Readalikes - The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb, author of I Know This Much to be True - a New York Times Notable book - and the Oprah approved She's Come Undone, has published his first novel in 10 years.

He tackles tragedy in his latest - The Hour I First Believed. A couple copes (or do they?) after wife Maureen, school librarian, survives the Columbine School shootings.

While you are waiting for your turn to read this book, you might like to try other authors, like John Irving, Anne Tyler, Miriam Toews, Jane Smiley and Donna Morrissey, who also examine family relationships through introspective characters.

Or maybe you're in the mood for a fictionalized look at a tragic event. Two that come to mind are Dominic Dunne's A Season in Purgatory and Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song.

Sometimes it's easier to read about such events, seemingly one step removed, through fiction. Hmm ... is that true, do you think, or is it just as real for you?