Wally Lamb was blessed by no less than Oprah Winfrey herself when she chose not one, but two of his novels for her Oprah's Book Club. His first novel, “She's Come Undone,” told the story of Dolores Price, a young woman whose morbid obesity was the result of traumas suffered in her life. It is a stunning book.

His second Oprah book, “I Know This Much Is True,” was another critically acclaimed bestseller. Lamb has also worked as a writing facilitator at Yorkville Correctional Institute, a women's prison in Connecticut, and these experiences are the basis for his latest novel, “The Hour I First Believed.”

This is an incredible book, both in scope and emotion. It begins with Paul Quirk, an English teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado, where his wife Maureen is the school nurse. They moved to Colorado from Connecticut to rebuild their marriage after Paul discovers Maureen's affair with a mutual friend.

Paul returns home to Connecticut when his Aunt Lolly takes ill. Lolly raised Paul, and he has feelings of guilt for not spending more time talking to her when she called him. After Lolly dies, he discovers that two students at Columbine High School have gone on a shooting spree, and Paul panics when he cannot reach Maureen by phone.

On the plane ride home, Paul is frantic with worry. He ends up at the gym where the survivors have been taken, and is reunited with his traumatized wife. Maureen was in the library when the shooting started, and she hid in a cupboard during the siege.

Lamb uses the real name of the gunmen, the survivors and the dead. His insertion of his characters into a real life event, one that reverberates in most people's consciousness, adds to the realism of this novel.

Later in the story, the author brings in two characters who escaped from New Orleans' Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina. In flashbacks, we meet Lizzy Popper, Paul's great-grandmother, who worked in a hospital during the Civil War and went on to found a women's prison in Connecticut.

Lizzy's motto hung on a sign at the prison: “A woman who surrenders her freedom need not surrender her dignity.” Lamb's experiences working with the women behind bars in Yorkville Correctional Institute play heavily into the storyline of his book.

Secrets also play a big part in the story; from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold's secret plan to kill people at Columbine High to Maureen's affair to her later drug addiction going back to secrets about Paul's parents and his ancestors, secrets have a devastating effect on those involved when they are discovered.

This is a book filled with sadness. Like “She's Come Undone,” while reading it, you wonder how much more tragedy these characters can take before they succumb to complete despair.

But it is also a cathartic novel. You see the resiliency of the human spirit in Lizzy, who suffered through the loss of two sons in the Civil War, a war she felt was a terrible waste of human life. Lizzy harkens forward to antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq.

Lamb makes clear his feelings about war in this novel. Paul states “war begat chaos and altered everything.” A professor whom Paul meets on a plane discusses “chaos-complexity theory” - “order in disorder. Disequilibrium as the source of life.” This theory pervades the novel.

He also rails against racism, which Paul sees in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, saying “All Katrina did was shine a spotlight on what this country's been tolerating since the days of slave ships.” Again, Lamb's experiences at Yorkville Correctional come into play here.

Lamb's writing packs an emotional wallop. He writes of Paul's remote relationship with his mother, “Growing up, whenever Mother held out her arms for one of those hugs, it was almost as if there was something parked between us.” There is so much underlying that relationship that is explained later in the novel.

The title of the book, “The Hour I First Believed” comes from a line from the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It is a hymn familiar to many people, sung frequently at funerals, and sung in this novel by a choir of female prison inmates. Again, it is something that brings about a visceral reaction from the reader.

This novel covers a lot of territory: war, racism, feminism, the damage that secrets and lies can do, the long-ranging effects of our ancestors' actions, chaos, forgiveness, family. The line “Life is messy, violent, confusing and hopeful” says it all for Paul.

It is said that good fiction evokes empathy in the reader; on that point, this novel ranks as great fiction. It will remain with you for a long time. I recommend it and give it my highest rating of five stars.

In other news:

€ I was given an autographed copy of Auburnian Kevin Rivoli's “In Search of Norman Rockwell's America” for Christmas. Rivoli is a journalist/photographer who in this book recreates famous artwork by Norman Rockwell.

His interpretations of Rockwell's paintings are creative and show the timelessness of Rockwell's work. Rockwell's iconic paintings are on the facing pages, along with commentary about Rockwell by such people as Regis Philbin, Brian Williams and Debbie Reynolds among others.

It is a gorgeous book and would make a terrific gift for someone special in your life - anyone who appreciates art. Visit www.kevinrivoli.com for more information.

€ Auburnian Tom Adessa has written the third book in his children's series, “Butternuts for Rexford.” Geared for children ages 6 to 9, this book tells the story of Rexford, a squirrel who is made fun by others because of his fear of heights.

Rexford makes new friends who help him overcome his fear, and show him what friendship and courage is all about. It is a delightful book, and the setting of the Adirondack Mountains adds a wonderful dimension to this story.

Children today don't spend as much time out in nature as they used to, and Adessa uses the setting to impart his love of nature to young readers. He immerses the children in this beautiful area of our state, and they learn something about it along the way.

For more information, Adessa can be reached at para454@verizon.net.

Diane La Rue is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Her lifelong goal is to read one book per week; she submits reviews monthly for The Citizen. She can be reached at laruediane2000@yahoo.com