Reviews

The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter by

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joanneadams54's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.5

pcmswede's review

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inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

A collection of short stories read during Advent, one each day, added to my enjoyment of the season. So many takes on what the Christmas means. Appreciated the paragraph-long biography of each author at the end of the book which gives context to each story.

brianareads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

hjrey's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No

3.0

Old man that I am, shall I behold such a miracle?

About: This collection has no less than 32 short stories, all themed around the Christmas holidays.

Thoughts
The stories were easy to read and many of them were very on the short side being only a few pages in length. But unfortunately that meant that many of them lacked an impact and verged on pointless. I could have filtered out two thirds of this collection and been a lot happier with less stories that had more meaning behind them. It could also be that some of their meanings went over my head or the translations weren't good, I don't know. But I do know that out of the 32, there were 10 that actually stuck with me and I really enjoyed. These were (in order of preference):

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
Noël by Irène Némirovsky
The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Anderson
Midnight Mass by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
Christmas Morning by Frank O'Connor
The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes by George Simenon
One Christmas Eve by Langston Hughes
Boys by Anton Chekhov
The Legend of the Christmas Rose by Selma Lagerlõf
The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers