wally lamb i know this much is true synopsis

The story is told by Felix, today a “responsible citizen.” But at the outset, he declares that he his conscience have unfinished business, his telling of the story is “both my confession and my act of contrition.”Īuthor wally lambWally Lamb is the author of two of my all-time favorite books: She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True.

While Lonny may not be learning much in the classroom, he is certainly gaining a lot of knowledge outside of school, and imparting much of it to Felix, who doesn't understand many of Lonny's crude jokes and wisecracks.įelix's two older sisters, Simone and Frances, are in high school, having already endured a year in Sister Dymphna's class, whose mood swings are legend. At 12 years of age, Lonny has already been held back twice. So Felix is seated in the front row of the classroom, while his friend Lonny Flood is generally seated in the last row. Sister Dymphna ranks the student on the blackboard each week and seats them in accordance with their academic accomplishments. Felix, meanwhile, is set to appear on a local children's program, The Ranger Andy Show, along with his fellow Junior Midshipmen.įelix is in constant competition with Rosalie Twerski for the position of top student. Her “Shepherd's Pie Italiano” has made her a finalist in the “main meal” category and soon she will be on of 100 contestants sharing air time with actor Ronald Reagan.

But the third depicts Annette in a white two-piece bathing suit with a transistor radio up to her ear, paying homage to her later work in “Beach Blanket Bingo” and “How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.” It hangs in a place of prominence right over the fryolator.įelix's mother is about to fly to California to compete on television in the Pillsbury Bake-Off. His family runs a lunch counter in the New London, Connecticut bus station where three posters of distant cousin Annette Funicello are proudly displayed: One from her heyday as the most popular Mouseketeer and one from the classic “Shaggy Dog” film in which she co-starred with Fred MacMurray and Tommy Kirk. “ hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte,” starring Bette Davis and Joseph Cotton, is playing at the local movie theatre, and Dusty Springfield is one of the most popular female singers of the day.įelix Funicello is the smallest of all the fifth graders in Sister Dymphna's class at St.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo are at the top of the charts, and Cassius Clay - who would later be even more widely known as Mohammed Ali - is the world heavyweight boxing champion. Kennedy's term in office and running for re-election against Senator Barry Goldwater. Lyndon Johnson is completing the late John F.

Wally lamb i know this much is true synopsis