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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This review was published on Lost in a Good Book
I had two roundabout introductions to this story: the first was in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, the second was the Simpsons episode entitled Grift of the Magi. It wasn’t until I actually read the book though did I realise that is was Sesame Street was referencing with their adorable Bert and Ernie side story, and while I knew the name, I never knew what it was about.
This is an incredibly quick read, it is a short story but one that has a lot of impact. Henry draws you into the era with the language and the descriptions. You also see the love and devotion that Della and her husband have for one another and it is a testament to the writing that such a short story had impacted on the cultural psyche.
There’s the beautiful Christmas spirit and the love of a young married couple to entice you as you read. It’s an incredibly sweet story and in a way Della gets a raw deal, but that is taking away a bit of the magic. It is simple but heartfelt and there is a wonderful Christmas feel to the book.
I had two roundabout introductions to this story: the first was in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, the second was the Simpsons episode entitled Grift of the Magi. It wasn’t until I actually read the book though did I realise that is was Sesame Street was referencing with their adorable Bert and Ernie side story, and while I knew the name, I never knew what it was about.
This is an incredibly quick read, it is a short story but one that has a lot of impact. Henry draws you into the era with the language and the descriptions. You also see the love and devotion that Della and her husband have for one another and it is a testament to the writing that such a short story had impacted on the cultural psyche.
There’s the beautiful Christmas spirit and the love of a young married couple to entice you as you read. It’s an incredibly sweet story and in a way Della gets a raw deal, but that is taking away a bit of the magic. It is simple but heartfelt and there is a wonderful Christmas feel to the book.
This was a very adorable story – I thoroughly enjoyed every instant of it, and, though very short, O. Henry manages to set up this heartwarming relationship between Della and Jim in such few words. I couldn't help but smile while reading, because the whole ambience, the sacrifices both Jim and Della make and the gifts they buy are incredibly well-written and O. Henry intruding at the end declaring that his two characters are the magi was a beautiful conclusion to a beautiful narrative.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Now THIS I can get behind.
"Gift of the Magi"- sad but also charming and hit me right in the feels.
"Ransom of Red Chief"- this was hilarious!!!! Absolutely loved this story.
"Gift of the Magi"- sad but also charming and hit me right in the feels.
"Ransom of Red Chief"- this was hilarious!!!! Absolutely loved this story.
This collection of short stories ties into my memories so very well. At Christmas, by Grandpa Benson would always tell us O. Henry stories during our Christmas Eve programs. It was always my favorite part of the program. Reading this collection brought back those memories, and caused quite a few tears. Grandpa has passed on, but his memory will always be tied to things like this. I probably rated this a whole lot higher than I would have if I hadn't had those memories, but hey. All's fair!
Readathon: This is part of a readathon to help me lower my TBR to a reasonable number. I may have to continue this readathon for five years to achieve this goal.
While a nice story, it seems as though they ran the story through Google Translate in a chain of languages that made some sentences harder to parse meaning from.