The Hour I First Believed - Hardcover

Lamb, Wally

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007290683 ISBN 13: 9780007290680

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2008

Synopsis

From the author of the international number one bestseller I Know This Much is True comes a magnificent novel which explores the consequence of violent events, and the chaos that ensues, for human lives blown irrevocably off course

Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen move to Colorado and find jobs at Columbine High School. One day in April 1999, when Caelum is called away by a family emergency, Maureen cowers in a cupboard in the school library, hiding from two students on a murderous rampage. Though miraculously she survives, Maureen cannot recover from the trauma. Seeking solace, the couple returns to Connecticut to an illusion of safety on the Quirk family farm.

As Maureen fights to regain her sanity, Caelum discovers a cache of forgotten memorabilia spanning five generations of his family. As he painstakingly reconstructs the lives of his ancestors, he must confront their secrets and fashion a future from the ashes of his own tragedy. His personal quest for meaning becomes a mythic journey that is both contemporary and quintessentially American.

About this title

Review:

Praise for THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED

‘A fine and humane novel which tries to make sense of America's turbulent times’ Daily Mail
‘Captivating...he entrances’ Financial Times
‘Those who love a good plot will not be disappointed...He avoids any maudlin sentiment and constantly surprises. He delivers on his message of redemption...it is genuinely moving.’ Independent

Praise for I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE

‘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
‘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

Reader reviews on Amazon include:
‘This is my top read ever. It’s fantastic.’
‘I will re-read it for years to come. Why can’t they all be this good?’
‘The book had such an insight of human nature that it left me wondering how was it possible to capture so much truth in a simple way.’
‘It will make you laugh, gasp and cry.’

About the Author:

Wally Lamb’s first novel, ‘She’s Come Undone’, won rave reviews when it was published in 1992. It was a finalist in the ‘Los Angeles Times’ First Novel Award, a Top Ten book for ‘People’ magazine and a Notable Book for the ‘New York Times’. Both ‘She’s Come Undone’ and ‘I Know This Much Is True’ have been chosen for Oprah’s Book Club. Wally Lamb now teaches writing at the University of Connecticut. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and their three sons.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0007290683
• ISBN 13: 9780007290680
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 832