Wish You Well by David Baldacci Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Wish You Well
Book Review: A Superb Read
Summary: 5 Stars
'Wish You Well' is a superb novel written by a man normally associated with stories of mystery and intrigue. The theme is simple but beautifully portrayed and is obviously the result of some studied and in-depth research, combined with a degree of personal experience. It takes the reader into a world of hardship, joy, love and personal triumph, somtimes in the face of the harsh realities of the 1940's and the prejudice's that existed during that time. One can't help but re-live the lives of the two young children, whilst at the same time experience the anguish suffered by the more elder members of the mountain community, who live with nature and are dependent on it's mercy. This is a book of sheer escapism combined with a compelling story-line. Absolutely brilliant.Book Review: TAKE ME HOME...COUNTRY HOME...
Summary: 5 Stars
Having read a number of David Baldacci's books, most of which are well written, engrossing thrillers, this one is quite different. It is not a thriller but, rather, a beautifully written, human drama, most of which takes place in the mountains of Virginia. In this unabridged, audio book edition, the richness of the drama and the beauty of the writing is brought to life by the wonderful narration of Norma Lana, who manages to convey the down home sense of feeling that is palpable in the book. This is a coming of age story. It is the story of the Cardinal family, as seen through the young eyes of twelve year old Louisa Mae Cardinal, known as Lou, a precocious twelve year old, whose father is a highly acclaimed writer of note with great literary distinction but little commercial success. She lives with her beloved father, her mother, and her younger brother, Oz, in New York City. The year is 1940. The family is on the brink of moving to California, when tragedy strikes, and the lives of Lou, Oz, and their mother are forever changed.
Lou, Oz, and their now catatonic mother go to live with their paternal great-grandmother, Louisa, for whom Lou is named. This no nonsense, strong willed, loving matriarch lives high up in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, where Lou's father grew up, and that is where Lou and Oz will now grow up. They are strangers in a strange land, big city children now living on a farm without electricity, running water, or central heat. It is there that Lou comes of age and, together with her brother, Oz, has many new experiences. They are experiences that provide rights of passage and life lessons in friendship, loyalty, loss, and redemption. She gets a large dose of the good, the bad, and the ugly in life.
While there, big business threatens their way of life and pits the townsfolk against each other in a struggle for survival. It is a struggle that sees Louisa take a stance that will, ultimately, be the death of her, leaving the children to cope with their mother, who is physically sound, but locked in her own mind since the tragedy that changed their lives forever. The interests of big business and those of the Cardinal family clash in a Virginia courtroom in a riveting drama that is not easily forgotten. With the help of a family friend, a humble and kindly, country lawyer, things are, eventually, put to rights.
This well written book has richly drawn characters and a sensitive and descriptive narrative that transports the reader to another time and place. It is so evocative of the hardscrabble, mountain existence, so as to make the readers feel as if they, themselves, were experiencing it. It is a sentimental journey that is calculated to tug at one's heartstrings. It is a journey, however, well worth taking. With this book, the author has set himself apart from the pack and proclaimed himself a true literary talent.
Book Review: The Waltons in Honey
Summary: 1 Stars
This book is dreadful. A schmaltzy, cheesy, saccarin infused bore fest. Mr Baldacci writes some really cracking thrillers: page turning, roller-coaster rides. I thought that a change of pace, a different direction, would be a interesting diversion for him, bring out another side of his literary talent. But no, this is just dull.It's The Waltons without the excitement (ahem) or Little House on the Prairie without the killer characters (ahem!) - it's pants.
Book Review: A surprising read
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm used to David Baldacci's thrillers, which are never less than good. This was somewhat of a surprise, an affectionate tribute to the Virginia mountains from which his family came. Occasionally that affection tips over into melodrama, and the final chapters are indeed contrived with rather too much maudlin sentimentality, so I can see the point of a previous reviewer who described it rather nicely as "The Waltons in honey". Yet the story is told with style and flair, with generally nicely-caught characters and places. It's a fairy tale, but one that will melt all but the hardest of hearts.Book Review: Awful. Absolutely awful.
Summary: 1 Stars
What a disappointment! An entirely predictable plot is threaded - woven would be too strong a word for this slender cord - through a sentimental nostalgiafest in which the glorious wild triumphs over a pathetic caricature of big business.
Baldacci clearly feels for this landscape, and writes accordingly, but the result is saccharin sweet mush. An unbelievable twelve year old (with the mental acuity of someone twice her age) takes centre stage alongside her mountain-woman great grandmother. She discovers how quaint the mountain folk are - lam sakes, they've no electricity goshdarnit. Oh, and for the final fifty pages of the story there's a court case which is so weakly written you might just as well skip to the back page and read what you've known all along would be the outcome...
Half the book's characters speak in some rustic dialect which is maddening to read, and patronising in tone. Themes are introduced - child abuse, racism, corruption - but are left completely undeveloped when they might have given the story a firmer foundation. As it is, we're left with a lifeless, vapid story that has no plot, limited structure, and nowhere to go after the first few chapters. You can imagine the author snuffling back the tears as he writes about a locale and way of life that obviously matter to him, but his lack of a credible storyline leaves this as nothing more than self-indulgent cheese.