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Title: The Wishbones by Tom Perrotta, Jack Hawkins ISBN: 1-55927-413-1 Publisher: Audio Renaissance Pub. Date: 01 March, 1997 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.39 (41 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Ouch -- We've All Been There
Comment: The genius of Perrotta in The Wishbones is his ability to render in fresh and funny guises universal moments. This is a quick, very enjoyable read, and I can't imagine that a single person of the Baby Boomer down to the mid-30's age range will fail to recognize him- or herself in at least one of the novel's characters or predicaments. My personal favorite is a moment within the "wedding on a tight budget" theme when Dave and Julie are arguing over whether to have a band or a deejay at their reception. Dave, who has made a big part of his life, if not his living, playing with his buddies in The Wishbones at weddings, informs Julie that having a deejay instead of a band is like inviting Hitler to the wedding. Julie looks at him astonished and says, "Hitler?! Are you crazy?" Well, yes, of course he is, who's not as their wedding day approaches, particularly with the complications Dave has mounted for himself in his final single man weeks. In the end, I think he does the right thing (other reviewers here seem to disagree) and Perrotta smartly ends his book on a note of uncertainty which manages at once to suggest that the right thing is not automatically a sure thing and marriage is never the end of all things single. Certainly not overly ambitious in its intentions, The Wishbones thoroughly entertains.
Rating: 4
Summary: Predictable doesn't necessarily mean boring.......
Comment: This is, essentially, a coming of age story-the fact that most of the primary characters are in their 30's notwithstanding.
Tom Perrotta's The Wishbones follows the various travails of Dave Raymond. Though in his 30's, Dave still lives at homes with his rather long suffering parents. Dave also has a long suffering girlfriend of 20 years. Actually, virtually everyone Dave knows well is long suffering--that appears to be the price you pay for having a son/friend who hasn't quite grown up.
Saddled with a dead-end day job, Dave's life actually revolves around his Band, The Wishbones, which plays wedding gigs on the weekends.
Dave is intelligent and aware enough to recognize his shortcomings--he's a good, not great guitarist with no original music vision of his own whatsoever--but not yet sufficiently emotionally mature=or secure-enough to toss in the towel on his dreams of musical stardom.
As event unfold, Dave finally gets up the nerve to propose to his girlfriend--then immediately stars getting cold feet.
There is not one single surprise to be found anywhere in this entire novel. Yet, the book is anything but boring. Perrotta has a wonderful talent for developing intricate, interesting and engaging characters, skillfully evokes the sense of Dave's New Jersey neighborhood, has a finely tuned sense of comedic flair and is adept with dialog. This is one of those books that proves that predictable doesn't have to be boring.
In point of fact, a lot of surprise and unexpected plot machinations would not have worked anyway, making what is, and was always meant to be, on ordinary, daily life sort of story seem contrived and hokey.
The ending is rather anti-climatic even so, and there are some rough passages to be gotten through--Dave's whole flirtation with joining a Christian rock band seems out of place, for instance. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise competent, witty and engaging story.
So, tune into the Wishbones and enjoy a pleasant read!
Rating: 5
Summary: A Gem
Comment: I can't recall the last time I read a book that I enjoyed as much as The Wishbones. (Like many of my fellow Amazon denizens, I read quite a bit, so this is not an inconsiderable achievement.) Perrotta's characters are exceptionally well crafted, his dialog is pitch perfect, and his story-telling doesn't have an ounce of fat. Let me put it this way: Tom Perrotta is Nick Hornsby with chops. I'm not sure if The Wishbones is great literature or not (although it very well might be; Perrotta is reputed to teach creative writing at Harvard!), but it is exceptionally entertaining and well worth your time. My only complaint is that, as I writer, I occasionally found myself despairing as I worked through its pages, thinking, "I'll never be able to write this well." But that's my problem, not yours. The Wishbones is a terrific book and I promise you won't regret spending the money or taking the time to read it.
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Title: Joe College : A Novel by Tom Perrotta ISBN: 031228327X Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Pub. Date: 05 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Election: A Novel by Tom Perrotta ISBN: 0425167283 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 01 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Little Children : A Novel by Tom Perrotta ISBN: 0312315716 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies by Tom Perrotta ISBN: 042515954X Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 01 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Family History by DANI SHAPIRO ISBN: 0375415475 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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