I Know This Much Is True

Plot Summary:
Wally Lamb's first novel, "She's Come Undone, received rave reviews when it was published in 1992. The book was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Awards' Art Seidenbaum Prize for First Fiction and was named as one of the most notable books of the year by numerous publications, including The New York Times Book Review and People magazine. A graduate of the Vermont College MFA in Writing program, Lamb currently teaches at the University of Connecticut. He is the recipient of an NEA grant for fiction and a Missouri Review William Peden fiction prize winner. A nationally honored teacher of writing, he lives in Connecticut with his wife and their three sons.

" Reading a novel is a highly personal experience and I think different readers will take different things from it. As for me, the experience of writing the book has reinforced for me the truths that Dominick had to learn: that love grows from forgiveness, that " mongrels" make good dogs, and that the roundness of life's design may be a sign that there is a presence beyond ourselves."
--From a recent interview with Wally Lamb,
author of "I Know This Much Is True

Topics for Discussion
As an award-winning teacher of writing, Wally Lamb has been honored for his exceptional ability to communicate the power and majesty of the written word to his students. Hoping to inspire thoughtful discourse on his own novel, Wally has graciously supplied these discussion questions.

1. Wally Lamb has said that what interested him most about his character, Dominick Birdsey, was the protagonist's conflictedness. Discuss some of the ways in which, as both child and adult, Dominick is pulled inopposing directions and wrestles with conflicting emotions.

2. How does this novel reflect the attitudes toward and the treatment of the mentally ill as they have evolved through the 20th century?

3. Do you see Dominick Birdsey as a hero or an anti-hero? Why?

4.The author has commented that his discovery of an ancient Hindu myth, " The King and the Corpse, " allowed him to discover, in turn, Dominick's story. In this ancient tale, a cadaver whispers riddles into the ears of a naive king and the solving of these puzzles allows the king to save himself. In what ways does the plot of "I Know This Much Is True follow a similar path?

5. Wally Lamb has said, " Whereas Dolores Price, the main character of my first novel, "She's Come Undone, deals with her pain and fear by imploding, Dominck tends to wrestle with pain and fear by exploding." Do females and males tend to respond differently to emotional pain? If so, why?

6. The principal female characters of this novel are Concettina Birdsey, Dessa Constantine, Lisa Sheffer, Dr. Rubina Patel, Ignazia Tempesta, and Prosperine Tucci (the monkey). Discuss I Know This Much Is True's depiction of women.

7.Wally Lamb has stated that a worthwhile novel should not only draw you into the story but also kick you in the pants so that you'll be more inclined to go out and fix the world. Do you agree or disagree?

8."I Know This Much Is True is in development as a major motion picture. If you were the casting director, which actors would you choose for the major roles?

9. Discuss the themes of mirror vs. images, wholeness vs. fragmentation, connection vs. separation as they are explored in "I Know This Much Is True.

10. To what extent is Dominick Birdsey's life shaped by his ethnicity? To what extent do you feel your life is defined by the place and the culture of your forebearers? Discuss.

Praise for the Book:
" The only bad thing about Wally Lamb's new book is that it's too good. One wouldn't cut a page from "I Know This Much is True, which is packed with graceful writing, unrelenting dramatic tension and characters who force the reader to form an emotional bond with them." --Denver Post

" Wally Lamb has done it again... he has another winner in "I Know This Much is True." --Tampa Tribune Times

" The novel quite deliberately assumes a darkly fated dimension that transforms an unhappy working-class New England family into mythic world archetypes... you couldn't ask for a more beguiling summer read. B+" --Entertainment Weekly

" Wally Lamb's latest novel is stunning--and even that might be an understatement." --The Associated Press

" A triumph of simple beauty." --Time

" It never grapples with anything less than life's biggest questions.... Lamb clearly aims to be a modern-day Dostoyevsky with a pop sensibility." --New York Times Book Review

" It's not just a book. It is a life experience." --Oprah Winfrey

" A work of astonishing craftsmanship.... Read it and weep." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch

With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world.

Wally Lamb's success continues this May with the trade paperback edition of his widely acclaimed #1 bestseller--a heartbreaking story and multigenerational saga of the bonds of destruction and the power of forgiveness, witnessed through the eyes of identical twin brothers.

Wally Lamb is the beloved author of She's Come Undoneand I Know This Much Is True.Both books were Oprah's Book Club selections and number one New York Timesbestsellers. Lamb is the volunteer facilitator of a writing workshop at York correctional Institution and is currently at work on his third novel. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine, and their three sons.