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CBS News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Oprah Winfrey names "The River Is Waiting" newest book club pick: Read a free excerpt
Oprah Winfrey revealed "The River Is Waiting" by Wally Lamb as her newest book club selection on "CBS Mornings" on Tuesday. This is the third book by Lamb that Winfrey has picked. She described Lamb as being a "magician of words." It's the story of Corby Ledbetter, a young and struggling stay-at-home dad to twin toddlers. He causes a tragedy that tears his family apart. The book tracks Ledbetter's journey through prison, where witnesses acts of brutality and kindness and how he hopes forgiveness may eventually be possible. Read a free excerpt from "The River Is Waiting" by Wally Lamb. Free excerpt from "The River Is Waiting" The following morning, I was still asleep when my phone rang. I squinted at the time: seven fifteen. Who the f---…? "Yeah?" "Good morning," Emily said. "Thanks again for last night. Hey, would you like to go out for breakfast? I was thinking the Aero Diner on Route Two in half an hour?" I said yes, swung my legs out of bed, and headed for the shower. After toweling off, I looked at my naked self in the mirror. Long eyelashes? Check. Broad shoulders? Nah. Average, maybe. Nothing special. But because the work I was doing that summer was physical, my stomach looked cut and my biceps were bigger. Still, I had a T-shirt tan—not cool. And an overbite, as the hygienist always reminded me when I got my teeth cleaned. And in my opinion, my frame was still on the scrawny side. It was a draw, I figured, and slipped on some clean boxers. What counted was that Emily liked what she saw. I glanced again at the clock. I had fifteen minutes to get to that diner on Route Two and there'd probably be beach traffic. There was no time to shave, so I hoped she liked the scruffy look. Apparently, she did. We got together almost every night for the rest of that dwindling summer. Went to the beach half a dozen times. Made love whenever the opportunity let us, given that we were both staying with our moms. Emily's mom was iffy about me from the beginning, and she wasn't exactly reassured when she found a couple of the nude sketches I'd done of Emily. "He could post these on the internet," she warned her daughter. "How many schools would hire you to teach if these went public?" Emily's theory was that Betsy would come around once she got to know me better, so I went over there for dinner one rainy Sunday in the middle of August. Emily made a lasagna and Betsy contributed a green salad with nothing in it besides arugula, oil, and lemon juice. Hope she hasn't tired herself out making it, I thought. To impress her, I had splurged on a thirty-dollar bottle of red wine and purposely left the price tag on, but I could have saved my money. Betsy barely touched her lips to her glass. After I'd finished a second helping of lasagna, Emily said she'd made a blueberry pie for dessert. When she stood and started clearing the plates, I got up to help her. Betsy insisted I sit back down because I was their guest. With Em in the kitchen, that left the two of us. After an awkward several seconds, I said, "So your daughter says you write poetry." "Oh, here and there," she said. "I'm much more of a reader than a writer." "Yeah? What's your favorite book?" "Oh goodness, I have so many. I've been rereading Jane Eyre. That's one of my favorites. Masterpiece Theatre has been running a marvelous series based on the book. I don't suppose you've seen it." "No, but my mother's been watching it," I told her. Which was a lie. For Mom, must-see TV on Sunday nights was Desperate Housewives. "So tell me," she said. "Is art something you're hoping to make your living doing?" "Maybe," I said. "I'm not really into planning my future at this point. I guess I'm more of a live-for-today kind of person." "Aha. Then you're the grasshopper, not the ant." When I shrugged, she said, "Aesop's Fables. You're very young, aren't you?" As in immature and stupid, I figured. I poured myself more wine. A thirty-buck bottle of cabernet? Someone had better drink it. I felt like letting her know that my high school girlfriend's parents had been crazy about me; her dad had even taken me fishing. Where the hell was Emily? Reaching for my glass, I knocked it over, spilling wine on their white tablecloth. Ignoring my apology, Betsy jumped up, rushed to the kitchen, and came back armed with paper towels, a dishcloth, and a bottle of club soda. Blotting, pouring, and scrubbing, she let me know that the tablecloth, a gift from her favorite aunt, would be ruined if the stain was allowed to set. "Again, I'm very, very sorry," I said. Instead of acknowledging my apology, she continued to scrub aggressively. When Emily returned with the pie, she apologized that it was so juicy. She'd forgotten the cornstarch. Aware that blueberries stained, I ate my piece super carefully. As soon as I had my last bite, I stood and said I had to go. "Already?" Emily said. I made up a bullshit excuse about having to feed a neighbor's dog. At the front door, I whispered to Emily that I was pretty sure I'd flunked the audition. "Good thing you're not dating her then," she quipped. "And don't worry about the stupid tablecloth. Big deal." When I kissed her, she kissed me back. It was pouring by then and the ground was saturated. Backing up, I accidentally veered off their driveway and onto the lawn. Made a little bit of a rut, which by morning might not even be noticeable. And if it was, Betsy would have to just f---ing get over it. You're very young, aren't you? What a b----. At the end of August, Emily and I promised each other we'd call and write as often as our upcoming semesters allowed. I'd fly out there for the four-day Thanksgiving break and she'd spend the month between semesters back at her mother's. So at the end of our Mistick Village summer, we returned to our schools on opposite coasts. Excerpted from The River is Waiting: A Novel by Wally Lamb. Copyright © 2025 by Wally Lamb. Reprinted by permission of Marysue Rucci Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Oprah Winfrey's new book club pick, "The River Is Waiting," explores themes of guilt and redemption
