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169 reviews for:
The Autobiography of Santa Claus: A Revised Edition of the Christmas Classic
Jeff Guinn
3.62 AVERAGE
169 reviews for:
The Autobiography of Santa Claus: A Revised Edition of the Christmas Classic
Jeff Guinn
3.62 AVERAGE
3.5 stars actually.
I was gifted this book a couple years ago when I requested "Send me your favorite book" when people asked me what I wanted for my birthday. And I can totally see how this could be a favorite book, and even be a holiday reading tradition with 25 quick chapters so a family could easily do a chapter a night count down.
This is, as the title says, the story of Santa Claus as told to journalist Jeff Guinn. It starts with him being a simple priest not long after the death of Jesus, who becomes a Bishop who has a calling to help the poor, especially children. Eventually his calling causes him to realize that he can not die, as he has a mission to fulfill. AS the years pass, he collects helpers, who also become under the influence of the immortality magic. Some of these helpers are rather famous people... Attila the Hun, King Arthur of England, Leonardo DiVinci being among the list.
This was a fun book, though probably not one I will return to anytime in the foreseeable future but I would recommend it as something to read during the Christmas season.
I was gifted this book a couple years ago when I requested "Send me your favorite book" when people asked me what I wanted for my birthday. And I can totally see how this could be a favorite book, and even be a holiday reading tradition with 25 quick chapters so a family could easily do a chapter a night count down.
This is, as the title says, the story of Santa Claus as told to journalist Jeff Guinn. It starts with him being a simple priest not long after the death of Jesus, who becomes a Bishop who has a calling to help the poor, especially children. Eventually his calling causes him to realize that he can not die, as he has a mission to fulfill. AS the years pass, he collects helpers, who also become under the influence of the immortality magic. Some of these helpers are rather famous people... Attila the Hun, King Arthur of England, Leonardo DiVinci being among the list.
This was a fun book, though probably not one I will return to anytime in the foreseeable future but I would recommend it as something to read during the Christmas season.
A charming, if somewhat flawed, story, The Autobiography of Santa Claus delves into the history of Saint Nicholas as it overlaps world history, from the perspective of the jolly old "elf" himself.
Santa's voice is intriguing, and hearing his story from his own perspective was a fun gimmick, as he uses the difference between illusion (which can be explained) and magic (which can't) to describe how his personae has grown and the legends around him grew over hundreds of years.
One of the most entertaining aspects is how Nicholas collects "helpers" throughout the years. He simply stumbles upon famous people who happen to have skills he needs in order to fulfill his mission of providing gifts to children all around the world. For example, he recruits Leonardo da Vinci when he needs help inventing and building new toys for his expanding list of boys and girls. Then when several writers embellish the stories and attribute Santa's speedy transportation to flying reindeer, Santa relies on da Vinci to figure out how to make his sleigh and reindeer airborne.
The biggest disappointment is the lack of character development for anyone other than Nicholas, including the person I was most interested in: Mrs. Claus. She started out a thousand years ago or more as a girl named Layla. Inspired by the early stories of someone sneaking into the homes of poor families at night and leaving gifts and money for the children, she took up the task on her own until the night she and Nicholas happened to hit the same tent at the same time. So much potential for rich character here! But they decided to get married pretty much immediately and from then on she made fat jokes about her husband, needled him about his weight and little else. The conversations Guinn wrote between characters were rushed, stilted and trite, and almost exclusively expository.
To read the whole review, visit Build Enough Bookshelves.
Santa's voice is intriguing, and hearing his story from his own perspective was a fun gimmick, as he uses the difference between illusion (which can be explained) and magic (which can't) to describe how his personae has grown and the legends around him grew over hundreds of years.
One of the most entertaining aspects is how Nicholas collects "helpers" throughout the years. He simply stumbles upon famous people who happen to have skills he needs in order to fulfill his mission of providing gifts to children all around the world. For example, he recruits Leonardo da Vinci when he needs help inventing and building new toys for his expanding list of boys and girls. Then when several writers embellish the stories and attribute Santa's speedy transportation to flying reindeer, Santa relies on da Vinci to figure out how to make his sleigh and reindeer airborne.
The biggest disappointment is the lack of character development for anyone other than Nicholas, including the person I was most interested in: Mrs. Claus. She started out a thousand years ago or more as a girl named Layla. Inspired by the early stories of someone sneaking into the homes of poor families at night and leaving gifts and money for the children, she took up the task on her own until the night she and Nicholas happened to hit the same tent at the same time. So much potential for rich character here! But they decided to get married pretty much immediately and from then on she made fat jokes about her husband, needled him about his weight and little else. The conversations Guinn wrote between characters were rushed, stilted and trite, and almost exclusively expository.
