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kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Always enjoy Nancy Mitford's writing and this is no exception... not as polished as her more famous works, but still enjoyable. Christmas Pudding is more of a spoof of a country house visit with accompanying love story; Pigeon Pie is more a spoof of wartime espionage. Mitford's light touch and wonderful dialogue are clear in both books. I'll always enjoy the love story more than the spy plot, so Christmas pudding for me, please. There's something about Mitford's writing that just fits the mood for me right now.
we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition
3.0
Have now sadly finished reading the entirety of Nancy Mitford's fiction.
I preferred Pigeon Pie (originally published 1940) to Christmas Pudding (1932), primarily due to writing like this:
"Darling, I couldn't be a nurse. Florence has a first aid book and I looked inside it and saw a picture of a knee. I nearly fainted. I can't bear knees, I've got a thing about them."
And this:
"'The Press, m'lady,' he said with relish. 'Awful they've been. Nosing round everywhere and taking photos. And the lies they tell, I don't know if you saw, m'lady, they said cook had been with Sir Ivor ten years. It's not a day more than seven.'"
If only Nancy Mitford had had children, so that I could imagine being a long-lost descendant.
I preferred Pigeon Pie (originally published 1940) to Christmas Pudding (1932), primarily due to writing like this:
"Darling, I couldn't be a nurse. Florence has a first aid book and I looked inside it and saw a picture of a knee. I nearly fainted. I can't bear knees, I've got a thing about them."
And this:
"'The Press, m'lady,' he said with relish. 'Awful they've been. Nosing round everywhere and taking photos. And the lies they tell, I don't know if you saw, m'lady, they said cook had been with Sir Ivor ten years. It's not a day more than seven.'"
If only Nancy Mitford had had children, so that I could imagine being a long-lost descendant.
melwyk's review
2.0
Sadly dull -- perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind but Christmas Pudding felt sadly vacuous and interminable.
garbo2garbo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bronwynmb's review against another edition
3.0
This book is why I don't like rating books of multiple stories. I really enjoyed Christmas Pudding, but really didn't care for Pigeon Pie. I see this was roughly the case for the other reviewer too.
Christmas Pudding reminded me of Vile Bodies or Decline and Fall where everything is so ridiculous and twisty but fun. The whole premise of the tutor who's not really a tutor, and the serious book that wasn't taken seriously were just too funny and worked out about how you expected. Add in people who are in the country but hate the country, frivolous parents who don't seem too concerned with their child, and pretty young girls and you have a great bunch of characters.
Pigeon Pie on the other hand seems like it should work. Again, the premise is just so ridiculous and twisty. This time it doesn't work though. You never really are made to care for the characters. And there are just too many twists and unbelievable premises for it to work. I get that it was supposed to make fun of the Phony War, ie WWII before it really took off, and so it's supposed to be over the top, but it just didn't work for me.
Christmas Pudding alone would've gotten 4 stars. Pigeon Pie, maybe 2. So together the volume gets a 3. :/
Christmas Pudding reminded me of Vile Bodies or Decline and Fall where everything is so ridiculous and twisty but fun. The whole premise of the tutor who's not really a tutor, and the serious book that wasn't taken seriously were just too funny and worked out about how you expected. Add in people who are in the country but hate the country, frivolous parents who don't seem too concerned with their child, and pretty young girls and you have a great bunch of characters.
Pigeon Pie on the other hand seems like it should work. Again, the premise is just so ridiculous and twisty. This time it doesn't work though. You never really are made to care for the characters. And there are just too many twists and unbelievable premises for it to work. I get that it was supposed to make fun of the Phony War, ie WWII before it really took off, and so it's supposed to be over the top, but it just didn't work for me.
Christmas Pudding alone would've gotten 4 stars. Pigeon Pie, maybe 2. So together the volume gets a 3. :/
emily_britton's review against another edition
4.0
I was disappointed that the first book really had very little to do with Christmas, but otherwise, I really enjoyed reading these. They made me laugh, especially the second one.
booksoverbreakfast's review
3.0
It was a lot of fun in parts and then the casual racism would pop in and I’d cringe. Fortunately, it was far and few between but still.
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