TSS - The Hour I First Believed

So, I spent most of this week reading "The Hour I First Believed", the new book by Wally Lamb. (Well, and to be perfectly honest, playing Guitar Hero: World Tour. I am SO addicted to that game.)

I know I read Wally Lamb's other two books, and I remember really liking them, so I was REALLY excited to get to read this one. REALLY excited. And I spent an entire week reading it - it's big, kids. 700+ pages. And my reaction is.....hmmm. Well, that was interesting. In some places, it was breathtaking. The first half of the novel had me on the edge of my seat. It was intense and heartbreaking. The second half just.....lost something. Apparently, it took Lamb 9 years to write this book, and it almost seemed like he wanted to cram every tragedy that took place in America during that time into one novel. We have Columbine, we have 9/11, we have Katrina, we have the war in Iraq. It was almost distracting to have every bad thing America has gone through somehow find its way into these character's lives. I mean, I know these things touched all of us - but seriously. The first half of the book, which was primarily the Columbine shooting, was brilliant. The second half, which tackled all these other issues, just seemed like he tried to do too much.

Now, that being said, it was still a good book. Well written, interesting characters, all that. But I just expected it to be remarkable, mostly based on the first half, and it wasn't. I also think I'm in the minority on this one - I've just read a whole bunch of glowing reviews on other websites, so there's every possibility that YOU might love it. In fact, if you do read it and love it, let me know - maybe I'm just off base. I'd love to hear your comments!

Up next for this week - a couple of books I've received from authors. And probably more Guitar Hero. =)