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The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter
The ultimate festive anthology of the best Christmas stories of all time, selected from around the world
A Penguin Classics Hardcover
This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space.
Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
A Penguin Classics Hardcover
This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space.
Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2019
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December 25, 2023
welcome to the becoming a genius project...CHRISTMAS EDITION!
typically this project involves me picking up the collected stories of some literary titan or other and reading one of them per day with the goal of achieving true brilliance.
this is that except my goal is to get into the christmas spirit.
let's do this.
view past installments here
STORY 1: THE FIR TREE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
incredibly apt as getting my tree yesterday is what inspired me to start this now, instead of at a normal or appropriate time like december 1.
...this was the most depressing thing i've ever read in my life.
rating: 2.5
STORY 2: THE CAT ON THE DOVREFJELL BY TWO NORDIC GUYS
this one is one complete page in length and about partying trolls, so. let that speak for itself.
we're back in the christmas spirit baby.
rating: 3.5
STORY 3: A CHRISTMAS PARTY AND A WEDDING BY FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY
it doesn't seem fair to be one (page) and done for the day, so i'm doubling up.
aaaand it's another troubling one.
rating: 3
STORY 4: ST. ANTHONY AND HIS PIG BY PAUL ARENE
this is a story about how even the deliciousness of truffles cannot surpass the best friendship between a man and a pig. so it turns out i'm no saint.
rating: 3
STORY 5: BOYS BY ANTON CHEKHOV
i've read chekhov's short stories for another installment of this project, but more importantly i make chekhov's gun jokes 100 times per day in my daily life. so i am positioned to love this.
just kidding. no one ask me what this is about. i won't have an answer and it'll just be embarrassing for both of us.
rating: 3
STORY 6: MIDNIGHT MASS BY JOAQUIM MARIA MACHADO DE ASSIS
this is essentially just a story of being 17 and having a crush on an older lady, and also midnight mass is kind of approaching while that's happening, incidentally. which i respect.
rating: 3
STORY 7: REGINALD'S CHRISTMAS REVEL BY SAKI
this is a whole story about being an annoying prankster and making a joke of the sanctity of death.
so obviously it's my favorite one so far.
rating: 4
STORY 8: THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS ROSE BY SELMA LAGERLOF
this is about how robbers are cooler and closer to god than monks, and also flowers are lovely and magical. two thoughts i agree with.
rating: 3.5
STORY 9: A CHAPARRAL CHRISTMAS GIFT BY O. HENRY
hit me with it, henry. (or i guess i should say o...?) get me to that twist.
okay, well. that felt seasonally phoned in.
rating: 2.5
STORY 10: NOEL BY IRENE NEMIROVSKY
i cannot stress enough that if my sister stole my rich boyfriend, unluckily pregnant or not, i would ruin christmas.
justice for marie-laure.
rating: 3.5
STORY 11: DANCING DAN'S CHRISTMAS BY DAMON RUNYON
the title of this one sounds like the title of a made-up story from a movie. you know what i mean?
this successfully convinced me that i cannot have a merry christmas without a hot tom and jerry, in spite of the fact that i have no idea what that is. between that and the fact that o. henry wishes he had what damon runyon has, this was swell.
rating: 4
STORY 12: THE NECKLACE OF PEARLS BY DOROTHY SAYERS
suddenly i kind of get the appeal of a seasonal cozy mystery. just this once.
rating: 3.5
STORY 13: ONE CHRISTMAS EVE BY LANGSTON HUGHES
langston!!!!!!
god this one was heartbreaking.
rating: 4.5
STORY 14: THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY BY MARIO DE ANDRADE
i probably would have enjoyed this story more if it were about literally any other type of meat. but nobody's family is being brought together to experience christmas joy and love for the first time because of turkey.
rating: 2.5
STORY 15: GREEN HOLLY BY ELIZABETH BOWEN
the unthinkable is happening: it's a saturday and i haven't entirely abandoned reading as a concept.