To read the whole review, visit Build Enough Bookshelves.
Because what the Santa story needs is Christian apologetics? Bleh.
Loved this book and the way it travels through time... cute way to get a bit of a History lesson on the origination of Santa Claus... the only issue I have with it is the way the historical characters were introduced. It was a bit rough and didn't quite fit... felt like story was going along and then "and now here comes King Arthur!" which kind-of changed the "realism" of this magical-realism novel.
I really love this book. I think it's about 98% perfect. As a Christmas nut, and, even more specifically, a Santa Claus nut, I really appreciate all the actual history involved.
The troubles, for me, begin to arise when Santa, his friend Felix and his wife Layla meet Attila the Hun. From that point out, Santa and company go on meeting legendary historical figures and inviting them into the fold, thereby making them immortals. While I actually like the idea of Santa crossing paths with historical figures, I'm not fond of the fact that they become his helpers.
Highlights include the accurate historical depictions of the evolution of Christmas and the growth of the legend of Santa Claus from his humble beginnings as Nicolas of Myra into the figure we know him as today. Along the way he encounters some of the greatest people who ever lived and witnesses the growth of the world.
The downside, as I said before, is the choice of the author to make these actual historical figures Santa's helpers. Rather than elves, Santa's helpers include Attila the Hun, Leonardo DaVinci, King Arthur, Saint Francis of Assisi, Teddy Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart. I would much prefer elves.
Another downside is the choice to sideline some of the more well known aspects of the Santa Claus myth for more believable explanations, like Santa leaving presents in stockings drying by the fire to give the illusion of his having come down the chimney rather than actually using the chimney. Or having his helpers scour different parts of the globe delivering presents dressed as him rather than him doing it all himself in one night. Magic IS included in this book (Santa and his companions never age and can travel at wonderful speeds) but not to the extent I would have preferred.
Still, I would highly recommend this book, because the downsides certainly do not outweigh the amazing, well written tale this book tells. This is a must read for me every Christmas season.
The troubles, for me, begin to arise when Santa, his friend Felix and his wife Layla meet Attila the Hun. From that point out, Santa and company go on meeting legendary historical figures and inviting them into the fold, thereby making them immortals. While I actually like the idea of Santa crossing paths with historical figures, I'm not fond of the fact that they become his helpers.
Highlights include the accurate historical depictions of the evolution of Christmas and the growth of the legend of Santa Claus from his humble beginnings as Nicolas of Myra into the figure we know him as today. Along the way he encounters some of the greatest people who ever lived and witnesses the growth of the world.
The downside, as I said before, is the choice of the author to make these actual historical figures Santa's helpers. Rather than elves, Santa's helpers include Attila the Hun, Leonardo DaVinci, King Arthur, Saint Francis of Assisi, Teddy Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart. I would much prefer elves.
Another downside is the choice to sideline some of the more well known aspects of the Santa Claus myth for more believable explanations, like Santa leaving presents in stockings drying by the fire to give the illusion of his having come down the chimney rather than actually using the chimney. Or having his helpers scour different parts of the globe delivering presents dressed as him rather than him doing it all himself in one night. Magic IS included in this book (Santa and his companions never age and can travel at wonderful speeds) but not to the extent I would have preferred.
Still, I would highly recommend this book, because the downsides certainly do not outweigh the amazing, well written tale this book tells. This is a must read for me every Christmas season.
Within the first few chapters I was loving this book, and had plans to purchase a copy for everyone I knew. But then, I kept reading. A good amount of the middle chapters could be taken out. Repeating the same thing. I read a few of the Amazon reviews, and the people who didn't like it didn't because of the mentioning of war, and how Santa doesn't deliver to war torn countries (he loses his powers there). That is not one of my complaints, although I wish war didn't exist, it does, and many times the children there don't get to celebrate Christmas (or really any holiday) as they should. This book explains why those children don't get the presents -- and some of the people's reviews made it sound like Santa was a bad guy. Um, its a book -- a story. However, I too did have moments where it really did feel like an autobiography, so perhaps it really is??
Things I noted that made me smile...Santa mentions early on that he enjoys goat cheese -- one of the traditional gifts from my grandma has always been a hunk of goat cheese (one for her, one for me, as we were the only members of the family who really enjoyed it)
Also...Santa's favorite recipe is included in the book, for Fried Chicken. When I was a kid, we did the usual of leaving cookies, but we also left Fried Chicken (our traditional Christmas Eve dinner) and mashed potatoes for Santa. I guess my mom must have been in touch with dear Santa and knew what he really liked :-)
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One of the best books I've read in a long time. Brought back the spirit of Christmas for me! I will for sure be handing this to my children when they start doubting. Very well done.