"This book is a bonbon for any baby boomer. . . . Lamb gets Felix''s voice just right, and he does a spot-on job of evoking the special joys and trials of parochial school in the ''60''s...Put a bow on this book and warm somebody''s heart." -- St. Petersburg Times Wally Lamb, the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hour I First Believed, I Know This Much Is True , and She''s Come Undone , delivers a holiday treat with Wishin'' and Hopin'' --an unforgettable novella that captures the warmth and joy of the holiday season. It''s 1964. LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone''s turntable, and ten-year-old Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade--easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy. But there are several things young Felix can depend on: the birds and bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he''s never going to forget. Poignant and hilarious, in a vein similar to Jean Shepherd''s A Christmas Story and David Sedaris''s The Santaland Diaries , Lamb''s Christmas tale focuses on a feisty parochial school fifth grader named Felix Funicello--a distant cousin of the iconic Annette!

Charming. Full of pop-culture references of the daythis will have broad appeal.

Autorentext

Wally Lamb is the author of five New York Times bestselling novels: She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much Is True, The Hour I First Believed, Wishin’ and Hopin’, and We Are Water. His first two works of fiction, She’s Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, were both #1 New York Times bestsellers and selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Lamb edited Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, I’ll Fly Away, and You Don’t Know Me, three volumes of essays from students in his writing workshop at York Correctional Institution, a women’s prison in Connecticut, where he has been a volunteer facilitator for two decades. He lives in Connecticut and New York.

Klappentext

In Wally Lamb’s pitch perfect new novel,it is 1964. LBJ and Lady Bird are in theWhite House, Meet the Beatles is 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.