I Know This Much is True: The major new Sky Atlantic drama starring Mark Ruffalo - Softcover

Lamb, Wally

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006513239 ISBN 13: 9780006513230

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2009

Synopsis

Huge American bestselling novel that tells of identical twins: a paranoid schizophrenic and his brother whose life is dominated by his resentment of and love for his damaged twin

Dominick Birdsey’s whole existence is coloured by the knowledge that his twin brother can never be fully responsible for his frightening behaviour, while he himself has beaten the biochemical odds to remain sane. But at what cost?

This powerful, heartwrenching drama draws on the deepest human emotions: the need to know oneself, responsibility to family, the influence of hidden history. The result is a highly acclaimed novel of survival, written with great sensitivity.

About this title

Review:

‘A triumph of simple beauty’
Time

‘I Know This Much Is True never grapples with anything less than life’s biggest questions... a modern-day Dostoyevsky’
New York Times

‘Every now and then a book comes along that sets new standards for writers and readers alike. Wally Lamb’s latest novel is stunning – and even that might be an understatement’
Associated Press

‘Lamb creates a nuanced picture of a flawed but decent man. And the questions that permeate the novel... contribute to a fully developed and triumphantly resolved exploration of one man’s suffering and redemption’
Publishers Weekly

‘A modern Greek tragedy... [Lamb’s] success is to present this with terrific readability, tenderness, optimism and, most surprisingly, wit... The hallmark of the book is fine writing and a commendable depth of characterisation’
The Times

‘Wally Lamb’s achievement is to force you to feel Dominick’s pain... the events in Dominick’s everyday nightmare are presented with a sneaky simplicity which generates emotional tension’
Daily Telegraph

From the Back Cover:

“When you’re the sane brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your hands- the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you’re into both survival of the fittest 'and' being your brother’s keeper – if you’ve promised your dying mother – then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night.”

Dominick Birdsey’s entire life has been compromised and constricted by Thomas, the paranoid schizophrenic twin he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father and their long-suffering mother. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into distinct yet connected entities. From childhood, Dominick fightts for separation and wholeness in a house of fear.

But Dominick’s talent for survival comes at enormous personal cost. And it will be put to the ultimate test when his brother commits an unthinkableact that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick’s life. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked within himself, and the sins of his ancestors. He will have to search for the courage and love to forgive, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin.

Set against the panoply of twentieth-century America, this deeply moving and satisfying novel brings to light humanity’s most profound needs and fears: our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive. Joyous, mystical and exquisitely written, 'I Know This Much Is True' will leave no reader untouched.

ACCLAIM FOR BESTSELLING PHENOMENON WALLY LAMB:

“A triumph of simple beauty”
TIME

“'I Know This Much Is True' never grapples with anything less than life’s biggest questions – a modern-day Dostoyevsky”
NEW YORK TIMES

“Every now and then a book comes along that sets new standards for writers and readers alike. Wally Lamb’s latest novel is stunning – and even that might be an understatement”
ASSOCIATED PRESS

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0006513239
• ISBN 13: 9780006513230
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 912