The Wishbones
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- £4.49
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- £4.49
Publisher Description
The second novel from Tom Perrotta, author of ‘Little Children’, ‘Election’ and ‘The Abstinence Teacher’.
Everything is going pretty well for Dave Raymond. He's 31, but he still feels young. He's playing guitar with the Wishbones, a New Jersey wedding band, and while it isn't exactly the Big Time, it is music. He has a roof over his head…well, it's his parents' roof, but they don't hassle him much. Life isn't perfect. But it isn't bad. Not bad at all.
But then he has to blow it all by proposing to his girlfriend…
One man's treasure is another man's millstone. To Dave, the treasure in question is Gretchen; a sexy, bohemian poet Dave meets when playing at a wedding with his band. While Gretchen the poet plays 'the bridesmaid', Dave plays 'the rock-star'. And suddenly, the comfortable trajectory of his reality seems far less appealing.
Reviews
‘Perrotta’s novels are sheer pleasure.’ San Francisco Chronicle
‘An elegant, poignant tale of self-discovery.’ Time Out New York
‘Unalloyed reading pleasure…most readers will probably end up standing at the footlights, hooting for an encore.’ New York TImes Book Review
‘What makes this late coming-of-age novel original and fresh is the arch, incisive humor and pop-music riffs that Perrotta adds to an old story…Even the antagonisms are gentle and funny.’ Publishers Weekly
‘Just like a good rock 'n' roll song, Perrotta's novel is straight-ahead, unpretentious entertainment…Like Nick Hornsby's “High Fidelity”, “The Wishbones” is a smart, very funny look at one man's ambivalence toward adulthood and commitment.’ Booklist
About the author
Tom Perrotta is the author of several works of fiction, including ‘Little Children’, ‘Joe College’ and ‘Election’. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What makes this late coming-of-age novel original and fresh is the arch, incisive humor and pop-music riffs that Perrotta adds to an old story: man proposes to one woman, then promptly falls in love with another. Dave Raymond is guitarist for the Wishbones, a fivesome that plays weddings. Backup for the band and the plot are provided by a cast of memorable characters: no-nonsense manager and saxophonist Artie; suburbs-trapped bass-player Buzzy, who works quality control in prostheses; newly married and cuckolded drummer Stan; and singer/keyboardist Ian, who lives with his parents and has written a musical called Grassy Knoll, whose gradual unfolding provides perhaps the most confoundingly delightful segment of the book. When an aging singer keels over dead at a band showcase, Dave is jolted by the experience and proposes to Julie Muller, his girlfriend since high school. Soon afterwards, he is smitten with Gretchen, a bridesmaid at a wedding gig. Dave's happiness-versus-duty struggle forms the core of the book--and leads to an ending that begs for a sequel recounting the emotional consequences. Even the antagonisms are gentle and funny in this first novel by the author of the critically acclaimed short-story collection Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies. Film rights optioned by Linda Obst at Fox 2000.
