The Hour I First Believed

I just finished The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb and, well, what the hell was that all about? Way to tackle every topic known to man, Wally.

Let me preface this review by saying that the first Wally Lamb book I read was I Know This Much Is True. I loved it. I thought it was amazing. I loved how massive the story was. How it spanned decades.

His other book, She's Come Undone, has been forced on me by several people as one of the Best Books Ever. I've heard over and over again how great a character the lead is and how she's so relatable. I hated it. Yes, the lead is a character. But that's it. I did not find her relatable. I hated her and never once felt bad for her. Maybe that was how I was supposed to feel. I don't know and I don't care. Terrible book.

I read She's Come Undone after I Know This Much Is True and I was so disappointed because I loved the latter so much. I had been waiting patiently to read The Hour I First Believed since it came out in the hopes that I would love it as much as the other.

I didn't.

The Hour I First Believed is the story of Caelum Quirk and all the shitty shitty things that happen to him. He's twice divorced and is currently married to a woman who cheated on him. His dad was an alcoholic and his mom died when he was young. He grew up being cared for by his Aunt and Grandparents on the family farm that also shares land with the State Women's Prison, once run by his ancestors.

Caelum and his wife move to Littleton, Colorado and start teaching at Columbine, and well, you can guess what happens there. The Columbine tragedy leaves his wife with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and things just get worse from there. Seriously. Nothing gets better for this guy. This guy has not had one happy thing happen to him ever. His wife is crazy, his family is full of liars, he's being sued. That's it. That's what happens.

I don't require a happy ending, but holy hell this book really piles it on thick. Columbine, 9/11, war, kidnapping, alcoholism, drugs, death, lawsuits, prison, abortion, mummified babies, car accidents, child abandonment, adultery...it could go on and on.

I thought the theme of this book was Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I guess in a way, it was. It dealt with the PTSD you can get from every bad thing that happens in your life - in macro and micro versions. But, I didn't expect Mr. Lamb to throw in every possible tragedy to happen to one guy. Not everyone is Jack Bauer.