Oscar and the Lady in Pink

This one was a surprise best-seller, and if you buy it, there’ll be one more added to the millions already walking out of stores. Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s novella is the tear-jerker that Erich Segal’s Love Story was, back in the day. Just goes to show that someone else dying is generally good for business. Oscar is dying. His bone marrow transplant hasn’t taken. He doesn’t have much time. But one of the social workers, a lady in pink, reveals a secret to him. She was a wrestler. She tells him to write to God. She tells him about a legend that says that if you look closely at the last twelve days of the year, you can tell what the weather will be like in the next twelve months. And if he doesn’t have that much time, he’s going to have to grow up a decade a day. Oscar begins writing and begins growing. If you’re throwing up, this is not the book for you. If you’re tearing up, go get it and weep.