Wishin' and Hopin' A Novel [Paperback]

Wally Lamb, the beloved #1New York Timesbestselling author ofThe Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True, andShe’s Come Undone, delivers a holiday treat withWishin’ and Hopin’—an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd’sA Christmas Storyand David Sedaris’sThe Santaland Diaries, Lamb’s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello—a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!

In Wally Lamb’s pitch perfect new novel,it is 1964. LBJ and Lady Bird are in theWhite House,Meet the Beatlesis on everyone’sturntable, and ten-year-old Felix Funicello(distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doinghis best to navigate fifth grade—easier said thandone when scary movies still give you nightmaresand you bear a striking resemblance to a certainadorable cartoon boy. But there are several thingsyoung Felix can depend on: the birds and beesare puzzling, television is magical, and this is oneChristmas he’s never going to forget.

In the hands of Wally Lamb, what emerges isnt an apology but a celebration of life...Felix makes a hilarious guide through a story that whirs right along.Lambs rich panoply of details...render this novel first-rate escapism just begging for a comforter and a cup of tea.Warmly, sweetly retroLamb gets Felixs voice just right, and he does a spot-on job of evoking the special joys and trials of parochial school in the 60sLambs vividly detailed portrait of the 1960s and the inner workings of a Catholic schoolboys mind puts his first Christmas book on par with his previous three novels.Lamb...proves he can be short, sweet and funnyWishin and Hopin from Wally Lamb reminds us of what innocence was like.Both heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny&a cast of characters thatl3­