The Wishbones

As any of you who are Tom Perotta readers know, it’s easy to inhale his books in an incredibly short time. Even with work and school, I think it only took me three days to read The Wishbones. As with all Perotta novels, it was an easy and light read while still raising some food for thought. This time around, Perotta’s protagonist, Dave, is a suburban musician in arrested development. After the sudden death of an acquaintance, he’s rattled enough to propose to his girlfriend of fifteen years (fifteen years, on and off, as Dave always clarifies). He then spends the rest of the book considering the course of his life, his abandoned dreams of rock stardom, his love for his fiance, his attraction to other women and one woman in particular, and whether he still has the ability to change his life. Perotta fills the novel with enough interesting ensemble characters to keep the introspection from becoming either boring or stale. Instead, the story moves forward at a steady clip, and Dave feels relatable if not completely sympathetic.

Recommended for Tom Perotta fans and wedding junkies.