I Know This Much Is True

Author(s): Wally Lamb

Location(s): Connecticut

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): 1990s

I Know This Much Is True is a big book, both in your hand and in your mind. Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, it is a beautifully told story of the identical twin of a paranoid-schizophrenic and the “healthy” twin’s grappling with navigating his role with his broken brother, within his broken family, and in light of his broken history. I Know This Much Is True is Dominick’s – the healthy twin’s – journey through past and present in an attempt to help his brother and, ultimately, to heal himself.

Rife with symbolism (water and rivers), patterns (amputations and mental illness), and parallels (twins and repeated history), I Know This Much Is True is a joy for literature-lovers who love to puzzle and think, and it is also quick-paced and does not require deep analysis to keep the reader both interested and entertained. Dealing with issues of siblings, friendship, the authenticity of parenthood, of navigating loss and dark family history, of seeking and offering help, and ultimately, dealing with the essential question of how to overcome your past to become a better human being, I Know This Much Is True is a hopeful, redemptive novel.

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