The problem I feel when reading a book that you have heard lots about is whether or not it lives up to expectations. There is also the problem of trying to condense a book during the blurb to adequately explain what it is about.
I thought The Hour I First Believed was about a couple's attempt to recover after the tragedy that was Columbine, and while that was an aspect of the book, in the end it was a minor part. Columbine was the catalyst for Caelum and Maureen to move back to Connecticut. It's the root of Maureen's problem, but the heart of the book is about Caelum's discovery about his family history and how that helps him reconcile the person he has become.
Once I dealt with the fact that this is what the book is about, I quite enjoyed it. I did at times find it, not necessarily hard going, but challenging. It most probably wasn't until towards the end that I could see where the story was going and what the point of the whole thing was. I would like to read Wally Lamb's other stuff, but feel I will need to be in the right mood to do so.
