Wish You Well
By David Baldacci
Warner Books, 2000
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 399
Via: Library
“Them two people lost each other, but they’s still in love. Now, people die, but love don’t never die. Make the well magic. Anybody done got a wish, they come here, wish for it, and it’ll happen. Ever time. Rain or shine.” – Diamond Skinner
This is a story about love. And a mutt named Jeb. Jeb’s the truest, dearest, most loyal friend a body could ever have, with one exception. Hi, Kimber. Ya see, Jeb belongs to a boy named Jimmy “Diamond Skinner.” Diamond’s mama died in childbirth. His daddy died in a coal mining accident in the rugged Appalachians of Virginia. Diamond lives alone amid the feral beauty of rural Virginia and the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Until two children come along: Louisa May “Lou” Cardinal, age 10, and her brother Oscar “Os,” age seven.
The Cardinal siblings lost their daddy in a terrible car accident in Brooklyn, New York. He wrote beautiful yarns about growing up in the Appalachians of Viriginia with his grandmother Lousia May. John Jacob “Jack” Cardinal won many awards. But his books didn’t sell.
With their daddy killed in the car wreck and their mama catatonic as a result, the Cardinal children wind up on their great-grandmother Louisa May’s farm in the hills of Virginia. That’s where they meet Diamond and his faithful dog, Jeb. Their lives become entwined as Lou slowly learns about her roots and the tragedies that kept her father from ever coming back to the mountains.
Now, great-grandma Louisa May doesn’t have much according to some. She lives in an old ramshackle house without running water or electricity. Years ago she took in a young orphaned black boy named Eugene. The two work together and farm the land, eking out a meager living in a rough farming community where coal is king and men die young from black lung.
“Though I have a new life now, and am enjoying the city for the most part, I will never forget that the passing down of memories is the strongest link in the gossamer bridge that binds us as people. I plan to devote my life to doing just that. And if you taught me anything, it’s that what we hold in our hearts is truly the first component of our humanity.” – Journal of John Jacob Cardinal.
Tough and Tender
Louisa May is elderly. But she’s as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. She’s tough and tender. A bottomless well of love. This includes helping out any needy friend or neighbor like the ten children of no-account, good for nothing George Davis. Brutal, heartless, and as self-centered as they get, George lets his own family go hungry while he sells bumper crops and moonshine to the Southern Valley Coal and Gas Company. George’s kids would starve were it not for the kindness of Louisa May. She sets aside part of every harvest for the Davis children without ever asking anything in return.
Twin Goblins
Meanwhile, Lou adored her writer father. But she was distant and detached from her mother, Amanda. So when the forlorn trio arrives at Louisa May’s farm, Lou is eaten up by the twin goblins of guilt and regret. Os the eternal optimist is certain their mama will come out of her coma and come back to them. Lou isn’t convinced. After a while, however, the “orderliness” of farming appeals to Lou as she begins to respect and understand the land. And how “growing up on a mountain leaves its mark upon all those who share its bounty and its hardship.”
https://youtu.be/Psw7SibWzcc?si=MiiFaDT8ES_O-kGC
But questions remain. Why did Lou’s father leave the mountain and never come back? How come his mama left and never came back, leaving him to be raised by Louisa May? Why does George Davis hate Louisa May so much? Is George in cahoots with Southern Valley Coal and Gas? Why?
Diamond Skinner had no material possessions to his name and yet he had been the happiest creature Lou had ever met. He and God would no doubt get along famously.
When Lousia May suffers a stroke, the vultures descend, intent on taking her land and sending Lou and Os to an orphanage. Can their lawyer and friend Cotton Longfellow save them? Will Amanda Cardinal ever emerge from her catatonic state? Can Lou find her own well of love before it’s too?
The Discovery
Then Lou discovers something stuck to the underside of the desktop in her room. She pulls it out and discovers… Oh, wait. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out what happens next.
Cotton sat back. The legal process had had its day; the only thing absent was justice.
Kimber: Mom got this book from the library after she stumbled upon the movie the other day. The movie stars Ellen Burnsyn as Louisa May Cardinal and Josh Lucas as Cotton Longfellow. It’s a quiet, thoughtful movie, brimming with power and pathos.
In the book, Baldacci’s word pictures paint landscapes and scenes so vivid, they practically stand up and walk. It’s even better in the movie, where the real “star of the show” is the Virginia countryside, especially when the Cardinals’ beloved rocky and wooded hills are aflame in fall finery. Amazing!
“He sighed deeply. “I suppose it may be God’s way of telling us to love people while they’re here, because tomorrow they may be gone.”
Heart
Wish You Well is beautifully written, with so much heart you can almost feel the beat in every paragraph. There’s a poignant, lyrical quality to the prose that beggars description. You can almost feel the sun and wind on your skin as you turn pages. The hardships and health hazards of coal mining and “company towns” are also touched on.
The Title
Wish You Well has a double meaning, in case you hadn’t already figured that out. The story within is a little Earl Hamner, Jr. A little O. Henry. A bit Henry David Thoreau or Walt Whitman. The novel may recall sun-soaked summer days and endless blues skies of childhood. Or maybe your grandparent’s childhood. Indeed, reading this heartfelt and heartwarming novel is an uncommon experience.
Baldacci is known for his suspense novels. Wish You Well isn’t one of them. But it is one of the most enjoyable and engaging novels we’ve read all year. Kimber: Mom didn’t want it to end! I’m ready to play with my new best buddy, Jeb!
Finally, we can’t quite put into words how much we loved this book. It’s like coming home.
Pages & Paws 