opposite in his stuborn, angry form. Full of temper and righteous indignation, Dominick was a totally enthralling creation from the start, fascinating in both his insight and ignorance, not likeable and yet loveable, not in spite of his flaws but because of them. Particularly in the strains of the relationship that haunts him, his failure to keep Dessa, the love of his life, he is a touching, brooding and yet (and here's the hook) saveable character.

"There are two young men lost in the woods... I may never find one of the young men... The other young man may be calling me."

So says Thomas's doctor to Dominick about half way through, just as we are up to speed with the highlights of the Birdsey childhood. And this marks a changing point in the tone of the book. Up until now, Lamb has been spoonfeeding us tendrils of misery, without a specific direction. Now the point is clear. Dominick CAN be redeemed... he can save himself. And what keeps you reading every last word of the rest of the book is the desperate desire to know if he will. Because it has become obvious that it's down to him to do it.

As for Thomas, he is a similarly sensitively drawn character. I could tell you that I know a schizophrenic, and it's true, but does that qualify me to say if it's an accurate portrayal? No. I'm no doctor, and it's shockingly arrogant to suggest all schizophrenics are the same. But I can tell you that Thomas is occasionally tragic, occasionally petulant, occasionally funny, but always human. This is no patronising portrayal; neither is he a figure of fun. Throughout, Lamb's writing is flowing but generally quite straightforward, which makes the lyrical moments (generally in the form of dreams and memories) little crystalline moments of beauty in a matter-of-fact whole. The same approach is taken to Thomas. He is a fully three-dimensional figure, and I reacted to him much as I think I was supposed to; I felt equal bouts of love, frustration, empathy, fear, loathing, affection... everything Dominick felt, I felt. So I can only conclude that this is indeed beautiful writing, that would draw me in and wrap me up in its coccoon of protective literature.

Other characters are equally impressive. Even smart-talking wiseass Leo, Dominick's best friend, could easily become a stereotype, as could Ray Birdsey, war veteran and surly, asskicking stepfather. The most impressive characterisation is the elusive Ralph Drinkwater, whose path Dominick repeatedly crosses, and possibly that of Domenico Tempesta himself. To go into more detail would be to ruin some of the twists and surprises of this book. I went in knowing nothing but the blurb, and I've given you very little more than that. The fact is, that this is a slow-burning book with little plot. It's a gradual exploration, and the less you know, the better. Tiny incidents become magnified, major incidents become disaster, just as it is in real life. There isn't a story, but a journey, and along that journey there are some shocks and some predictable moments. Life's rich pageant.

There are some moments towards the end of the book when I think that some people might levell the accusation at Lamb that he is being too pat and too neat... some loose ends are tied up. However, for my part, it's done in such a realistic manner that I think we're prone to forget that life is full of stupid coincidences, and that stranger things have happened. I know that from a relatively slow start, wondering what could possibly happen next since the entire plot seemed to have taken place in the first fifty pages, I suddenly picked up pace; the last 500 pages I devoured in a single day.

This gripped at the heartstrings but it ran its fingernails sharply down the spinal chord. I will think about this book. I will dream about it. It wormed its way insidiously into my consciousness and I won't forget it. It will take me a long time to be able to read it again, because it is the kind of potent, tear-enducing tome that doesn't need regular reacquaintance. This is a surprising, engaging, at times magical book. But more than that, it has the clarity of someone who understands humanity. It may not be a true story, but in terms of emotional resonance... I know this much is true.

One word of warning: these are not suicide scribbles. Believe me when I say that whether Dominick makes it or not, there is a strong life-affirming current under this. It's just that rather than affirming life as something beautiful, it reminds you that it just is. This includes scorching beauty, and criminal pain and terror. The point is, you sink or swim, and you and you alone decide what kind of responsibility you take for that.

I would be sorry that I can't say much more but believe me, you wouldn't thank me for giving it away.

rrp £8.99
first published 1998
isbn 0-00-651323-9


Alex
xxx

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