not particularly thrilled about it, though.
rating: 3
STORY 16: CHRISTMAS MORNING BY FRANK O'CONNORwell. christmas morning is not a very magical time for childhood to end and the harsh reality of adulthood to sweep in.
rating: 3
STORY 17: A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES BY DYLAN THOMAS
dylan thomas alert!!! hoping this story is a little bit christmas joy-y and a little less about going gentle into that good night.
wish granted.
rating: 3.5
STORY 18: THE LITTLE RESTAURANT NEAR PLACE DES TERNES BY GEORGES SIMENON
a story that sounds so cute, and instead is about how it is literally better to get too drunk and arrested and throw up against a wall and spend the night in jail than to have premarital sex.
rating: 2
STORY 19: THE GIFT BY RAY BRADBURY
baby's first ray bradbury. some go for fahrenheit 451, but not me. i'm different.
space christmas.
rating: 3
STORY 20: A VISIT TO THE BANK BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
shirley jackson i love you!!! save me shirley jackson!!!
i've read her collected stories twice over and the real christmas miracle is i hadn't read this one.
rating: 5
STORY 21: THE PRISONERS BY BIENVENIDO SANTOS
well, this sounds cheerful.
it was not. but it was very nice anyway.
rating: 4
STORY 22: THE LEAF-SWEEPER BY MURIEL SPARK
i would vote this story Least Likely To Seem Like It's Going To Be A Ghost Story When Halfway Through It.
rating: 3
STORY 23: CHRISTMAS MEMORY BY TRUMAN CAPOTE
do you guys think this one is also starring audrey hepburn?
jeez louise. even the nice stories in this collection find their way to tragedy.
rating: 3
STORY 24: THE LOAN BY WOLFDIETRICH SCHNURRE
now THIS is a story about a christmas tree that doesn't make you want to die of moroseness.
rating: 3
STORY 25: CHRISTMAS EVE BY SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER ANDRESEN
i don't want to be rude...but we're arriving in the range of "too many names."
this one was very jesus-y.
rating: 2.5
STORY 26: THE LOUDEST VOICE BY GRACE PALEY
i don't have anything to say about this one. sorry.
rating: 2.5
STORY 27: A COLD CHRISTMAS WALK IN THE COUNTRY BY LAURIE LEE
i'd like to go on a pre-huge dinner christmas walk that includes sliding across a frozen pond for upwards of an hour. suddenly i'm all "the world isn't the same as it used to be" about it.
rating: 3
STORY 28: SANTA'S CHILDREN BY ITALO CALVINO
not a name i expected to see in this book. but i've become accustomed to its surprises.
and THAT'S how you critique capitalism.
rating: 4
STORY 29: CHRISTMAS BY TOVE JANSSON
TOVE JANSSON???
there are some real emma all stars in this collection.
rating: 4
STORY 30: JUST BECAUSE OF XMAS BY CYPRIAN EKWENSI
we're keeping the christ out of christmas. speaking of, happy xmas eve eve! the real holiday miracle is this project being on track.
to be fair, the generosity that happens in this story is not "just because" of christmas. it's "because" our protagonist resembles the first wife of a polygamist chief who goes mad and thinks she's back from the dead. small difference.
rating: 2.5
STORY 31: NOEL. TEXAS. 1956 BY LUCIA BERLIN
lucia????? and tove??? and shirley??? was this made for me in a lab?
what an author selection for our penultimate.
rating: 4
STORY 32: THE GHOST SHIPS BY ANGELA CARTER
strong way to go out. merry christmas everyone!
rating: 4
OVERALL
once i accepted that these weren't going to be whimsical and joyous-spirit-inducing, and began to accept Interesting, Impressive, or Christmasy as an alternative, i started enjoying this a lot more.
of course, a good number of these weren't even that, but still. a fair number were!
rating: 3.5
typically this project involves me picking up the collected stories of some literary titan or other and reading one of them per day with the goal of achieving true brilliance.
this is that except my goal is to get into the christmas spirit.
let's do this.
view past installments here
STORY 1: THE FIR TREE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
incredibly apt as getting my tree yesterday is what inspired me to start this now, instead of at a normal or appropriate time like december 1.
