The Wish List
| The Wish List | |
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| Author(s) | Eoin Colfer |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | O'Brien Press |
| Publication date | October 1, 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio-CD and audio cassette |
| Pages | 256 pp (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7868-1863-8 (hardcover edition) |
| OCLC Number | 52633349 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.C677475 Wi 2003 |
The Wish List is a fantasy novel by Eoin Colfer. It chronicles the adventures of Meg Finn, a teenage girl killed in a gas explosion who must earn her place in Heaven by returning to Earth to help the pensioner she attempted to rob.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Meg Finn is in trouble. Her mother is dead and her only family is an abusive stepfather who does nothing but watch TV all day. Her stepfather is forced to resign from his job when Meg embarrassed him by showing his work colleagues a video of herself smashing his brand new television that he bought with Meg's mother's engagement ring and all of Meg's life saving . When she is forced to help Belch Brennan, a dim-witted criminal, rob the elderly Lowrie McCall, the attempted burglary ends in disaster. In an attempt to scare Meg, Belch shoots by a gas tank which explodes, killing them both. While Belch is sent straight to hell (his soul merged with that of his vicious dog Raptor by the explosion, making him a half-boy half-dog creature,) Meg's perfect balance between good and evil earns her a chance to redeem herself and get blue in her Aura. She is sent back to earth in order to help Lowrie complete the items on his "wish list": a list of things that he feels will correct the many mistakes he made in his life.
Meanwhile, Satan has decided that he wants Meg's soul in Hell and Beelzebub is forced to send Belch to recapture Meg and "make her bad", making Belch and Elph, the hologram with which he has been equipped, the chief antagonists in the story.
The Wish List:
1) Kissy Sissy - Kiss Cicely Ward, (aka Sissy) a popular talk-show granny and one-date girlfriend of Lowrie.
2) Kick a ball over the bar in Croke Park.
3) Burst Ball - Punch a man who bullied Lowrie at school, Punch Brendan Ball.
4) Spit over the Cliffs of Moher.
Ultimately, following a confrontation on the edge of the Cliffs of Moher, Belch is destroyed and Meg's final act of holiness - giving her stepfather a new life - gains her entry to Heaven, where she meets her mother again.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Major characters
- Meg Finn - The main heroine who is halfway between good and bad and gets a second chance on earth as a spirit.
- Lowrie McCall - The old man who needs to complete his Wish List.
- Belch Brennan - The evil half-boy, half-dog who has been sent to make Meg fail the Wish List.
- Elph - The computer hologram designed by Myishi to help Belch stop Meg.
- St. Peter - The saint who decides whether or not a person is allowed into heaven.
- Beelzebub - Satan's right-hand demon who has been assigned with returning Meg to Hell.
[edit] Minor characters
- Franco- Meg's stepfather
- Flit - A tunnel mite who has a grammar problem and gives Meg two backup energy stones.
- Raptor- Belch's dog, with whom he later merges.
- Cicely Ward - A famous old friend of Lowrie McCall's whom he wishes to kiss and does.
- Dessie - A bouncer who works at Cicely Ward's studio, brother of Murt.
- Murt - A security guard at Croke Park, brother of Dessie.
- Satan - The leader of Hell.
- Myishi - An annoying computer geek who lives in Hell and made Elph. Similar to Foaly in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books. This name is also found in the book Supernaturalist.
- Brendan Ball - A bully who humiliated Lowrie at school, but in his adult years regretted his actions. Lowrie wishes to pay him back for how Brendan treated him, but Brendan's apologetic attitude makes him change his mind.
[edit] Portrayal of relationship between Heaven and Hell
Unlike many novels about the relationship of Heaven to Hell and the traditional Judeo-Christian portrayal, Hell is not portrayed as a completely evil place. For instance, Satan does not always take pleasure in killing or torturing others. Beelzebub is also tasked with all of Satan's inane duties, including handling the capture of Meg Finn herself. Likewise, Heaven is not completely pure, as Saint Peter seems to take pleasure in sending souls to limbo instead of through the Pearly Gates. Also, when Saint Peter opens the gate to heaven for Meg, he explains that "Pearly Gate" just sounded better than "Hole in the Sky."
[edit] Connections
Myishi is a company in The Supernaturalist, another children's book written by Eoin Colfer so it is possible that Myishi was the founder of the company originally. Colfer said at the EIBF 2008 that this was also purposeful, as he wants his books to be set in the same universe, and then compared his universe to Marvel's.
Meg Finn shares her surname with Conor Finn, the alter ego of Conor Broekhart, the protagonist of Eoin Colfer's book Airman and with Colfer's son, Finn Colfer.
