I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

"It is all connected, Dominick. Life is not a series of isolated ponds and puddles; life is this river you see below, before you. It flows from the past through the present on its way to the future...Life is a river. Only in the most literal sense are we born on the day we leave our mother's womb. In the larger, truer sense, we are born of the past---connected to its fluidity, both genetically and experientially."                                   -Dr. Patel, from the novel

It seemed like I would never finish this novel of 897 pages but it was such an intriguing story, I was sorry when I finally did. It gets a 5 rating from me.

In this ultimate dysfunctional family story, Dominick Birdsey has an identical twin who is schizophrenic and a mother who has never revealed the identity of their father. Dominick feels overwhelmed with being brother Thomas's protector and frustrated by the mystery of his paternity. When Dominick meets with Dr.Patel to try to help her analyze his brother, he comes to grips with much of his own guilt, grief and fears. In efforts to help Dr. Patel understand Thomas, he begins to actually find himself.

The novel seems to me to be a story within a story within a story. Not only does the reader follow Dominick's own story but as he reads the autobiography of his late grandfather, we learn the story of a first-generation Sicilian immigrant of the early 1900's. Within the grandfather's story is another story involving two women, one of whom ends up being Dominick's grandmother. There were also flashbacks to the childhood and youth of the twins.

I mentioned this was a dysfunctional family story so it was depressing at times, infuriating at others. Not much entertainment value but very thought-provoking and even profound in places, especially in Dr. Patel's therapy sessions. (See quote above.)

I did enjoy the challenge of figuring out the Italian words and phrases in the grandfather's autobiography, the ones not translated in footnotes by the author. At times, I could use my slight knowledge of Spanish and the context to come up with a meaning. For example, il mal occhio---the evil eye and ovazione in piedi---standing ovation.

A fascinating saga, carefully researched, beautifully written---I Know This Much Is True!