I'll Take You There - Wally Lamb Not one of Wally Lamb's best books...
...in fact, when considering the greatness that is Wally Lamb, who set the bare extremely high with works like "she's come undone" and "I know this much is true" this might have actually been his worst so far, that's not to say it was a bad book but I was expecting more.

I was really looking forward to this book when I heard it was out because Wally Lamb has been one of my favorite authors since I read "she's come undone" when I was 15 years old, and have since read, and loved, every single book he's come out with since, including the composition of short stories written by inmates at a women's prison where Lamb taught a writing class. I think he's an amazing, often under appreciated, talent and one of the best writers of our time. This new book just didn't do him justice although it was very well written it seemed more like a novella than an actual novel and I would have liked it to have been at least twice the length with a more developed plot. The characters were well thought out, relatable, and complex but I didn't feel as connected or invested in them as I usually become when reading Lamb. Overall I was glad to have read "I'll take you there" and it was certainly worth the short time it took to get from cover to cover and I would recommend to fellow fans of Lamb but to those who haven't read his other works I would highly recommend reading those first because he can do so much better, be so much more powerful of a writer, than one could ever tell from reading this particular novel.

I can see what the author was striving for with this story: a wry look at the complex life of a family, as seen through the eyes of a naive boy on the cusp of adolescence, with a hearty dose of 1960’s nostalgia via endless pop culture references. Unfortunately, it was predictable and dull, and didn’t have anything new or fresh to offer.  Also, while I think some authors can do an outstanding job of reading their own work on audio (hello, Mr. Gaiman!), someone should have prevented Wally Lamb from doing so. His narrative stylings made this only mildly interesting book into a deadly dull audio.

 

DNF at 46%.

I’d had this book on my tbr list since its inception time, so a loonnnggg time. So long that I can’t actually remember what attracted me to it, apart from it being on Opera’s book club.

 

She’s Come Undone follows Dolores Price from age 13 until her mid-thirties. During this time Dolores goes to hell and back and we witness her growth and maturation. The book is essentially a character study with a sweeping character-arc at its core.

 

It’s hard to know where to begin with this, but I’ll try to sum it up. It’s about a troubled girl, the trials and tribulations she faces as she grows into adulthood and the ways in which she decides to cushion the severity of those changes.

 

It’s hard to say just how much I enjoyed this novel. It was harsh in its portrayal of reality and I could only read it in small doses, but I did really enjoy it. One of the reasons I liked it so much is because Dolores was such a brilliant protagonist. I especially loved her attitude and biting humour and feel this went a long way in cushioning the reality of so much hurt in Dolores’s life.

 

A lot of issues were covered but none were explored in any real depth. The book acted more like a transcribe rather than trying to depart any real wisdom. This was refreshing on one hand, but a bit frustrating on the other as it meant Dolores wasn’t explored in as much depth. It was, however, a fantastic example of a character sketch.

It's taken me a while to read because I've been so busy, but I've loved every minute of it. Dolores has such an original voice that's kept me enthralled.

Even though some terrible things have happened to Dolores, she's still managed to retain her cheeky and obnoxious voice. I love her!