The Wishing Box
This “funny, magical debut” explores the surprising and unintended consequences of getting what you wish for.
Julia, an almost-30 single mom whose life is mostly together, lives in Oakland with her seven-year-old son. Never suspecting it will actually work, she and her sister create a wishing box and half-seriously hold a ceremony for the return of the father who abandoned them as children.
“One of the Best Books of 2000! . . . An impish novel, hopeful and full of humor.” —Los Angeles Times
Never suspecting it will actually work, Julia and her sister create a wishing box and half-seriously hold a ceremony for the return of the father who abandoned them as children. Astonishingly, he comes back—but Julia's life has already moved abruptly in a new direction, and she has taken off in much the same way her father had many years before.
Julia and her unusual family are at the heart of this novel about appearances and disappearances, the desire to control the future and explain the past, and the legacies passed on from one generation to another.
Glowing Praise for The Wishing Box
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“One of the Best Books of 2000! ... An impish novel, hopeful and full of humor.”
—Los Angeles Times
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“At the start of this funny, magical debut novel, 29-year-old single mom Julia Harris has no ambition, no relationship and no clue about what she wants from life. But when clairvoyant Aunt Simone inspires Julia’s sister, Lisa, to wish for the return of their long-absent father, his appearance sets off a chain of events that forces Julia to earn her happy ending – aptly illustrating yet another warning your mother had right: Be careful what you wish for.”
—Glamour
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“Moving! Slater's enchanting debut puts magic-realist devices to good use as it uncovers a complex family history”
—Publishers Weekly
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“With touches of magical realism, author Dashka Slater glides smoothly back and forth across the borders of the visible world. Ghosts abound; some are seen, others have left only prickly echoes or their appetites. Slater, a California poet and journalist, has crafted an imaginative book that is lovely, lively, funny and smart.”
—Dallas Morning News
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“A touching yet not-too-earnest first novel about a single mother, her sister, and the father who loved but left them. Both satirical and hopeful.”
—Kirkus Reviews
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“Dashka Slater...has written a stunning, poetic first novel about appearances and disappearances, about family legacies, religious belief and cultural inheritances....Her language feels meant to be read aloud...Impressive.”
—San Jose Mercury News