Alphabet Authors ~ L is for Lamb

I found this idea on Simon's blog @ Stuck in a Book. He picks an author for each letter of the alphabet, sharing which of their books he's read, which I ones he owns, how he came across them etc.

This was a tough letter to choose from I really love Mary Lawson but I read more books by Wally Lamb. Maybe one day, Mary Lawson will write more books and I can put together a list of hers, as well.

I got to know Wally Lamb with my Dutch book club, we read "She's Come Undone" and were wondering what the German and Dutch translations were (this was before you could look up everything on the internet). Anyway, we were quite surprised to find the titles that both meant something like Music of the Whales.

- "The Hour I First Believed" - 2008 
- "I Know This Much is True" - 1998
- "I'll Take You There" - 2016
- "She's Come Undone" - 1997
- "We are Water" - 2013
- "Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story" - 2009

But I just had to carry on reading his books, they are all fantastic.

Facts about Wally Lamb:
Born    October 17, 1950 in Norwich, Connecticut, US

He is married to Christine and they have three sons: Teddy, Jared and Justin

He grew up with older sisters and he claims, that's why he can write both male and female voices, which he does beautifully.

He is a University professor for English and has done a lot of prison work.

He received several prizes for his works of fiction and non-fiction.

* * *

This is part of an ongoing series where I will write about a different author for each letter of the alphabet. You can see them all here.

#ThrowbackThursday. The Hour I First Believed

 

Lamb, Wally "The Hour I First Believed" - 2008

I like all books by Wally Lamb and it is hard to choose a favourite. But this could be it.

The author always finds a great way to describe people's feelings, little by little he dissects any situation. I love his style. He has a great way of telling a story. There is so much humanity in this book, so even though a lot of negative events happen, it still is a book of hope and love.

The novel is primarily Columbine High School and the shooting, it combines so many other topics. I thoroughly enjoyed this very descriptive book.

We discussed this in our international book club in January 2010.

Read more on my original post here.

Lamb, Wally "Wishin' and Hopin'"

Lamb, Wally "Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story" - 2009

Another one of my favourite authors, Wally Lamb. I came across this short novel (just a couple of pages too long for a novella) in my library and since I hadn't read it, yet (in fact, I hadn't even heard about it), I borrowed it. And loved it.

Such a cute story about kids growing up, their dilemmas at school and at home, their frustration with other students and their teachers, all bundled into a story about a Christmas play. Not since "The Best Christmas Pageant" by Barbara Robinson have I had such a good laugh about a Christmas story.

I was a kid myself in the sixties, so I can relate to a lot of the parts that might not sound as "normal" to contemporary children. I found it hilarious. I also liked how he gives "biographies" at the end about most of the characters so we can see what happened to them later.

Lovely story. I didn't know they made a movie out of it. This is one of the few books I read where I think I might like to watch the movie.

From the back cover:

"LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone's turntable, and Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade - easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy.

Back in his beloved fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, with a new cast of endearing characters, Wally Lamb takes his readers straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School - where Mother Filomina's word is law and goody-two-shoes Rosalie Twerski is sure to be minding everyone's business. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette, straight from Québec, and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin' and Hopin' barrels toward one outrageous Christmas.

From the Funicello family's bus-station lunch counter to the elementary school playground (with an uproarious stop at the Pillsbury Bake-Off), Wishin' and Hopin' is a vivid slice of 1960s life, a wise and witty holiday tale that celebrates where we've been - and how far we've come."

Lamb, Wally "I'll Take You There"

Lamb, Wally "I'll Take You There" - 2016

If you have followed my blog during the years, you will have learned that I really love Wally Lamb. His stories are always different and always interesting.

