Title:

Author: ed. Douglas Brooks-Davies.  Illustrated by Dovrat Ben-Nahum

Published: Phoenix, 2000, pp. 221.  First edition

Genre: Poetry

Blurb: Here, in this beautifully illustrated anthology, is the spirit of Christmas in one hundred poems.

When, where and why: I was given this book for Christmas many years ago, but somehow never got around to reading it.  As already mentioned, I decided to use books as an alternative advent calendar this year and, as this book has one hundred poems, they divided up quite nicely to give me four poems to read each night before bed in the run up to Christmas.  Again, this book is reviewed out of reading order and qualifies as book 43/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.  I don’t think I’m going to make 50 somehow.

What I thought: There are some Christmas poems which seem to be ubiquitous at this time of year.  It’s difficult to pass through the month of December without having heard or read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ by Clement Clarke Moore at least once, or sung Christina Rossetti’s ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’.  Christmas Please! is a lovely collection of poems for the festive season because it not only includes these classics and other well known poems, it also contains many gems that I had never encountered before.

In his interesting introduction to the collection, Douglas Brooks-Davies explains the evolution of the Christmas poem throughout history and how its focus as been affected by factors such as the social climate, politics and current fashions.  His explanation is erudite but accessible and is definitely worth reading.  As well as being fascinating in its own right, the introduction also explains the scope of the collection, which is essentially a history of Christmas poetry, ranging from anonymous medieval poems in praise of the Madonna and Child to John Betjeman’s wonderful poem simply titled ‘Christmas’, which remains one of my favourites.  Because of the historical focus of the collection, the content is quite heavily biased towards religious poems and so this book may not be for those just looking for some festive entertainment, but after all that is the reason behind Christmas.

Some of my favourite poems in this book were ‘Nativity’ by John Donne and Thomas Hardy’s short and bitter ‘Christmas: 1924′:

‘Peace upon earth!’ was said. We sing it,
And pay a million priests to bring it.
After two thousand years of mass
We’ve got as far as poison-gas.

I also loved the darkly atmospheric ‘A Child of the Snows’ by G. K. Chesterton:

There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.

Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.

And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.

The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.

All of these poems were new to me and I’m very glad that this book led me to discover them.

My only complaints about this book are regarding the organisation.  Firstly, books without page numbers drive me insane and although the poems in Christmas Please! are numbered, the pages are not.  I know there’s a newer edition of the book since mine was published so hopefully this one has page numbers.  I also wasn’t keen on the way that the poems were organised alphabetically by author, with anonymous offerings thrown in at random.  I think that, given the introduction, it would have been far more interesting to have the poems organised chronologically and it feels like a missed opportunity.  This is definitely a collection to revisit though.

Author: Jostein Gaarder.  Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan.  Illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Published: Phoenix, 1998, pp. 247.  Originally published in Norwegian 1992

Genre: Fiction

Blurb: A young boy finds a faded, home-made Advent calendar in a bookshop.  A piece of paper falls out of the first window on which is written the first part of an extraordinary story about a small girl who travels back in time to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ…  Meanwhile, the intertwining story of the present unfolds, and the boy finds out about the strange man who made the calendar and about a girl who disappeared on Christmas Eve 40 years ago.

When, where and why: One 1st of December, when I was at primary school, my mother produced this book along with the eagerly anticipated chocolate Advent calendar when my sister and I came home in the evening.  The Christmas Mystery is a sort of Advent calendar in book form, with one section of the story being revealed each day, and so every evening the family would sit together and be entralled as either my mother or father read us that day’s chapter.  In the absence of a chocolate Advent calendar this year, I decided to read this book for myself for the first time.  As I’m reviewing out of sequence to get the Christmas books out of the way before January starts, this rather confusingly counts as book 42/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.

