I know Mr. Lamb has been sitting on a big pile of cash for the last ten years, but he should have written the four books he apparently started instead of shoveling them all into this one. I wanted to beat myself with this book half-way through in the hopes my husband would take it away and throw it in the trash. This was a complete disappointment. Lucky for you all you are getting it free rather than to waste your hard earned money on this train wreck of a book.

The critic reviews of this book were less than outstanding. I honestly don't understand why. Yes, this book covers several stories at the same time, and yes, parts of it seem to blast out unexpectedly. But isn't that how the real world works? Things you never expect come flying at you and the average person juggles several different concerns at a time. You have to pay attention to this book, it isn't a fluffy filler like a grocery store paperback romance. But Wally Lamb has always gone off on tangents, so this shouldn't surprise anyone. Worth the energy it takes to appreciate a good book.

If you didn't like Lamb's second novel and loved his first (She's Come Undone), give him another chance with this one. It is a long read, but well worth it. No, it isn't quite the greatness that Undone was, but it gets close.
Lamb definitely does travel some historical ground in this one, from the Civil War, abolition, suffrage to Columbine, the Iraq war and many other current events. As I said, don't think this is a speedy read that you will zip through. I definitely found it it a bit weightier than Undone.
Of course, now I am waiting for his next book. :)

I love Wally Lamb books, and this was no exception. It is over 700 pages, but keeps your interest all the way through. There is the story of the couple whose lives are uprooted by the wife's being involved in the Columbine massacre and her PTSD, (the "main" story), the one about the husband's family life and illustrious heritage as the descendent of a crusader for women's rights and prison reform, the one about Velvet, another victim of Columbine,(but messed up before that), who comes to heal through her association with Maureen and Caelum, the protagonists in the "main" story. Then there is the story of family secrets and illegitimate birth, alcoholism and "love addiction", mores of the 19th century, and on and on. It is like life, ongoing and complex, with multiple influences intertwined and impinging on each other. Read it!

I love the way Wally Lamb writes - he is amazing. This book was another well written book with great character development. However, it should have been broken into 2 separate books - he had some amazing tales to tell but it was way too much for one book. The Columbine shooting and the after effects could have made one really great book and the other story about the family history could have made another really interesting book. I was tempted to give up the story midway because it just didnt seem to know where it was going and I was getting frustrated, however, a friend told me to persevere and I am glad I did. So, if you are in the mood for a very a very long story with many subplots, twists and turns then you will love it. Also, if you have read his book about women in prison,Couldn't keep it to myself, you will find that that was a big influence on this book.

I liked the beginning of the book. The author stayed within the topic. But as the book progresses, the author is talking about many different topics, and I lost interest. This would have been a great book had the author remained focused on the main topic, the Columbine High School shootings. But instead we are reading about the Civil War, family history, and every thing else BUT Columbine.

Story Overview
This is the story of Caelum Quirk -- a middle-aged teacher who is trying to come to terms with his present, his past and his troubled marriage. Married to Maureen (his third wife), Caelum's story begins with his troubles handling Maureen's infidelity. In an attempt to save their marriage, they leave their home in Connecticut and move to Littleton Colorado, where they work at Columbine High School. (Yes...that Columbine High School. Maureen is the school nurse and Caelum is an English teacher.) The move seems to help the marriage somewhat, but Caelum and Maureen still have moments of distance between them. Then Caelum's beloved aunt -- and his only link to his family -- suffers a stroke and Caelum returns to Connecticut to say goodbye. While in Connecticut, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold go on their well-publicized rampage in the high school.

Panicked and unable to reach Maureen, Caelum returns in a panic to Littleton. He finally locates her, but she is a shell of her former self. Trapped in the library during the shootings, Maureen is unable to cope with the fact that she has survived. Maureen begins to unravel. Attempting to help Maureen deal with her post-traumatic stress disorder, Caelum moves them back to his aunt's house in Connecticut. There, Maureen continues to deteriorate while Caelum struggles to keep them financially afloat. During this time, Caelum discovers a secret family history that casts a new light on everything he thought was true about his family.

My Thoughts
You may be thinking "Wow, just go tell us the whole story, why don't you?" Believe me when I tell you that I just gave you the bare bones plot. There is A LOT going on in this book, which I think is ultimately its fatal flaw.

Don't get me wrong. Wally Lamb is a fantastic writer, and I didn't once consider not finishing this book. However, there is so much going on that I felt that the novel suffered. There are long sections of the book devoted to Caelum's ancestor, Lillian Popper, and her experiences during the Civil War era. (These sections are either provided as diary entries or as excerpts from a "thesis" written by one of the characters.) There is a lengthy "transcript" from when Caelum interviews an older gentleman about the history of a cigarette company. There are subplots about Iraq war veterans, Hurricane Katrina victims, a prison, a family unable to accept their favored son's homosexuality, and Caelum's best friend's search for love and the perfect car. In short, there is material enough in this book for about three novels, but Lamb packs it all into one. Ultimately, I think this was a mistake. If Lamb wanted to write about Lillian Popper's life in such depth, perhaps he should have made this a separate novel.