Well, this one is certainly different. But it really lacks the quality of his former novels. I liked the idea, a guy can see his life in a movie, every single scene if he likes, but I was distracted by all the "name-dropping", movies I had never heard of, probably because I didn't grow up in the same country as the author, not all the famous movies he mentioned made it abroad, but I doubt the younger US generation has seen all those movies that are mentioned or knows of all the actors he praises. There are far too many in the book, I don't like to read lists and lists of names and titles, especially if they don't mean anything to me.

You can still tell that the author is a great one, his language is fantastic but overall, this book is too short, it lacks the in-depth description of the characters, I missed getting to know them, or even the narrator through those films. It didn't happen.

Even though this is certainly my least favourite book by Wally Lamb, I will still give him the chance the next time he publishes a book. Compared to many others, this is a good novel.

From the back cover:

"Behind every good man is a great woman - or three
Every Monday evening, Felix Funicello sets up a new film at an old vaudeville theatre for his weekly movie club. But one night, as this sixty-year-old scholar prepares the projectionist booth, he is confronted by an unanticipated guest: the ghost of Lois Weber.
Once a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era, Lois invites Felix to sit back and watch a new feature on the big screen – scenes from Felix’s life.
Though unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois. And as these magical movies play before him, he begins to reflect on the trio of unforgettable women who have profoundly impacted his life: his troublesome yet loving sister; his Generation Y daughter; and Verna, a fiery would-be beauty queen from the 1950s.
An evocative and kaleidoscopic convergence of Hollywood, feminism and family secrets, I’ll Take You There is a radiant homage to a single life and to the resiliency, strength and power of women."

Lamb, Wally "We are Water"

Lamb, Wally "We are Water" - 2013

I have only read four books by Wally Lamb so far but I can honestly say that he belongs to one of my favourite authors. He is not just a good writer, a writer who can only be admired for his talent, he manages to put so many different subjects into his stories, every single one could be a whole series. A friend mentioned that she has the feeling that he is talking to you rather than her reading his story. I think that is an excellently accurate description of the author and his writing. I also love how he goes back and forth between characters and time, thereby building up the suspension until you can hardly bare it anymore. Still, he does not confuse you with his writing, he makes it easy to follow the story. And it feels real, you feel included. That's why I love Wally Lamb. And he is one of the successful authors I've read from the beginning of his career.

This is a highly interesting story of a family full of secrets. Old secrets and new secrets. Secrets outside of the family and secrets inside. This is a very intense novel that brings up all kinds of emotions and fears. It is written from many aspects, most of the main characters have a possibility to describe their view of the story. We can see both sides of alcoholism, for example, of child abuse (not that anyone wants to defend the "other" side but it's interesting to see how these stories develop), of almost any negative side of our society, racism, prisons, drugs, anything you can imagine, it's in there. A family, mother, father, three children, all mostly successful in their jobs, looks nice from the outside. But Wally Lamb shows us the inside. Intriguing.

Now I only have one question: Mr. Lamb, when are you going to write your next book?

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Anna Oh, mother of three and successful artist, is picking out her wedding dress for the second time in her life. In the pretty, rustic town of Three Rivers Connecticut, where she raised her kids, Anna is preparing to marry Viveca, who is the opposite of her ex-husband in almost every way. But the wedding provokes very mixed reactions, opening a Pandora’s Box of toxic secrets – dark and painful truths which will change the family dynamic forever.
We are Water is a brilliant portrait of modern America, written by a beloved and bestselling author who tackles life's complex issues with his trademark humour, wisdom and compassion."

While looking up this book, I have learned that there is another fiction novel by Wally Lamb that I have not read (Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story) as well as two non-fiction books about women prisoners that I have not yet read. Will have to put them on my wishlist.

My reviews to his other books are here.

Lamb, Wally "I know this much is true"

Lamb, Wally "I know this much is true" - 1998

My second Wally Lamb, after "She's Come Undone".

This is a very moving book, wonderful and awful at the same time. It's incredible how much a person can bear if they have to. Dominick has to deal with so many issues and there is no-one who can help him here but himself. The author has a very talented way of describing people in any kind of despair. His accounts are very emphatic, you really can understand the characters. I loved this.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024 here and here.

