Book Review: The Hour I First Believed

I just finished an amazing book. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb is one of the best books I have ever read. One of the reasons I say this is because when D asked me what it was about, I couldn't really give him an answer because the plot is so complex. The novel jumps back and forth in regards to time and reality. Parts of the book are fictionalized versions of what really happened while others are completely original.
The protagonist, Caelum Quirk, bears a striking resemblance in some ways to Dominick Birdsey, in Lamb's other life-changing novel I Know This Much is True. It is also neat because both novels are set in the same town, and Dominick and his brother are mentioned in The Hour... While this novel is in no way a sequel, I liked the familiarity of the setting and characters. Both protagonists are emotionally detached for the bulk of their lives. It is only through tragedy do both men come to terms with their feelings. I think I appreciate this quality because I too have felt that way. Like most novels, once the protagonist is self-actualized, he then becomes likable and feels fulfilled. It seems that one must always undergo a journey of sorts to find out what we can withstand and how we can rise to the occasion. For Caelum, it took 3 marriages, Columbine, his wife's drug addiction and consequent prison term, and her sudden death as well as raising a foster kid of sorts and learning that who he thought was his mother actually wasn't.
A sub-plot detailed the creation of a female prison system from it's Civil War roots to its actualization in the early 1900's. The prison's motto was "A woman who surrenders her freedom need not surrender her dignity." It raised questions about how women prisoners are treated and what life events have brought them to that place. Maureen, Caelum's wife, is a likable character. While she is emotionally frail post-Columbine, I was truly able to both feel Caelum's frustration with her and empathize with what she had lived through.
All in all, a fabulous read. Check it out!