The Hour I First Believed

Yesterday was my book club day and we discussed the latest Wally Lamb novel, The Hour I First Believed. I will admit that I did not read his first two novels (I'm sure Oprah would disapprove), She's Come Undone and This Much I Know Is True, so I do not have a full overview of his works to understand if it compares with them at all. My fellow book club members adore the first two and were highly anticipating the new book.

After socializing a bit and eating the requisite pizza, we settled in for the discussion. Bascially there is no true form to the discussion, we tend to go around the group with each member grading the book (A through F) and providing a short opinion as to why, and what they liked/disliked about the book. Afterwards, it becomes a free flow discussion and anyone can bring up anything they wish to talk about. We generally have anywhere from 5 to 12 guys show up at any meeting, this time it was hosted by Clay, with the others being me, Lee, Stephen, Will, Bill, and Joshua.

The novel is about Calem Quirk and his wife Maureen. I will try to provide a brief synopsis, which is difficult considering the length of the novel (750+ pages) and the sheer number of plots, subplots, and asides. Essentially the novel is about this couple's marriage and how is affected by the Columbine tragedy. Both characters were employed at the high school, with Maureen being trapped at the school the day of the massacre. She is so traumatized by the events of that day that the couple moves back to Calem's family farm in Connecticut. Here the novel switches to how Maureen deals with her escalating post traumatic stress disorder and Calem's discovery of old family secrets. This is all tied in with meditations on Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, conditions in women's prisons, the Suffrage movement, Mark Twain, Greek mythology, lesbian poetry, Picasso, murder, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancies, etc., etc., etc. Did I mention the shear number of plots, subplots, and asides?

The consensus for the evening was definitely disappointment in the novel. I would say the book rated a B-. While we all appreciated the complexity of the themes and the desire for Lamb to tackle such topical stories, in the end the book failed to connect with each of us. It was beautifully written, and never failed to keep our attention, but in the end, so much happened to the characters, with tragedy upon tragedy thrown upon them, that it bordered on the ludicrous. Lee complained that he expected there to be mention of Guantanamo Bay and the tsuanmi in Southeast Asia.

Joshua seemed the most touched by the book and had many scholarly notes taken throughout and mapped in the fly leaves. He even brought copies of a poem that was mentioned frequently and discussed how it related to the overall themes of the novel. It had been awhile since Joshua made it to book club and it was good to have him back for his opinions. He pointed out many things that most of us missed. Of course, it helped that he spent all night the night before reading the book and it was fresh in his memory.

Next up for us is Carrie Fisher's memoir "Wishful Drinking." We determined we wanted something a little more humorous after the last few books we read, which have all been decidedly bleak.