What I thought: I was a little bit worried when I began this book that it wouldn’t live up to the memories I had of it, tinged as they were with sentimental recollections of childhood Christmases, but it turns out that I needn’t have been so anxious.  Even though I didn’t have the excitement of experiencing this book for the first time (and it says a lot about it that I can still remember so much of it, including chunks of dialogue) it was still a really interesting read, and there are things that I noticed this time around which no doubt went over my head when I was eight or nine.  Although the story is simple enough and sufficiently engaging to be read and understood by young children, it includes some quite complicated ideas and there is more than enough material here to keep adults interested as well.

The Christmas Mystery manages to have a very strong message without being didactic and, although the framing narrative with its cast of angels and shepherds is undoubtedly Christian in flavour, the message itself is universal: peace and goodwill to all mankind.  The way that Gaarder puts this across is so straightforward and simple that it’s very effective.  He makes bold statements such as ‘For there’s no sense in believing what’s right unless it leads to helping people in distress’ (p. 113) that make his message seem clear and easy.  These lines of wisdom are shared out between all the characters, ranging from Elisabet, the little girl, to the angels of God, emphasising its universal nature and its ease.  I was impressed at how moral this book managed to be without ever being irritating.

This was definitely helped by the fascinating story, which is described with the same straightforward tone, applying logic to impossible situations.  For example, when Elisabet is despairing of ever catching up with the little lamb that she chases out of a department store, thereby starting her journey through time and space, she thinks:

The worst of it was that she realised she was unlikely ever to catch up with the lamb.  She had decided to follow it to the ends of the earth, but the earth was round, after all, so they might go on running round the world forever, or at any rate until she grew up, and by then she might have lost interest in such things as lambs.  (p. 15)

The statement is simultaneously supremely logical and utterly bizarre, and is typical of the quirkiness of this excellent book.

The mise en abime structure of The Christmas Mystery, whereby there are Advent calendars inside Advent calendars and mysteries inside mysteries, is very well thought out.  Each day, the reader opens the calendar door and is allowed to see more of Joachim and his parents trying to puzzle out what happened to Elisabet as they open their own Advent calendar door and discover more of her story as she runs back in time to Bethlehem, accompanied by angels, shepherds, sheep, wise men and Romans.  I enjoyed the different layers of narrative and how the two were intertwined.  I do think that the external mystery regarding the real Elisabet was wrapped up a bit quickly and I found it a little unsatisfactory, but that is my only issue with what is otherwise a genuinely wonderful book, highly recommended to all.

Where this book goes: This book is staying on my shelves.  I don’t think that I’ll read it every year, but I definitely want to read it again in the future.

Title:

Author: John Julius Norwich.  Illustrated by Quentin Blake

Published: Doubleday, 1998, pp. 38.  First edition

Genre: Humour

Blurb: Everyone knows ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, but not as rewritten by John Julius Norwich in this delightful correspondence, which records the daily thank-you letters from one increasingly bemused young lady to her unseen admirer.  And who but Quentin Blake could exploit the full comic possibilities of this hilarious debacle as first birds, then maids and finally the full percussion section of the Liverpool Philharmonic create mayhem in the calm of an English country Christmas?

When, where and why: The problem with receiving Christmas themed books for Christmas is that they’re already out of season by the time I’m ready to start reading them, and that was the sad fate of this book.  I decided it would be the perfect way to round off my evening of Christmas reading.  It counts as book 37/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.

What I thought: This is absolutely my favourite festive book ever.  I’m sure I can’t be the only person who has ever thought how inconvenient the gifts in the song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ would actually be to receive.  In fact, with the exception of the five gold rings, I would be thoroughly peeved if my true love gave me any of those things.  In this marvellous little book, John Julius Norwich takes the song to its logical conclusion and, in a series of increasingly frosty letters from Emily to her true love Edward, examines exactly how someone might react if they were to receive nine ladies dancing:

2nd January

Look here, Edward, this has gone far enough.  You say you’re sending me nine ladies dancing; all I can say is that judging from the way they dance, they’re certainly not ladies.  The village just isn’t accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless hussies with nothing on but their lipstick cavorting round the green — and it’s Mummy and I who get blamed.  If you value our friendship — which I do less and less — kindly stop this ridiculous behaviour at once.

