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kimswhims's review against another edition
4.0
This tiny little book contains one mighty little Christmas story from acclaimed writer, Paul Auster.
A feel good story without any over sentimentality. Makes for a great bedtime read when you're too tired at the end of the day for anything too taxing to read.
Pleased that I picked it up from the library on a Christmas themed whim :D
A feel good story without any over sentimentality. Makes for a great bedtime read when you're too tired at the end of the day for anything too taxing to read.
Pleased that I picked it up from the library on a Christmas themed whim :D
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
My first review for the Christmas Spirit Challenge is going to be a mini-review for a mini book. Michelle, our lovely hostess, sent me Paul Auster's Auggie Wren's Christmas Story as part of my prize package for a previous year's challenge. It is a slim volume with a lovely Christmas fable--without Santa or reindeer or snowmen or Christmas trees. The most holiday-type thing in the story is a very unconventional Christmas dinner. How can this be?
It is a tale about a writer who has been asked by The New York Times to write a Christmas story to be featured on Christmas morning. But he doesn't want to write one of those mushy, gushy, sentimental stories that serve as "wishfulfillment dreams, fairy tales for adults." He wants an unsentimental Christmas story even though he knows it is "a contradiction in terms, an impossibility, an out-and-out conundrum. One might as just as well try to imagine a racehorse without legs, or a sparrow without wings." So, the next time he ventures into his favorite cigar store, he tells his friend Auggie Wren his troubles. Auggie tells him that if he'll buy him lunch, he'll tell him the best Christmas story ever. The best because it's absolutely true.
This is Auggie's story about a shoplifter, a lost wallet, a blind grandmother, and that unconventional Christmas dinner that I mentioned above. It is a fable that encourages us to question whether a lie can ever serve as the truth and who is the giver and who is the taker. Auggie learns a little something about himself and what Christmas might really mean. ★★★★ for a surprisingly lovely unconventional Christmas story.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
It is a tale about a writer who has been asked by The New York Times to write a Christmas story to be featured on Christmas morning. But he doesn't want to write one of those mushy, gushy, sentimental stories that serve as "wishfulfillment dreams, fairy tales for adults." He wants an unsentimental Christmas story even though he knows it is "a contradiction in terms, an impossibility, an out-and-out conundrum. One might as just as well try to imagine a racehorse without legs, or a sparrow without wings." So, the next time he ventures into his favorite cigar store, he tells his friend Auggie Wren his troubles. Auggie tells him that if he'll buy him lunch, he'll tell him the best Christmas story ever. The best because it's absolutely true.
This is Auggie's story about a shoplifter, a lost wallet, a blind grandmother, and that unconventional Christmas dinner that I mentioned above. It is a fable that encourages us to question whether a lie can ever serve as the truth and who is the giver and who is the taker. Auggie learns a little something about himself and what Christmas might really mean. ★★★★ for a surprisingly lovely unconventional Christmas story.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
rachaelbee0402's review against another edition
3.0
A charming little story that I unexpectedly stumbled upon in Clapham Library and sat down to read there and then whilst the beautiful voices and soothing melodies of a keyboard from a touring performance of a Christmas filled the cylindrical building and touched all the books.
I particularly enjoyed the unique illustrations, and marvelled at how an illustrated man on a piece of card placed flatly over an illustrated typewriter could make it look so realistically as if he were actually sitting on the keys of the typewriter. The images held so much depth and richness they were a joy to consume; a feast for the eyes.
I particularly enjoyed the unique illustrations, and marvelled at how an illustrated man on a piece of card placed flatly over an illustrated typewriter could make it look so realistically as if he were actually sitting on the keys of the typewriter. The images held so much depth and richness they were a joy to consume; a feast for the eyes.
katieckb's review against another edition
3.0
This is an easy read, but it’s kind of a pointless story. Basically, the author is asked to write a story about Christmas for the New York Times and doesn’t know what to write, so his friend tells him a story about Christmas, and he isn’t sure whether or not it is true
lua_lazo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ellafaereads's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the little there was of this story, but I was disappointed to find that there wasn't as much as I'd expected. But a good read if you want to finish a book in one, short setting.
myreadingcorner_'s review against another edition
2.0
Un cuento de Navidad que para mí no ha sido la gran cosa.
Como cuento ilustrado podría salvar por las ilustraciones pero tampoco me ha gustado, aunque creo que tiene que ver con el estilo de Isol.
Le podría haber dado tres estrellas, pero me ha molestado bastante la representación que se hizo de la gente ciega, con esa idea que no serían capaces de mantener limpio y en orden su hogar.
Como cuento ilustrado podría salvar por las ilustraciones pero tampoco me ha gustado, aunque creo que tiene que ver con el estilo de Isol.
Le podría haber dado tres estrellas, pero me ha molestado bastante la representación que se hizo de la gente ciega, con esa idea que no serían capaces de mantener limpio y en orden su hogar.
sarahlobster's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5