...this was the most depressing thing i've ever read in my life.
rating: 2.5
STORY 2: THE CAT ON THE DOVREFJELL BY TWO NORDIC GUYS
this one is one complete page in length and about partying trolls, so. let that speak for itself.
we're back in the christmas spirit baby.
rating: 3.5
STORY 3: A CHRISTMAS PARTY AND A WEDDING BY FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY
it doesn't seem fair to be one (page) and done for the day, so i'm doubling up.
aaaand it's another troubling one.
rating: 3
STORY 4: ST. ANTHONY AND HIS PIG BY PAUL ARENE
this is a story about how even the deliciousness of truffles cannot surpass the best friendship between a man and a pig. so it turns out i'm no saint.
rating: 3
STORY 5: BOYS BY ANTON CHEKHOV
i've read chekhov's short stories for another installment of this project, but more importantly i make chekhov's gun jokes 100 times per day in my daily life. so i am positioned to love this.
just kidding. no one ask me what this is about. i won't have an answer and it'll just be embarrassing for both of us.
rating: 3
STORY 6: MIDNIGHT MASS BY JOAQUIM MARIA MACHADO DE ASSIS
this is essentially just a story of being 17 and having a crush on an older lady, and also midnight mass is kind of approaching while that's happening, incidentally. which i respect.
rating: 3
STORY 7: REGINALD'S CHRISTMAS REVEL BY SAKI
this is a whole story about being an annoying prankster and making a joke of the sanctity of death.
so obviously it's my favorite one so far.
rating: 4
STORY 8: THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS ROSE BY SELMA LAGERLOF
this is about how robbers are cooler and closer to god than monks, and also flowers are lovely and magical. two thoughts i agree with.
rating: 3.5
STORY 9: A CHAPARRAL CHRISTMAS GIFT BY O. HENRY
hit me with it, henry. (or i guess i should say o...?) get me to that twist.
okay, well. that felt seasonally phoned in.
rating: 2.5
STORY 10: NOEL BY IRENE NEMIROVSKY
i cannot stress enough that if my sister stole my rich boyfriend, unluckily pregnant or not, i would ruin christmas.
justice for marie-laure.
rating: 3.5
STORY 11: DANCING DAN'S CHRISTMAS BY DAMON RUNYON
the title of this one sounds like the title of a made-up story from a movie. you know what i mean?
this successfully convinced me that i cannot have a merry christmas without a hot tom and jerry, in spite of the fact that i have no idea what that is. between that and the fact that o. henry wishes he had what damon runyon has, this was swell.
rating: 4
STORY 12: THE NECKLACE OF PEARLS BY DOROTHY SAYERS
suddenly i kind of get the appeal of a seasonal cozy mystery. just this once.
rating: 3.5
STORY 13: ONE CHRISTMAS EVE BY LANGSTON HUGHES
langston!!!!!!
god this one was heartbreaking.
rating: 4.5
STORY 14: THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY BY MARIO DE ANDRADE
i probably would have enjoyed this story more if it were about literally any other type of meat. but nobody's family is being brought together to experience christmas joy and love for the first time because of turkey.
rating: 2.5
STORY 15: GREEN HOLLY BY ELIZABETH BOWEN
the unthinkable is happening: it's a saturday and i haven't entirely abandoned reading as a concept.
not particularly thrilled about it, though.
rating: 3
STORY 16: CHRISTMAS MORNING BY FRANK O'CONNORwell. christmas morning is not a very magical time for childhood to end and the harsh reality of adulthood to sweep in.
rating: 3
STORY 17: A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES BY DYLAN THOMAS
dylan thomas alert!!! hoping this story is a little bit christmas joy-y and a little less about going gentle into that good night.
wish granted.
