WISH YOU WELL by David Baldacci
WISH YOU WELL seems to have become the darling of the book club Nazi members. I ordered it when I heard that it was to be the discussion topic at The Heritage Club Book Meeting.
The story is a period piece set possibly during the depression era. A famous author has found critical acclaim --but not wealth-- in the books he has written about growing up in the mountains of western Virginia. His plan has been set in motion to move his family to the west coast and sell out by writing for the movie industry.
Jack Cardinal’s wife Amanda does not want this move to happen. While arguing, the automobile will all four members of the family aboard wrecks, killing Jack Cardinal and resulting in a coma-like state for Amanda.
The children and Amanda are sent to live with their paternal great-grandmother in the Virginia Mountains. The story focuses on the older daughter, Lou, and her care of her little brother Oz.
Theses are sweet stories all; all with lessons of life. Maybe I feel as if life has already taught me too many lessons. It’s a good read. I’d rather, to be honest, have been engrossed in even a lame cozy mystery.
The ending seems very abrupt. Events lead to a crisis in the courtroom. Will the land that they all love be taken from them? Will their mother recover? Will they live happily ever after? Then it seems as if in one page, all issues are resolved and what happens next takes place in the Afterward.
The important emphasis of the book is to learn and carry on family stories. Once our parents and grandparents are gone, so many times are their imprints. David Baldacci said that was one reason he wrote this particular novel; because he was interested in his family’s history.
Because this novel has been turned into reading material for schools and book clubs, there are discussion questions and hints on how to begin a family genealogy.