In an exclusive reveal on "CBS Mornings," Oprah Winfrey announced her newest book club selection, Wally Lamb's "The River Is Waiting." "Wally is such a profoundly outstanding magician of words," Winfrey said. "When I started reading this story … I started to think immediately in the first chapter of real-life stories that I've done for so many years on 'The Oprah Show.'" It's the third time Winfrey has selected one of Lamb's novels for her book club, surprising Lamb. His other books previously selected include "She's Come Undone" and "I Know This Much Is True." "I couldn't believe it and yet I felt really comfortable because we had talked several times before and you have that gift of making people feel comfortable," Lamb said of Winfrey. The book follows the story of Corby Ledbetter, a young and struggling stay-at-home dad to twin toddlers, who causes a tragedy that tears his family apart. The story tracks Ledbetter's journey through prison where he witnesses acts of brutality and kindness, and how he hopes forgiveness might eventually be possible. The book surprised Winfrey she said because of Lamb's work with women in prison for the past 20 years. "I was so surprised this is a story about a guy, because I would have thought you would have the woman go to prison instead of him ... I think so much was fueled by your experiences working with these women, teaching women in prison how to write their own stories," she said. Lamb explained one of the themes he wanted to tackle was how men are different from women, including how a men's prison would contrast a women's prison. "That part I did a lot of research on," Lamb said. "I learned new things like what the slang is in prison, you know, at a guy's prison." The author admitted he didn't know how the book would end when he began writing it. "I'm not that kind of a writer," he said. "I know some writers will outline the whole thing and then write toward a preconceived ending. … I don't love to write. I like to write some days when it's going well, and when it's not, I just feel like I owe it to the characters to show up at my desk and figure out what's going to happen for them." Winfrey said as a reader she didn't know how the book would end, but provided some advice to others, saying, "do not go to the last page!" Ultimately, Lamb hopes readers can take away an important message from the book, which is layered with themes from guilt to redemption and forgiveness. "Addiction is a black hole that you can get out of and just that, that 12-step programs really work," he said. "The River Is Waiting" is on sale now.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Book Review: Wally Lamb explores human cruelty and grace in prison with `The River is Waiting'
Corby Ledbetter is in trouble. In Wally Lamb's new novel, 'The River Is Waiting,' Corby has lost his job as a commercial artist and has developed a secret addiction to alcohol and pills, setting him on a dangerous path that leads to an unfathomable tragedy. Corby starts staying at home during the day with his twin toddlers — one boy and one girl — while his wife works as the family's sole breadwinner. Lying to his spouse that he's looking for a job, he starts his mornings drinking hard liquor mixed with his prescription pills for anxiety, leaving him incapable of properly caring for the children he loves. A tragic mix up one morning results in the death of Corby's young son when he accidentally drives over the boy in their driveway. Devastated by the loss of little Niko, Corby now also faces a three-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. 'The River Is Waiting' is Lamb's first novel in nine years and a new chance to explore human imperfection as he did in earlier best-selling novels that included 'She's Come Undone,' about an obese adolescent girl awash in depression, and 'I Know This Much Is True,' the story of a man fighting to protect his paranoid schizophrenic twin brother. Oprah Winfrey announced Tuesday that she picked 'The River Is Waiting' for her book club, the third time she's selected a Lamb book. Almost all the action in Lamb's latest book plays out in prison, an ideal setting to examine the worst and best of humanity. The author taught writing workshops for incarcerated women over two decades, an experience that has helped him to draw a vivid picture of life behind bars, with all its indignities and a few acts of grace. While Corby is tormented by two excessively cruel guards, he also befriends the prison librarian, who shares book recommendations and homemade cookies with inmates who stop by. She even encourages him to paint a mural on the library wall. Several other prisoners also become friends, including a kind cellmate who looks out for him. Corby later tries to look out for someone else — a severely troubled young inmate who shouldn't have been locked up with hardened criminals. During his imprisonment, Corby worries about whether his beloved wife, Emily, and their daughter, Maisie, can ever forgive him. But the experience hasn't left him especially enlightened. At the end, Corby remains mostly a self-centered guy. He's no hero and there's no big epiphany. Like the protagonists in Lamb's earlier novels, he is utterly human, failings and all. ___ AP book reviews:
