Spooky, inventive, funny, maybe a tad didactic or cloying here and there, Winterson’s mixed bag of fictional treats has a 19th-century charm much needed in the grim 21st.
The story stands in counterpoint to the author’s laconic “I am adopted and it didn’t go well.” Winterson’s prose is often witty and sometimes lyrical, as in this description of Bethlehem before the first Christmas in the quite wonderful “The Lion, the Unicorn and Me”: “a musty, rusty, fusty pudding of a town…its people cussed and blustering.” The recipes seem doable and appetizing and come with intriguing glimpses of the writer, her friends, and their Christmas rituals. “The Silver Frog,” with suggestions of Oliver Twist and Roald Dahl’s Matilda, arranges a plague of magic silver frogs to deal with the meanie heading an orphanage. “The Snowmama” brings some entertaining playfulness and silly puns (soul becomes Snowl) to the living-snowman idea. Apparitions, strange noises, a madman, a kitchen knife, and a Stephen King–ish turn near the end-all these make “Dark Christmas” very dark indeed. Henry feel as its hero discovers the explanations behind the magic that cures his misanthropy. In “Spirit of Christmas,” a child trapped in “BUYBUYBABY, the world’s biggest department store,” helps a couple shed their materialism. She is especially good with the supernatural, using eerie and magical elements in ways that hark back to Poe and Dickens. Winterson ( The Gap of Time, 2015, etc.), the versatile British writer, has gathered 12 Yule-themed stories in a book laced with bits of autobiography both in the introduction-a handy guide to the history of Christmas-and in the dishes she describes after each tale. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.Ghosts, fairies, self-revelation, and friendly seasonal recipes give this collection a potentially wide-ranging appeal for readers as well as gift shoppers. Perfect for reading by the fire with loved ones, or while traveling home for the holidays. From trees with mysterious powers to a tinsel baby that talks, philosophical fairies to flying dogs, a haunted house and a disappearing train, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. For the Twelve Days of Christmas-a time of celebration, sharing, and giving-she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. From the New York Times bestselling author of „Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?” comes an enchanting collection of stories for the holiday season.įor years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales.
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