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A review by saudadevemcorrendo
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Spoilers are hidden. Anything mentioned should be considered a heads-up for a graphic topic's inclusion in the narrative, but doesn't spoil any aspect of how, when, or to what extent it is included.
To start, there was a great deal about this story I did enjoy. When I first began reading, I liked that the main character was a bit of an asshole, because the fact that I disliked him so much meant that the author would either be going for a true villain, or this tome of a book would be doing a LOT of developing Dominick's character. I love <i>both</i> of those ideas. Because I feel like a great author can make the agony of being in the worst people's heads worth it in the end. I also didn't mind that it was written in a semi-"stream of consciousness" form, because I generally like that style of writing.
What first caused me to raise an eyebrow was how the women are written. They're very . . . archetypal to say the least. They are either saints or sinners, victims or persecutors(The abused, sacrificial, forever suffering dead mother. The nymphomaniac girlfriend with tons of baggage that he just wants to have sex with) . My first instinct was to question whether or not this was intentional, whether we were just seeing things through Dominick's eyes. It's classic Madonna/Whore bullshit, but whatever, maybe this story is partially about how Dominick changes his worldview. It IS almost 900 pages long. Then came a worrying flippancy regarding a case of incest and child predation. Again, I remind myself that we are seeing all of the story's events through HIS eyes. No one said he would be reliable, and I love a good "unreliable narrator" reveal.
However, all of that went over the wayside whenit's revealed in a flashback that Dominick emotionally abused and date-raped his wife before they were married . At this point, I'm floored not by the inclusion of rape, but the way in which it was written. Most disappointingly, this event is never properly handled or addressed at ALL afterward. I read through the next chapter for mentions of the rape, but Dominick thinks about how bad he feels about what he did, Dessa calls and doesn't mention it at all, and then there's no Dessa for like 40 or 50 pages. I skimmed for any mentions of her name and found none. The next time Lamb mentions her again, it's two days after the rape: "The next day, Dessa and I drove out to the Falls to talk. We made up. Made love". I have read other reviews, and his rape of Dessa is never mentioned again. They get back together by the end of the book. I feel this sends the message that rape is something that can be brushed over, and doesn't actually impact the victim, and it can be excused and made okay if the victim and perpetrator "love one another enough". This is poisonous rhetoric to feed to anyone. For this reason, I did not and will not include excerpts in this review because I feel that it excuses rape, and I refuse to reproduce that kind of rhetoric for any reason. Furthermore, rape scenes in media imagined from the perspective of the aggressor always run the risk of glorification and excusing the act, but the language used in this particular scene was so violent, so understanding of the rationale of a rapist, that it triggered me. I was disgusted and angered by the fact that this topic wasn't handled more responsibly and that so many people have raved about this book considering.
Upon reading more reviews, I learned things only gets worse, piling on homophobia (which Lamb is apparently two for two on chronologically), because the girlfriend who's an incest victim is a bisexual who runs off with her gay lover, leaving Dominick with her baby that she had behind his back with another man. The baby also has HIV because she contracted the virus from her uncle who victimized her. I wish I was making this up. more rape, bestiality, and a litany of other topics to the list of things Lamb clearly doesn't have the range to write about and shouldn't be touching with a ten-foot pole, child pornography being one of them. I shudder to think about having wasted my time reading through his take on THAT .
Harmful rape and misogyny apologia I'm angry I wasted even a fragmented month of my time on.
To start, there was a great deal about this story I did enjoy. When I first began reading, I liked that the main character was a bit of an asshole, because the fact that I disliked him so much meant that the author would either be going for a true villain, or this tome of a book would be doing a LOT of developing Dominick's character. I love <i>both</i> of those ideas. Because I feel like a great author can make the agony of being in the worst people's heads worth it in the end. I also didn't mind that it was written in a semi-"stream of consciousness" form, because I generally like that style of writing.
What first caused me to raise an eyebrow was how the women are written. They're very . . . archetypal to say the least. They are either saints or sinners, victims or persecutors
However, all of that went over the wayside when
Upon reading more reviews, I learned things only gets worse, piling on homophobia (which Lamb is apparently two for two on chronologically),
Harmful rape and misogyny apologia I'm angry I wasted even a fragmented month of my time on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia