A review by toofondofbooks
Last Christmas by Greg Wise, Emma Thompson

4.0

Last Christmas is such a wonderful collection of essays by such a wide range of people and is perfect for reading at Christmas.

I loved that this book has such a mix of people sharing their thoughts on Christmas. There are some lovely nostalgic recollections mixed in with people who struggle with Christmas, there are people who have been homeless at this time of year and people who volunteer at Crisis. It really serves to show the full experience of Christmas and it’s a reminder to remember those who are find this time of year difficult.

The essay that most connected with me was Emilia Clarke’s. She writes of trying to find the perfect gift for her father. She eventually hits on the most perfect and magical gift for him and it’s so wonderfully received. It ended up being her last Christmas with him and that brought a lump to my throat. We did something similar for my mum in what turned out to be her last Christmas and I often think how much I would have regretted it if we’d waited to do it. It’s such a reminder to do things now with the ones we love, don’t wait!

I dipped in and out of this book over a few days and this was such a lovely way to experience these essays. Some days it made me smile, and others made me pause for thought. Overall the feeling the collection as a whole left me with is to be grateful for who, and what, I have in my life and to make sure to make the best that I can of the festive season. I definitely recommend this book!

This review was originally posted on my blog https://rathertoofondofbooks.com