Emily

The style of the letters is wonderful, and the subtly nuanced changes of vocabulary and tone as Emily becomes more and more disenchanted with her admirer’s gifts are very well executed.  I particularly like the way that the way she opens and closes her letters becomes gradually more curt and formal.

Quentin Blake’s illustrations really make this book, as far as I’m concerned.  Both Emily and the partridge, the first innocuous gift, look increasingly perturbed as the book progresses, and the pictures further on in the book as more gifts arrive are positively exuberant.  They manage to make the scenes seem noisy and chaotic even though they are static.  This is the perfect book to read when you’re in need of a good chuckle, particularly in the days after Christmas when realities like work and buying a new railcard (they’re going up again, surprise surprise) start to come back into your mind.

Where this book goes: This book isn’t going anywhere.  It’s staying on my shelves to be read again, year after year.

Tea talk: I finished off my pot of English Afternoon with this book.  All in all, a very satisfying experience.

Title:

Author: Julie and John Hope.  Illustrated by Sue Hellard

Published: Bantam, 2000, pp. 32.  First edition

Genre: Humour poetry

Blurb: This is a collection of limericks featuring cats and their antics, beautifully illustrated by Sue Hellard. You can learn your cat’s views on life—from why they lust hungrily after your pet canary to the art of turning your home into complete shambles.  (Goodreads.com)

When, where and why: This was another stocking present some years ago.  I’ve dipped into it before but never read it properly, so it counts as book 36/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.

What I thought: Christmas Crackers for Cats is an entertaining collection of limericks, with one longer poem in the style of Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales.  It is once again filled with the lovely comic illustrations of Sue Hellard which help to augment the humour, and is an amusing swift read.  Despite the title, the contents are not festive at all, so it could be read and enjoyed at any time of year.  I think that this was my favourite limerick:

A raunchy old tomcat called Bertie

Had a mind that was ever so dirty

Now his goolies have gone

He’s just one peeping Tom

So all he can do is get flirty.

This is of course accompanied by a picture of a lascivious looking cat enthusiastically assaulting a cushion.  I wish I could share some of these illustrations, but sadly I lack both camera and scanner (I’ll have to see what I can do about this in the new year).

However, unlike Christmas Carols for Cats, this book suffers a bit from being read cover to cover as the limericks, while entertaining, start to sound a little repetitive after the fifth one.  I would still recommend this book, but it’s definitely one to dip into rather than read straight through in one sitting.

Where this book goes: I’m putting this one back on the shelf next to Christmas Carols for Cats for whenever I feel like reading an amusing limerick.

Tea talk: I read this book while enjoying the same large pot of English Afternoon Tea.

Title:

Author: Julie and John Hope.  Illustrated by Sue Hellard

Published: Bantam Books, 1998, pp. 29.  Originally published 1996

Genre: Humour poetry

Blurb: A witty, charming treasury of traditional Christmas carols -rewritten by cats for cats – includes such classics as “The Twelve Days of Catmas,” “We Wish for the Fam’ly Goldfish,” and “Bark! The Hairy Scary Things.”  (Goodreads.com)

When, where and why: I was given this book by Father Christmas in my stocking several years ago.  I felt the need for something light, festive and amusing to read, so this seemed the ideal book to pick up before bed.  It counts as book 35/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.

What I thought: Christmas Carols for Cats is great fun.  It features twelve well-known Christmas songs and carols rewritten so that the centre around cats (as all things in life should, I feel).  The adaptations are clever and witty and they scan so well that I found myself humming them under my breath as I read the book.  There are a few contributions which don’t work quite as well, in my opinion, such as ‘Collar Bells’ which is set, unsurprisingly, to the tune of  ‘Jingle Bells’, but I found something to enjoy in every single song.  The illustrations by Sue Hellard which accompany the carols are perfect, bringing out the humour of the words and enhancing it through their appealing depictions.