From the back cover:

"Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins Dominick and Thomas are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities. From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness - and ultimately self-protection - in a house of fear and mystery. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself and the sins of his ancestors - a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily's Mount Etna."

I have since also read "The Hour I First Believed" and his next books, find the reviews here.

Lamb, Wally "She's Come Undone"

Lamb, Wally "She's Come Undone" - 1997

The first Wally Lamb I read, one of the books I discussed with my Dutch book club. I don't remember the discussion very well, it's been more than a decade ago but we never had very big discussions about our books there. I do remember the book, though.

Mother-daughter relationship, religion, death and coming to terms with it, obesity, self-delusion, women-men relationships, change in our culture, this book has it all. A lot of familiarity with the characters, sometimes you have to laugh about that, sometimes you feel "touché".

If you like a book that addresses problems and is fun to read, this will be a book for you. I liked it a lot.

We discussed "The Hour I First Believed" in our international book club in January 2010 and this in our Dutch International Women's Book Club in 2000/2001. I have since also read "I know this much is true" and his next books, find the reviews here.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.

Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally orbits into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before she really goes under."

Lamb, Wally "The Hour I First Believed"

Lamb, Wally "The Hour I First Believed" - 2008

Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, 1999. Caelum Quirk is a teacher at that school, his wife works there as a school nurse. He is in Connecticut visiting his aunt after her stroke while his wife hides in the school hoping not to be killed by the two students to are out on a warpath.

This book is not about those unfortunate students and teachers that were killed on that terrible day, it is about those "lucky" enough to survive, those that got away. Looking at the life those people led after the attack, one could almost wish to die in such an event. Even though the day is described, the shootings aren't too detailed, the author doesn't linger on every detail, this is not a horrendous thriller that likes to show gruesome deeds.

This is my third Wally Lamb book and I have loved all of them. The author always finds a great way to describe people's feelings, little by little he dissects any situation. I love his style. He has a great way of telling a story. Some critic called him a modern day Dostoevsky, certainly a great praise but not too great for this fantastic storyteller, a good psychologist. There is so much humanity in this book, so even though a lot of negative events happen, it still is a book of hope and love. The characters are very human, not overdone, realistic. We also learned that people are a product of their circumstances, especially if one thing follows another.

The novel isn't just about Columbine and the shooting, it combines so many other topics, Wally Lamb could have made the material into three books. It was great to read about these characters who always try to get up after falling down. I thoroughly enjoyed this very descriptive book.

The question came up what we thought it was that he "first believed in"? There were several who opted for "Hope", others for "God". The Dutch title "Vleugelslag" (wing stroke) alludes to the butterfly effect.

From the back cover:

"From the author of the international number one bestseller I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE comes a magnificent novel of a life turned upside-down by tragedy – and the search for a way to carry on in the aftermath.

Caelum Quirk is a middle-aged schoolteacher. Students at Columbine High School generally respect him and turn to his wife Maureen, the school nurse, when in trouble. When he has to return to his home town for the funeral of his beloved aunt, Maureen promises to join him the next day - but she goes to work that morning, and that’s when the shootings happen. She hides in a cupboard, unable to see what’s happening, but listening to the students being taunted, then killed.

Life can never be the same again. In the face of Maureen’s trauma, Caelum searches for meaning, delving into his own family history and discovering that nothing was as he’s always been told. As the couple inch towards recovery and suffer setbacks, the stories of Caelum’s redoubtable ancestors illuminate how he came to be the man he is, and how he and Maureen might live in the future with freedom and dignity. With no easy answers, Caelum gradually comes to an understanding of who he really is and what he can believe in."

We discussed this in our international book club in January 2010.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022 and in 2024.

My first ever Wally Lamb: "She's Come Undone" 
I have also read "I know this much is true" and his next books, find the reviews here.