rating: 3.5
STORY 18: THE LITTLE RESTAURANT NEAR PLACE DES TERNES BY GEORGES SIMENON
a story that sounds so cute, and instead is about how it is literally better to get too drunk and arrested and throw up against a wall and spend the night in jail than to have premarital sex.
rating: 2
STORY 19: THE GIFT BY RAY BRADBURY
baby's first ray bradbury. some go for fahrenheit 451, but not me. i'm different.
space christmas.
rating: 3
STORY 20: A VISIT TO THE BANK BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
shirley jackson i love you!!! save me shirley jackson!!!
i've read her collected stories twice over and the real christmas miracle is i hadn't read this one.
rating: 5
STORY 21: THE PRISONERS BY BIENVENIDO SANTOS
well, this sounds cheerful.
it was not. but it was very nice anyway.
rating: 4
STORY 22: THE LEAF-SWEEPER BY MURIEL SPARK
i would vote this story Least Likely To Seem Like It's Going To Be A Ghost Story When Halfway Through It.
rating: 3
STORY 23: CHRISTMAS MEMORY BY TRUMAN CAPOTE
do you guys think this one is also starring audrey hepburn?
jeez louise. even the nice stories in this collection find their way to tragedy.
rating: 3
STORY 24: THE LOAN BY WOLFDIETRICH SCHNURRE
now THIS is a story about a christmas tree that doesn't make you want to die of moroseness.
rating: 3
STORY 25: CHRISTMAS EVE BY SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER ANDRESEN
i don't want to be rude...but we're arriving in the range of "too many names."
this one was very jesus-y.
rating: 2.5
STORY 26: THE LOUDEST VOICE BY GRACE PALEY
i don't have anything to say about this one. sorry.
rating: 2.5
STORY 27: A COLD CHRISTMAS WALK IN THE COUNTRY BY LAURIE LEE
i'd like to go on a pre-huge dinner christmas walk that includes sliding across a frozen pond for upwards of an hour. suddenly i'm all "the world isn't the same as it used to be" about it.
rating: 3
STORY 28: SANTA'S CHILDREN BY ITALO CALVINO
not a name i expected to see in this book. but i've become accustomed to its surprises.
and THAT'S how you critique capitalism.
rating: 4
STORY 29: CHRISTMAS BY TOVE JANSSON
TOVE JANSSON???
there are some real emma all stars in this collection.
rating: 4
STORY 30: JUST BECAUSE OF XMAS BY CYPRIAN EKWENSI
we're keeping the christ out of christmas. speaking of, happy xmas eve eve! the real holiday miracle is this project being on track.
to be fair, the generosity that happens in this story is not "just because" of christmas. it's "because" our protagonist resembles the first wife of a polygamist chief who goes mad and thinks she's back from the dead. small difference.
rating: 2.5
STORY 31: NOEL. TEXAS. 1956 BY LUCIA BERLIN
lucia????? and tove??? and shirley??? was this made for me in a lab?
what an author selection for our penultimate.
rating: 4
STORY 32: THE GHOST SHIPS BY ANGELA CARTER
strong way to go out. merry christmas everyone!
rating: 4
OVERALL
once i accepted that these weren't going to be whimsical and joyous-spirit-inducing, and began to accept Interesting, Impressive, or Christmasy as an alternative, i started enjoying this a lot more.
of course, a good number of these weren't even that, but still. a fair number were!
rating: 3.5
November 16, 2022
In a Nutshell: These are Christmas stories but these aren’t CHRISTMASSY stories! Disappointed.
I had jumped in at the collection simply because of the title. When I later saw its poor rating on Goodreads, I wondered why a Christmas anthology failed to impress readers. Now I know why. It’s a case of misleading branding.
When you see a book titled “The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter”, what would you expect? I expected happy and feel-good stories full of Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, most of the stories in this anthology are set around Christmas but cannot be called Christmas stories in the true sense of the word. Most of the stories are gloomy tales. More than half don’t make use of the festive season in any sense except in passing mention. Hardly any story generates Christmas cheer. When readers pick up a collection of Christmas stories, I bet not a single one would expect to be depressed after reading it.