I also have an issue with some of the amazing coincidences that Lamb contrives for his characters. Isn't it just a little too convenient that the Hurricane Katrina victims he offers shelter to include a women's studies graduate student that pulls together the convoluted story of Caelum's family? And during one point, so much stuff happens at the same time that I just threw up my hands in disbelief.

But...there is no getting around the fact that Wally Lamb is a gifted writer. In the case of this book, I felt like he just had too much to say and crammed it all together into one book. I felt it would have been enough to focus on Caelum and Maureen's marriage and their post-Columbine experiences. I think if the author had pulled out three of the different story threads (the Columbine story, the Lillian Popper story, the Iraq war veteran story), he could have had three distinct and more focused novels. As it is, you get it all in one big, sprawling book, and none of the stories get the attention and focus they deserve.

My Final Recommendation
Ultimately, I cannot give this book a no-holds-barred recommendation. I wish I could have liked this book more because the writing itself is darn good, and I love how Lamb incorporates all the little details that squarely places his story in the time in which it was happening. But I really do think the book is flawed because of its sprawl and disjointed plot. Here's wishing Mr. Lamb's next book is a little more focused.

I really liked Wally Lamb's other two books so I was anticipating a good read with this one and I got it.

The story at first seems to be about the tragedy at Columbine but really it is about how a married couple deals with the fallout from the tragedy as well as other things that have affected their lives. Also the exploration of the family history of the main character takes up the latter half of the book. This may at times make it seem like HIFB is two separate stories rolled into one which can be wierd for some.

What I really liked about this book was that the characters were human and really believable. I didn't necessarily like Caelum Quirk or his reactions to some of the issues he deals with in the book but it is how I would imagine a real person would react.

I loved how the book dealt with the PTSD issue. I have PTSD so I was really skeptical about how accurately the author would portray the relationship between Caelum and Maureen after the Columbine fallout. I realize not all people will react the same but a lot of the symptoms are the same and Mr. Lamb nailed the struggles on that front. There were parts of the book where I felt the author had to have been standing in my living room observing me and my hubby before he wrote this book.

The history of the Quirk family was interesting also but it was in this section that the story kind of got bogged down a bit. The author was laying the groundwork for this phase and it got a little less interesting but it did pick back up as the story got more involved.

The story deals with heavy issues so it is probably not for someone who requires a happy ending to everything they read. It is rare that I retain much from a book for more than a day or two but this one stuck with me. Great book overall. I am looking forward to Mr. Lamb's next one.

I thought this was a very intelligently written book. The author includes history, current events, with religious and social relevance. He even includes a reference to his other novel which I thought was very clever.I enjoyed this novel a great deal. A must read for Wally Lamb fans.

I loved this book at the beginning quarter of the story and the last quarter of the story. The 50% in between was very difficult to get through and at times hard to keep the characters from the past straight. Overall, I love Wally Lamb's writing and was fascinated by his ability to apply the believable fictional characters to very real and poignant recent world events of the past. Worth the effort to get to that last page!!

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While the story is interesting and compelling, it is just too long. The end wraps up with a final sentance and, for me, it wasn't satisfying. After investing so much time and energy into this story, I found myself, wondering if that was it.

Not "why" or "if" we believe, but "how"..., September 13, 2009


Although quite long with many subplots, this story of a middle-aged man's search for something to believe in has deeply touched me. The book is divided into several sections, each dealing with different aspects of the lives and choices made by the many characters in the novel from friends to relatives to persons who lived during the time and era being described. The saga spans the periods of years from the 1800s to present day and includes sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives.

In the first part of the story-- and the one that causes the significant conflict for the main character in the book-- the somewhat unsympathetic and unlikable narrator Caelum Quirk is an English teacher off tending to a dying aunt and his wife a part-time nurse at Columbine High School in Colorado at the time that the massacre of students takes place there in April, 1999. (Though the facts of the rampage are presented in the context of fiction, this is an incredibly moving section of the book.) His wife Maureen (Mo) cannot recover from surviving that terrible day and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Unable to function, she withdraws and finds solace in illegally obtained prescription drugs. Without going further to convey more plot details, suffice to say that the marriage falters and Caelum is forced to deal with many issues, not the least of which is confounded when historical documents and old letters belonging to his aunt reveal a family history contrary to what he thought he knew.

Part mystery, part expose, the story of Caelum's quest to find out the truth of himself and his family will urge the reader forward until the very last page is turned. This is a novel that draws one in and never lets go; the search for hope and faith, the profound wish that life has meaning and that there is a purpose for it all -- the good or the evil.

Other reviewers have remarked that the plethora of extraneous and/or historical information, the author's lengthy descriptions of certain aspects of the Civil War, and the dissertation written by one of the characters that he included might be off-putting, but I found the detail and description interesting. This is a saga that spans several generations and involves keeping straight many characters and their relationships to each other. There are many details to keep in mind and thus, I just couldn't put it down so as not to get too confused.

Highly recommended. This is one to remember long after the last page is turned.

As proved by his previous works, Lamb is a well developed author. However, this recent book was slightly disappointing to me as I felt it bogged down too much with his wife's PTSD which was caused by being on location during the Columbine tragedy. Certainly a worthwhile read, though.

Another great Wally Lamb

Excellent book by Wally Lamb. Finished it in 4 days.

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