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239 reviews for:
The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures
Sarah Clegg
3.85 AVERAGE
239 reviews for:
The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures
Sarah Clegg
3.85 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
This was really interesting. It was a short and quick read for me, but the content is right up my alley. Great for people interested in the dark origins of Christmas.
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
informative
fast-paced
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
A great exploration of Christmas folklore, monsters and mayhem! Very informative but not too academic that I couldn't follow, occasionally a little repetitive but overall magical.
I started this book on my kindle then switched to the audiobook due to the abundance of footnotes. I think I’d recommend that you pick up a physical copy or listen to the audiobook. The audiobook skipped the footnotes altogether so give them a glance in a sample to see if you feel like you’re missing anything. The audiobook was narrated by Hannah Curtis. This was my first listen by this narrator, and I thought she had a soothing tone and lent a lyrical excitement to the subject of this nonfiction book.
This book takes the reader on a journey through midwinter to explore the lesser-known Christmas traditions from the Lords of Misrule to The Christmas Witches and Krampus. While I enjoyed the creative travel log style narrative, I felt like it sacrificed a bit of the detail that I would have enjoyed about each individual myth. Still, it was a good overview of the myths and legends associated with the Christmas holiday and its precursors for which there is documented evidence. I found all the information to be fascinating and would love to know more.
I think my main issue with the book was its very nature of being an academic book about myths and legends with documentation. I found it strangely lacking in some of the pagan traditions that I’ve heard about through various other means. There’s some interesting information at the end about why a lot of what I had previously found disappointing in the lack of coverage was because of the lack of historical evidence for any of those myths. Not only that but the evidence that other notable collections of tales are perhaps interpreted or molded to fit a narrative rather than true depictions of the actual myths and legends in their practice. However, since the book was prominently centered on historical fact, I would have loved more information about traditions surrounding Christmas and their possible origins.
Recommended to those inquisitive about a general overview of holiday myths and legends and their historical context. I will be looking for more detailed reviews of some of these that I found fascinating.
Thank you to Netgalley, Algonquin Books and Hachette Audio for a copy provided for an honest review.
This book takes the reader on a journey through midwinter to explore the lesser-known Christmas traditions from the Lords of Misrule to The Christmas Witches and Krampus. While I enjoyed the creative travel log style narrative, I felt like it sacrificed a bit of the detail that I would have enjoyed about each individual myth. Still, it was a good overview of the myths and legends associated with the Christmas holiday and its precursors for which there is documented evidence. I found all the information to be fascinating and would love to know more.
I think my main issue with the book was its very nature of being an academic book about myths and legends with documentation. I found it strangely lacking in some of the pagan traditions that I’ve heard about through various other means. There’s some interesting information at the end about why a lot of what I had previously found disappointing in the lack of coverage was because of the lack of historical evidence for any of those myths. Not only that but the evidence that other notable collections of tales are perhaps interpreted or molded to fit a narrative rather than true depictions of the actual myths and legends in their practice. However, since the book was prominently centered on historical fact, I would have loved more information about traditions surrounding Christmas and their possible origins.
Recommended to those inquisitive about a general overview of holiday myths and legends and their historical context. I will be looking for more detailed reviews of some of these that I found fascinating.
Thank you to Netgalley, Algonquin Books and Hachette Audio for a copy provided for an honest review.