# Wishin' and Hopin'

*A Christmas Story*

By Wally Lamb

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/wishin-and-hopin-2d1ba91f/

Ten-year-old Felix Funicello has an eventful fall ahead in 1964 Connecticut. His mother is going on television, a substitute teacher arrives at his Catholic school, and a new Russian classmate upsets the class pecking order. Then the school starts preparing its Christmas production, with plenty of competing ideas about who deserves the starring roles.

## What makes it funny?

Felix asks his father about the birds and the bees. Dad delivers a warning about drinking fountains, then buys doughnuts that keep everyone's mouth too full for further discussion. In the authorized opening excerpt, the adult Felix also presents his responsible-citizen credentials before admitting that he helped trigger a spectacular classroom disaster.

### The comedy at work

The grown narrator understands the evasions and dirty jokes that baffled him as a boy. His younger self knows enough to get into trouble while missing the reasons adults are uncomfortable. Family pride and school rivalries give that confusion a public stage.

### Try this if…

Catholic-school memories and the television-and-pop-music culture of the 1960s are central attractions. Adults looking for a nostalgic family comedy have more here than the young protagonist alone might suggest.

### Good to know

Sexual innuendo, profanity and harsh school discipline appear in the sample. A teacher's mental-health crisis is described in the language of the period. The story spends time on autumn school and family adventures before reaching Christmas.

## What to expect

- Genre: Contemporary & literary
- On the shelf: Coming of age · Family comedy
- Kind of humor: Situational comedy
- The atmosphere: Warmhearted
- Format: Novella
- Published: 2009

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Bookreporter review](https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/wishin-and-hopin-a-christmas-story)
- Book information: [Ebook listing](https://books.apple.com/us/book/wishin-and-hopin/id360622999)
- Reading sample: [Authorized opening excerpt](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2012/12/25/wally-lamb-christmas)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://wallylamb.net/books)