40 Forever: It Is All About Wally

Lamb, Wally. Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. New York: Harper, 2009.

I just finished reading Wally Lamb’s latest book, Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. It’s absolutely hilarious; I laughed aloud at least a dozen times. It’s a cross between Judy Blume’s male coming of age story, Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, and Sempé & Goscinny’s funny tales about the mischievous little French boy , Le Petit Nicholas.

Wally Lamb names his books after song lyrics. (Click on the links to hear each title’s inspiration.) There’s She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much is True, Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, I’ll Fly Away, The Hour I First Believed, and Wishin’ and Hopin.‘ They are all excellent. Along with John Irving, Augusten Burroughs, and David Sedaris, Wally Lamb is one of my very favorite authors.