( 5 reviews )
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( 2 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 24 2005
I received this book as a pre-Christmas book many years ago and have just finished reading it for maybe the fifth time just before Christmas. It is a very quick and engaging read. The Christmas Letters recounts all of the bittersweet memories that surround Christmas. It is not necessarily all happy, but it is all very real. Maybe as I get older, the pathos of Christmas becomes more real - both the sadness associated with memories of the past which can no longer be recreated and the realization that we can only celebrate from that place where we currently live in our lives. When we are in good places, then Christmas is magical. When not, Christmas can be very difficult. Smith touches on both of these points. I am a great fan of Lee Smith's books. I gave this one only 4 stars, but that is in relation to her other books. To me, her best is Fair and Tender Ladies, also written in letter form. Christmas blessings to all.
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( 46 of 46 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 1 2004
For the most part I liked this book. It's the story of one family told through three generations of Christmas Letters (well, two really, the third generation only writes one letter). Now, it was very difficult for me to get past the feeling of...'why is all this stuff being written in x-mas letters, shouldn't the family have already known about all this stuff? Wouldn't you tell your family these things as they happen?'. I know it was necessary to include these things in order for the reader to understand everything that's gone on in the family over the years, but it was very distracting. This said, I think this book would have been much better if it were formatted as a regular novel, not in Christmas letters. I believe it would have been a very interesting read. But regardless, the story itself was good. It kept me turning the pages. I really enjoyed the second to last letter, where Mary (the second generation) sends out the REAL Christmas letter, not the superficial one that everyone gets saying all is peachy-keen and life couldn't be more perfect, blah, blah, blah. This letter tells us the 'good stuff'. I recommend this book as a very quick little Christmas read. It'll help you get into the Christmas spirit.
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( 2 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Feb 29 2004
A quick, interesting, wonderful read! You won't be sorry to pick this one up and you won't want to put it down until you are done! I look forward to reading more of Lee Smith's books!