One of my favourite songs in the book is ‘The First Slow Yell’ to the tune of ‘The First Noel’, something which will be familiar to all owners of hungry cats:

The first slow yell for you as you lay

Asleep in the morning on Christmas Day

O do not snore please get out of bed

It’s seven o’clock and I haven’t been fed.

O Yell O Yell O Yell O Yell

Feed me at once or I’ll make your life hell.

To lay a-bed is an awful disgrace

Get up right now or I’ll sit on your face

My furry paw ‘neath the covers will crawl

Fill up my bowl or I’ll caterwaul.

O Yell O Yell O Yell O Yell

Feed me at once or I’ll make your life hell.

Your last big chance now give us a break

I’ve clawed at your nightshirt you should be awake

I’ll niggle and naggle, be ever so rude

For nothing else matters when I want my food.

This would definitely be the perfect Christmas gift for any cat owner or cat lover.

Where this book goes: I’m going to hang on to this book to read again at future Christmas times.  It’s a good, quick read, great for sharing with others and guaranteed to make me smile.  What more could anyone want at Christmas?

Tea talk: I indulged in a whole pot of English Afternoon Tea from St James’ while reading this book and a few other little Christmas books which will be reviewed shortly.  It was rich and mellow and just what I wanted.

Title:

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Published: Honor Books, 1999, pp. 122.  Originally published 1870s

Genre: Children’s short stories

Blurb: “If someone would only come and take me away!  I’m so tired of living here I don’t think I can bear it much longer,” Patty cries.  Patty’s life in an orphanage is a dark world with little hope, beauty or love.  Even after a family finally does come for Patty, it is only because they need a servant.  But there is one person who does care about Patty.  And soon Patty’s life will never be the same!

When, where and why: I have to confess, I actually bought this for someone else as a Christmas gift.  I don’t usually read books before I give them to people (in fact, I never have before) but then my train home was delayed and I finished my other book and so I had nothing to read!  I was in a state of panic until I remembered that I had this book snuggled safely in a padded envelope in the depths of my bag, heading home to be wrapped.  Desperate times call for desperate measures and so I gave in to necessity and read the book.

What I thought: I firmly believe that any book is better than no book, and that if I were to be marooned on a desert island with nothing to read but a stack of Christine Feehan’s terrible vampire books I would plough gamely through them rather than sit around without a book.  Of course, I wouldn’t be able to hold anything resembling an intelligent conversation with normal people if I were ever rescued (although I would have an impressive collection of euphemisms for genitalia), but that’s besides the point.  Nevertheless, while The Quiet Little Woman, a book of three festive short stories by Louisa May Alcott, filled a bored half hour while stuck in a siding somewhere around Basingstoke, it swiftly transpired that I found it only marginally better than having no book at all, disappointingly.

Anyone approaching this book expecting to read something like Louisa May Alcott’s far more famous Little Women is likely to be equally disappointed, I’m afraid.  I found Little Women to be charming and hearwarming yet, although The Quiet Little Woman and Tilly’s Christmas (the first two stories in the collection) follow a similar narrative trajectory of poor but worthy girls finding love, warmth and happiness through their own selfless actions, they never achieved this end and so came across as rather sanctimonious.  I think this is partly because the stories are too short to allow much character development; the March girls may be good at heart but they all have faults which make them interesting, whereas Tilly and Patty are never anything other than perfect and boring.

Rosa’s Tale is a better story, as it deals with a horse rather than a painfully good child and so the rather hamfisted moral message which so irritated me in the first two stories is thankfully absent.  However, it reads like a paraphrase of Black Beauty rather than an original story and feels rushed.  Having read this book, I don’t think that the short story is Alcott’s medium, or at least it is not one which translates very well for a modern reader with modern expections.  On the whole, I found the collection to be sweet to the point of being sickly and moralistic to the point of being trite.

Where this book goes: This book is winging its way to the person for whom I bought it.  I really hope that they like it more than I did.

Tea talk: As this was a train book, there was no tea to be had.