Reviews

The Christmas Kid: And Other Brooklyn Stories by Pete Hamill

amalia1985's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 

‘’In that lost city of memory, the wind is always blowing hard from the harbor and the snow is packed tightly on the hills of Prospect Park. They are skating on the Big Lake and the hallways of the tenements are wet with melted snow and the downtown stores are glad with blinking lights and the churches smell of pine and awe.’’

Pete Hamill’s stories transport us to Brooklyn, in a time when everything seemed simple, and much more innocent. From the 50s to the 80s, his stories echo the struggles of people who love, deceive, hate, hope, kill. Bittersweet, harrowing, hopeful, tragic, every page gives us a glimpse into the lives of women and men who faced a reality that had nothing to do with today’s world where only cheap mottos, made up by dubious individuals can be heard. Yes, times were hard back then but, at least, people believed. Today, most of us demonstrate our endless idiocy, our empty, superficial ‘minds’ and our blabbering, severely overused mouths. 

I’d rather spend all my life in the poor Brooklyn neighbourhoods of the 50s than our falsely affluent cities, full of illiterate influencers and Youtubers who poison the minds of our children.

These are my favourite stories in the collection.

‘’There were other drawings too; buildings with spirals of black cloud issuing from chimneys; barefoot men with shaved heads and gray pajamas; watchtowers; barbed wire.’’

The Christmas Kid: In one of the most moving stories I’ve ever read, a boy who has survived the nightmare of the German demons, finds warmth and kindness in the city of New York. But demons are always lurking nearby…

The Price of Love: A divorced man tries to decipher his feelings for his ex-wife.

The Love of His Life: A man spends all his life waiting for the girl of his youth.

‘’He always loved this time of the New York day, when the sun faded and the light turned a warm grey, softening the hard edges of the world.’’

Good-bye: A married couple has to face the toughest decision.

6/6/44: A story paying tribute to D-Day, the day when Hitler’s reign of terror came to an end, the day to which we all owe our freedom.

The Men in Black Raincoats: The crime of a former IRA man comes back to haunt him.

Gone: A man becomes the victim of a peculair crime. Judging by the current state of our cities, full of ‘’citizens’’ of a barbaric ‘faith’ that dictates them to decapitate babies and rape dead women, I can’t say I blame him…

The Second Summer: A Muslim young woman from Syria has to obey her heathen parents and their law of Allah.

The Man With the Blue Guitar: An Italian widow falls in love with a young Greek man but her late husband’s brother has other views in mind. 

The Waiting Game: In a too-good-to-be-true story, a man waits patiently for the love of his life.

Up the Roof: A woman who has lost her husband in the Korean War finds solace in an unlikely place. But will it last?

The Book Signing: In a shocking story, a successful writer cannot escape the fate that cries for retribution.

This collection is not for today’s audience. It seemingly has no place in a ‘culture’ of tattoos, unwashed wannabe- Che Guevaras who live in luxury and selfie-takers. However, there is always the blessed minority of the sane who will treasure a world that has disappeared forever.

‘’I must be healing, he thought. I don’t fear, I don’t love, I don’t hate. The wound is closed. I am alone. I am indifferent. I have survived.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

 

simplymary's review against another edition

4.0

Really brilliant short stories, all set in New York. I am fascinated at the depth he gives characters in a few short pages' time.

klew's review against another edition

5.0

Pete could write a grocery list and it would be beautiful!

bgg616's review against another edition

5.0

This was the first Pete Hamill I read and I thoroughly enjoyed his stories of a Brooklyn that has all but disappeared. His stories show deep affection for the neighborhoods and people. Some stories really sock it to you, and others are quieter, but many will be hard to forget.

auntbreesqreads's review against another edition

5.0

I've always been a fan of short stories and I really liked this collection. Each story was different and hit you in a different way (emotionally) but it was also pretty cohesive. I look forward to reading more by this author

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

 
I picked up The Christmas Kid and Other Brooklyn Stories for the titular story set around Christmas time, but stayed for the brilliant and often poignant character studies of colourful, hard scrabble, mostly working class characters. And for the nostalgic depiction of the Brooklyn of years gone by. The stories are good (some much more than good) but not necessarily feel good. A hidden gem.