The tagline—“From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter”—gives a clear indication that the stories are mostly classics. The range of authors is impressive, but modern readers who aren’t attuned to reading classics will find many of the stories long-winded and boring. Quite a few short story masters such as Saki, O. Henry, Anton Chekhov, Shirley Jackson, and Ray Bradbury have their stories included. Many of the stories are translated ones, so their authors also might be famous for writing in their own language. What I would have liked knowing is the language in which the story was originally written (so that we get an idea of the local culture of the author) and the year in which it was first published (so that we know the societal thinking of that era.)
(On an aside, I bet you thought the O. Henry story would be “The Gift of the Magi.” That’s such a classic Christmas tale! But no, this was some story titled “The Legend of the Christmas Rose.” A lovely story, and one of the better ones in this book.)
Had I read these 32 stories as classic short stories and not as Christmas stories, I might have enjoyed them better. So if you are a fan of classic writers and want to try out an interesting and varied collection, this is recommended. But if you are looking for a heartwarming collection of Christmas stories, do not try this one.
I hate being the Grinch for a Christmas anthology, but I need to add: I would definitely not recommended this book for holiday gifting unless you want to bestow it upon your old English teacher. I’d rather read a joyous collection during Christmas season.
2.6 stars. (1.5 stars as a Christmas collection, 3.75 stars as a classic story collection. Averaged.)
My thanks to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
I had jumped in at the collection simply because of the title. When I later saw its poor rating on Goodreads, I wondered why a Christmas anthology failed to impress readers. Now I know why. It’s a case of misleading branding.
When you see a book titled “The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter”, what would you expect? I expected happy and feel-good stories full of Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, most of the stories in this anthology are set around Christmas but cannot be called Christmas stories in the true sense of the word. Most of the stories are gloomy tales. More than half don’t make use of the festive season in any sense except in passing mention. Hardly any story generates Christmas cheer. When readers pick up a collection of Christmas stories, I bet not a single one would expect to be depressed after reading it.
The tagline—“From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter”—gives a clear indication that the stories are mostly classics. The range of authors is impressive, but modern readers who aren’t attuned to reading classics will find many of the stories long-winded and boring. Quite a few short story masters such as Saki, O. Henry, Anton Chekhov, Shirley Jackson, and Ray Bradbury have their stories included. Many of the stories are translated ones, so their authors also might be famous for writing in their own language. What I would have liked knowing is the language in which the story was originally written (so that we get an idea of the local culture of the author) and the year in which it was first published (so that we know the societal thinking of that era.)
(On an aside, I bet you thought the O. Henry story would be “The Gift of the Magi.” That’s such a classic Christmas tale! But no, this was some story titled “The Legend of the Christmas Rose.” A lovely story, and one of the better ones in this book.)
Had I read these 32 stories as classic short stories and not as Christmas stories, I might have enjoyed them better. So if you are a fan of classic writers and want to try out an interesting and varied collection, this is recommended. But if you are looking for a heartwarming collection of Christmas stories, do not try this one.
I hate being the Grinch for a Christmas anthology, but I need to add: I would definitely not recommended this book for holiday gifting unless you want to bestow it upon your old English teacher. I’d rather read a joyous collection during Christmas season.
2.6 stars. (1.5 stars as a Christmas collection, 3.75 stars as a classic story collection. Averaged.)
My thanks to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
September 14, 2023
2023 Christmas in July #1 🌲
Instead of waiting until December to read all of my holiday books, I thought I'd do a Christmas in July theme. I took this idea from a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries episode. This is one series that's actually better than the books.
How utterly disappointed I am. As an atheist/lapsed Catholic with a majority Catholic family, I obviously still celebrate Christmas, even if it's mostly for the presents and presence of family, and not for any faith aspect. I requested these stories because I wanted something feel good. Plus the cover was pretty. That was obviously my first mistake. Never trust a pretty cover.
