The Hour I First Believed

by Wally Lamb

Book Overview

New York Times Bestseller

The profound and compelling story of a personal quest for meaning and faith from Wally Lamb, #1 New York Times bestselling author of She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True

"The beauty of The Hour I First Believed, a soaring novel as amazingly graceful as the classic hymn that provides the title, is that Lamb never loses sight of the spark of human resilience. . . . Lamb's wonderful...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060988436
• ISBN13: 9780060988432
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 768 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Lamb never lets me down

He took a relevant news story and made a believable fiction out of it. I was captivated by this entire book. So much emotions from the characters all while them trying to look emotionless. I loved this he hasn't let me down yet.

Amazing book, the website is where my problem lies

There’s nothing I can say about this book apart from how phenomenal Wally Lamb as an author is. My problem lies when I ordered a book “like new” (and I understand it obviously will come with some love) but the back cover is completely bent and it’s riddled in coffee stains.

Book on Tape Review :: The Hour I First Believed

Wally Lamb is one of the authors I put on my TBR list last year. While I purchased She's Come Undone, when I saw The Hour I First Believed at Sauls Memorial Libary (my work library), I snatched it up - and am so glad I did. I've talked a bit about the differences in experiencing a book by listening to it versus reading it, and I'm anxious to compare Lamb in these two scenarios. OK, I'm beating around the bush. I don't know if I fell in love with Wally Lamb, Caelum Quirk or George Guidall (the reader for the audio version), but every second of the 20-CD set was pure pleasure. The Hour I First Believed tells the story of Maureen and Caelum Quirk. She's a school nurse and he an English teacher at Columbine when the infamous shootings occur. Caelum was actually absent on that day (one interesting subplot is meeting the teacher who subbed for him that day), as he had traveled back east to Connecticut to be with his dying aunt, his last living relative. Lamb places Maureen in the library during the rampage, and so the story begins as one of survivors' aftermath. Maureen's struggle to cope coincides with Caelum's inheriting the family farm, which allows the Quirks to return to Three Rivers, Connecticut, and invites Caelum to deal with ghosts of his own - a rich family history with secrets he never anticipated. Caelum's great-grandmother was responsible for building a women's prison that sits across the road from the family home. In letters and diaries that span several Quirk generations, gaps are filled and colorful characters come to life that at times seem to help Caelum come to terms with his childhood, while at other times serve to pose more questions than answers. However, what the reader gets is a real person who questions faith, family and fidelity (I love alliteration too much to let that one go) and is honest about how blurry the lines can seem when wrestling through tragedy. On a global perspective, from Columbine to Katrina, Caelum struggles on a personal level with issues our country had to face as well - a theme paralleled in his great grandmother's dissidence with sending two sons off to the Civil War. I could go on and on with this review - there is so much I'm leaving out. Lamb's writing is honest and beautiful. His turn of phrase is fresh. I'll warn that there is some sexual language and scenes that might turn off a few readers. But most, I believe, will find this as rewarding as I did.

Best Wally Lamb ever.

I could not put this book down although I hated to reach the end. Deals with the complex social issues of our time in such a sensitive way. Provoked a lot of introspection for myself on the issue of why some of us seem dealt hardships but rise above them and others fail to do so. Love the use of mythology, psychology and spiritualism. Leaves the reader with feelings of peace and hope in the end.

Dark Book

If you allow it, this book will effect your mood. The story ties in actual events that took place at Columbine High with the actual people, places and evidence tied into a fictional account of the narrator/author's account of things happining in his life before,during and the most compelling, dark period, after the columbine murders and it's affect it takes on himself and his wife and the world around him. This is truly dark stuff, because you KNOW that someone, somewhere is experiencing exactly what your reading in this book. If the general story doesn't sound interesting enough for a 750+ page hardcover book, don't worry, the story will not allow you to put the book down as the pages fly by. I have had the book for 3 days and have finished it and didn't once feel like I was reading a (big) book. Great book, but beware. The author touches on alot of personal subjects that cover depression, anxiety, sexual abuse, murder, adultery, and a host of others that can and will carry with you after you put the book down.

A great American novel!

I have been looking forward "The Hour I First Believed: A Novel" since I first learned it was in the works a couple years ago. I became a fan of Mr. Lamb's after reading the excellent "She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club)" (thanks to Oprah!) And then followed it with the just as good "I Know This Much Is True: A Novel (P.S.)." At the time, Lamb's style and sensibility were a whole new world to me. I loved the black humor, but it was the introspective style and snappy narrative that made him a joy to read. This time out Lamb has gone above and beyond his previous works, creating a great American novel that speaks to the current generation. It's the story of Caelum Quirk and his young wife Maureen. The story of how the attempt to put their lives back together after Maureen miraculously survives the massacre at Columbine high school, she survives but not without deep physiological scares. The couple moves back to Caelum's family farm in Connecticut in an attempt to escape the horror of the school shooting, but life is not so easily put in a box, and destiny has more tragedy in store. The meat of the story is Caelum's quest to discover his past through a cache of old letters, diaries, and newspaper he finds hidden in the old family house. From this he is able to reconstruct his legacy, but it is not easy there are long buried secretes hidden in this legacy. This discovery of his past is the back drop for Caelum and Maureen as they struggle to form a future. This book takes the reader on an epic journey which had a profound effect on this reader. At times it was like a punch in the gut at others it brought a tear to my eye. Along with "Misfits Country" (another punch in the gut!) one of my favorite fiction reads of 2008!