I Know This Much Is True (P.S.) Summary and Reviews

I Know This Much Is True (P.S.)
by Wally Lamb

I Know This Much Is True (P.S.)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Wally Lamb
Edition: Kindle Edition
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Kindle eBook
Published: 2009-03-17
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 912
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books

Book Reviews of I Know This Much Is True (P.S.)

Book Review: A bomb in an Easter basket
Summary: 5 Stars

This is a stunning book. Written from the point of view of the "good twin," Wally Lamb takes us on a dizzying ride through his brother's mental illness and eventual collapse. The sane twin's story of his handling, and not handling of his brother's illness shows the reader his own frailty, and shows what happens when there are no good options. The unfairness and solitariness of mental illness is brilliantly illustrated, as are its effects upon family and community. The protagonist handles several difficult situations as well as most people would, but the outlook and the outcome are both grim.

Mental illness is a Gordian knot for any family, and this family is no different. Each member takes his/her own strategy to deal with it, but there is no "answer." There is nothing that will make it better. To study this family and the protagonist is to take a look at any family in crisis, with all its interdependencies and faults. There are no winners and no victory to be had. In the end one thinks perhaps the schizophrenic brother made the only right choice for the family. But it leaves a bitter taste for the reader, because that's how mental illness is.

This is an honest, eyelids-peeled-back look at mental illness with all its miseries and co-miseries. But it is not as sad as one might think. There are humorous edges to mental illness and the way humans deal with it. Sometimes we laugh because it's chilling not to. Sometimes we laugh because the conversational tone puts the illness in a hilarious context, like a pipe bomb in an Easter basket.

And that's what this book is, a pipe bomb in an Easter basket. And it's worth carrying around for a while because this book will show you much about life before it explodes.

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