MADreads

Don’t bring this one on the plane

December 26th, 2008 Katharine - Sequoya

If I was going to Hawaii for a January getaway (wishful thinking) I probably wouldn’t lug along Wally Lamb’s new 740-page novel The Hour I First Believed for the ride. However if you’re trapped by a Wisconsin snowstorm for a few days (more realistic thinking) this might be one to keep you distracted from all the shoveling you’ll have to do. After a ten year hiatus during which he worked with emerging writers at a Connecticut Women’s Prison, Oprah-blessed writer Wally Lamb’s new book HIFB is a long, engaging story about Caelum Quirk, a high school English teacher whose connection with the 1999 Columbine incident sends his life in unimaginable directions.

There are numerous plotlines in this story that spiral out from that fateful day, most importantly how it affects Caelum’s wife Maureen, a school nurse that was trapped in the library during the siege. Still suffering from PTSD, Caelum and Maureen move back to Connecticut from Colorado. The move is spurred not only by the Columbine aftermath, but also because Quirk’s Aunt Lolly has died and left him with the family farm. Like every good family farm, this one has lots of secrets that are revealed to Quirk. Maureen’s PTSD turns ugly and she soon becomes addicted to pain medication. Tragedy occurs again for the Quirks and without giving too much away, let’s just say there are many prison scenes and it isn’t just because it’s where Aunt Lolly used to work. Caelum’s story is complicated and rich and Lamb does a good job with making it seem authentic; his main character is flawed and he doesn’t always seem like the hero of the story.

My only complaint about HIFB was not necessarily the length, but the inclusion of Aunt Lolly’s Quaker great-grandmother’s life that Lamb explores as he finds out even more family secrets through his descendant’s belongings hidden up in the attic. This ended up becoming a story within the story and distracted me from the original Caelum one that was so enjoyable. I’m guessing after years of writing experience, editors probably don’t give Lamb the same red pencil treatment as other writers and that is how this section remained so long.

Overall, this one deserves a B+, though some other reviewers have not been as generous. So if you’re preparing for another snowstorm rather than a Hawaiian getaway, get your name on the hold list for HIFB or check out our rental collection next time you stop by your favorite library branch. Donations to my January Hawaiian getaway can also be dropped off at your local branch

Entry Filed under: Literary Fiction