Third Wish
note: this article does not relate to the minor rock band 'Third Wish' from Minneapolis, Minnesota, that played local bars circa 1994-1995 and recorded at Flowerpot Studios.
Third Wish is the first novel by inspirational writer Robert Fulghum. In his own words, it is the kind of novel that he personally would like to read. Third Wish was first published in Czech by the Prague publisher (ARGO), and was released in November 2004, as supported by a personal appearance by Fulghum. Each individual copy was packaged in a box of cedar wood. A sequel was planned for 2006, and a third novel, called Third Wish: Granted, has now been written and published as well.
Third Wish was published in English as a 5-part, 2-volume set in February, 2009.
The publisher book description summarizes the story as follows: "In fairy tales, the third wish is the last one left when the first wish was foolish, and the second wish was used to undo the first wish. Now the remaining wish must be used wisely and well--with the help of co-conspirators. The main thread of the story--like Ariadne’s string guiding Theseus into the labyrinth with the Minotaur--begins at a table on a terrace on the Greek Island of Crete (one chapter is about Olive tree of Vouves), winds its way into the center and back out to the same table, passing through Greece, Japan, France, England, and Seattle. Its main characters are Alice, Max-Pol, Aleko, Wonko, Zenkichi, Polydora, Alice-Alice, and Dog. Woven into the fabric of the novel are cultural history, art, philosophy, archeology, poetry, theater and music. The mode of the novel is contained in the words Slowly, Surprise, and Witness. More than anything else, Third Wish is a long love story--not in the usual sense--but the story of people who love life and will go to great lengths to find a flourishing Way onward."
Analysis: The Third Wish tells us that we should be happy with who we are. The old man at the end of the book dies with a grand smile and a leaf- the one he didn't use and a feather- which represents lightness. This shows that we can be happy and we don't need things that we don't need.