The Hour I First Believed

I have read Wally Lamb's previous two novels as well as the short-story collections he edited by the women in his writing workshop at the York Correction Facility, but I was reluctant to read The Hour I First Believed, mostly because it was marketed as dealing with the aftermath of Columbine.

I am reluctant to read stories dealing with recent tragedies (I still haven't read any that deal with 9/11 unless it's extremely cursory mentions), but after a recommendation from a friend (thanks Beth!) I decided to give it a try and am glad I did.

The novel is set in Littleton, CO as well as the fictional Three Rivers, CT and centers around Caelum Quirk and his third life, Maureen. Caelum and Maureen both worked at Columbine but only Maureen was at the school the day pf the shootings and was severely traumatized by what experienced. As Maureen struggles with PTSD and Caelum flounders to help her, they decide to leave CO and return to the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers, CT.

Once you get past the Columbine incident, there is almost a sense of relief to have the tragedy dealt with, but Lamb has much more in store for Caelum and Maureen. The story is told primarily from Caelum's perspective and because of that there are times you loathe him, times you want to smack some sense in him, but in the end I grew to love him. I cried when the book ended. It felt as if I was on the quest to be a better man and make sense of what happened throughout his life with him.

Lamb is a master storyteller and I hope we don't have to wait another seven or eight years for another book.