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maplessence's review against another edition
4.0
I was looking for a more modern Christmas story and knew I had this one on one of my to-read lists.
I liked it! I don't read much dystopian fiction, so to me it was a fresh & funny take on the commercialisation of Christmas and a real contrast to the sweet, old fashioned values of [b:Christmas Day in the Morning|93531|Christmas Day in the Morning|Pearl S. Buck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347767414l/93531._SX50_.jpg|90172] which I have also just read.
It also reminded me of some recent protests in my own country where sometimes I had trouble recognising 'my' Aotearoa.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshessonovel.wordpress.com
I liked it! I don't read much dystopian fiction, so to me it was a fresh & funny take on the commercialisation of Christmas and a real contrast to the sweet, old fashioned values of [b:Christmas Day in the Morning|93531|Christmas Day in the Morning|Pearl S. Buck|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347767414l/93531._SX50_.jpg|90172] which I have also just read.
It also reminded me of some recent protests in my own country where sometimes I had trouble recognising 'my' Aotearoa.
https://wordpress.com/view/carolshessonovel.wordpress.com
nataliya_x's review against another edition
4.0
“Slogans bobbed overhead like flotsam. FOR PEACE, SOCIALISM AND CHRISTMAS; HANDS OFF OUR HOLIDAY SEASON!; PRIVATISE THIS. One placard was everywhere. It was very simple and sparse: the letters TM in a red circle, with a line through them.”Well, so I'm that curmudgeon that tends to see the commercialism in the major holidays instead of just enjoying them. I just get too cynical around holidays. When Grinch's heart grows three sizes, I'm there with Sheldon Cooper of 'The Big Bang Theory' worrying about the dangers of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Seeing Christmas decorations in the stores in the middle of autumn still makes me want to rant. I mean - come ON!
So yeah, and I just find out that China 'His Majesty' Mieville has a short story about commercialized Christmas? It's my non-commercialized Christmas gift, here on his website: http://chinamieville.net/post/154905483353/tis-the-season
"We were surrounded by radical Christmasarians."Dark satire on the overcommercialized holiday (Christmas™) in the best socialist traditions, complete with the protest march featuring people from all walks of life? (" 'Blessed be,' yelled a radical pagan in my ear, and gave me a leaflet demanding that once we had won back the season we rename it Solsticemas.") In the world where even the crown jewel of all disgustingness (ahem, eggnog - barf!) cannot be used without paying a fee to the company that owes the rights to it?
"I wouldn’t have been able to use much of the traditional stuff, and if you can’t have all of it, why have any? (XmasTym had the rights to Egg Nog. But Egg Nog’s disgusting.) Those other firms keep trying to create their own alternatives to proprietary classics like reindeer and snowmen, but they never take off. I’ll never forget Annie’s underwhelmed response to the JingleMas Holiday Gecko."Again, this proves that I will read anything His Chinaness decides to write. Even if it means supporting Christmas.
Of course, I can chose to look it it as simply not supporting privatising and commercialism. Yeah, that makes it more bearable. And appropriate to read in April. Or in Christmas(TM)-appropriate December.
"Right in front of them was a group of badly dressed people selling copies of a left wing newspaper and carrying placards with a photograph of Marx. They'd superimposed a Santa hat on him. 'I'm dreaming of a red Christmas,' they sang, badly."
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Read it free and legally here, courtesy of CM himself: http://chinamieville.net/post/154905483353/tis-the-season
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Also posted on my blog.
pinklemonade's review against another edition
5.0
reli ontem dando aula e segue sendo a única história de natal possível
debsantana's review against another edition
4.0
I guess Tis the season to start reading more Miéville!
tempscire's review against another edition
3.0
An amusing little short story based around highly capitalized Christmas(TM) and the radical left-wing Chistmasarians who want it de-privatized.
I did get a small chuckle out of, He and his comrades began to chant: 'We’re here! We’re choir! Get used to it!’ and the sort of punchline at the ending, but otherwise this is satire rather than funny-ha-ha writing. It definitely has a humorous tone, but as bad as the tug-of-war for Christmas gets, it didn't strike home for me as a plausible exaggeration. Maybe England has a different tone at Christmas time? In the US it seems to be Christmas vs nothing/everything else these days, and the smaller, older "keep the Christ in Christmas" set...
Certainly people bemoan the ~spending~ and the ~shopping~ and the ~greediness~ of ~the holidays~ and certainly it's got a massive commercial aspect but... I don't know, the trademarks tagging on to mince pie and Christmas pudding and Santa and holly and stockings and reindeer just... those are all pretty public domain, yeah? No one would trademark those, and no one could successfully defend that trademark, and even so, trademarks aren't actually a dystopian mark of the Beast that prevent you from having unlicensed Christmas celebrations at home with, like, stockings you sew yourself or whatever. It's so ludicrous that the scenario fails to get any traction in my psyche.
Despite aggressively dropping Christmas motifs throughout the story, it seems more about intellectual property grabs (thought not well-done either) or left-wing uprisings against capitalism (also not well-done, really). Again, is this a difference of nationality? Or am I just a Scrooge for this story?
It is, however, a short story, yes, and therefore can be read in a snap. It's also available on
I did get a small chuckle out of, He and his comrades began to chant: 'We’re here! We’re choir! Get used to it!’ and the sort of punchline at the ending, but otherwise this is satire rather than funny-ha-ha writing. It definitely has a humorous tone, but as bad as the tug-of-war for Christmas gets, it didn't strike home for me as a plausible exaggeration. Maybe England has a different tone at Christmas time? In the US it seems to be Christmas vs nothing/everything else these days, and the smaller, older "keep the Christ in Christmas" set...
Certainly people bemoan the ~spending~ and the ~shopping~ and the ~greediness~ of ~the holidays~ and certainly it's got a massive commercial aspect but... I don't know, the trademarks tagging on to mince pie and Christmas pudding and Santa and holly and stockings and reindeer just... those are all pretty public domain, yeah? No one would trademark those, and no one could successfully defend that trademark, and even so, trademarks aren't actually a dystopian mark of the Beast that prevent you from having unlicensed Christmas celebrations at home with, like, stockings you sew yourself or whatever. It's so ludicrous that the scenario fails to get any traction in my psyche.
Despite aggressively dropping Christmas motifs throughout the story, it seems more about intellectual property grabs (thought not well-done either) or left-wing uprisings against capitalism (also not well-done, really). Again, is this a difference of nationality? Or am I just a Scrooge for this story?
It is, however, a short story, yes, and therefore can be read in a snap. It's also available on
fmoreno's review against another edition
4.0
This short-story only made me even more curious about China Miéville's books.
tawallah's review against another edition
3.0
The group Science fiction Aficionados will be reading Christmas themed short stories this month. This was meant for next week, December 8th. It can be found free online. It is a quick relatable story of a father and his daughter celebrating Christmas. But of course Mieville has a great twist on the story. Great for all those grinches, those who can laugh at what this time has become.
brizmus's review against another edition
3.0
6/10
A cute story, a terrifying world. I think I could have liked this a lot if there had been a bit more to it.
A cute story, a terrifying world. I think I could have liked this a lot if there had been a bit more to it.
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