Wishin' and Hopin'

On - and Off - The Road, Again

Hello everyone,

I've been on the road now for many days. It's been - literally - planes, trains and automobiles. I've been from Boston to Atlanta to Charlottesville to Ft. Lauderdale, home for a few days, then back to Boston. What a life!

The best way to cope with these bouts of excessive transportation is with a good book. I found one in my travels. It's Wishin' and Hopin' by the great Wally Lamb (author of She's Come Undone and The Hour I First Believed), and it's something of a departure for him. He's known for writing hefty books that grapple with serious issues and questions. This book is shorter and might at first glance be considered "Wally lite," but it's far from that. In fact, it's a charming, hilarious and deeply compassionate story about six-year-old Felix Funicello (cousin of Mickey Mouse Club's Annette), and his struggles growing up in Connecticut. Felix is innocently and riotously funny and while this is a book about children, it is not children's book, at least not for any child under about age 13. There are some dirty jokes that parents might not appreciate their kids repeating, although I suspect our children know many more risque jokes and stories than any of us care to imagine. The ones in this book fit the story, and one joke, in particular plays a significant role in the fate of a certain television show. If it were any more tame it just wouldn't ring true. This is childhood as it really is, but written with love and understanding.

I don't think any of you will be offended by anything in Wishin' and Hopin', and a lot of you will be touched. Parts of it will make you laugh out loud and the ending itself is something to behold. If you need an antidote to the harsh reality of today, then this book will take you away from it all for a few hours. It's being billed as "a Christmas story," but it oh-so-much more than that.

I'm just wishin' and hopin' Wally Lamb writes some more just like this.