Read my friend Rosh's review for things I agree on. I'm too disappointed to review further.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
Instead of waiting until December to read all of my holiday books, I thought I'd do a Christmas in July theme. I took this idea from a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries episode. This is one series that's actually better than the books.
How utterly disappointed I am. As an atheist/lapsed Catholic with a majority Catholic family, I obviously still celebrate Christmas, even if it's mostly for the presents and presence of family, and not for any faith aspect. I requested these stories because I wanted something feel good. Plus the cover was pretty. That was obviously my first mistake. Never trust a pretty cover.
Read my friend Rosh's review for things I agree on. I'm too disappointed to review further.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
June 16, 2024
There are more than 30 stories in this collection, so I won’t have space in this review to comment on them all. Two I had read before, The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Anderson and A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote. I loved Capote’s story but have reviewed it separately on this site.
It’s often understood that a Christmas story will be one with an uplifting or hopeful message, but these are not all like that. Indeed one of the tales in here, Dostoevsky’s A Christmas Tree and A Wedding, is amongst the most depressing stories I’ve ever read. However, thirty-odd stories, each with an uplifting message, would have been a bit much in my opinion.
Probably my favourite in the collection was a comic story, Dancing Dan’s Christmas by Damon Runyan. I hadn’t heard of the author before, but the editor’s notes advise that he specialised in stories set amongst the gangsters and hustlers of Prohibition-era NYC, with liberal use of the New York slang of the period. The story is only 8 pages long but had me laughing out loud all the way through. It involves a drunken escapade by 3 men late on Christmas Eve, after they have spent the whole day drinking in a speakeasy.
Another favourite for me was Georges Simenon’s The Little Restaurant near Place Des Ternes. Like Runyon’s NY story, Simenon focuses on the seedier side of Paris on Christmas Eve. Described as “A Christmas Story for Grown-Ups” it is centred around two women who don’t know one another. Jeanne is a 28-year-old hooker who knows the ways of the world, whilst Martine is a naïve 19-year-old newly arrived in the city from Normandy.
Naivety is also a theme of Midnight Mass, from the 19th century Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis. A sad story, but touching in its own way. It was another of those that appealed to me.
Irène Némirovsky’s 1932 story, Noël, is another set in Paris, but amongst the opposite end of the social scale from Simenon’s tale. She uses the “omnipotent narrator” technique to show us the lives of a group of rather calculating wealthy socialites. Many of the stories though, feature the difficulties of families mired in poverty, and how they struggle to meet the expectations of children at Christmas. This theme appears in One Christmas Eve by Langdon Hughes, Christmas Morning by Frank O’Connor, A Visit to the Bank by Shirley Jackson, The Loan by Wolfdietrich Schnurre and Just Because of Xmas by Cyprian Ekwensi, the last of these being set in Lagos, Nigeria. I thought O’Connor’s story was the best of this group. Dylan Thomas’ famous A Child’s Christmas in Wales is a nostalgic imagining of the perfect Christmases of childhood, no less real for being imaginary. There are similar contributions from Laurie Lee and Tove Jansson.
Reginald’s Christmas Revel, by Saki, features his trademark humour, making fun of the upper classes of Edwardian Britain. Dorothy L. Sayers weighs in with The Necklace of Pearls, a Christmas mystery with her famous sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. The mystery element didn’t do much for me, but the story had its amusing moments.
A Christmas anthology is bound to include at least one ghost story, and there are two in this collection, Green Holly by Elizabeth Bowen and The Leaf Sweeper by Muriel Spark. Ghost stories rarely work for me and neither of these did. A Portuguese writer called Sophia De Mello Breyner Andresen has a story simply called Christmas Eve. The author is described as having been a devout Catholic, and that much is evident from the story. Ray Bradbury’s The Gift provides a contrast, in being set on a rocket ship travelling to Mars in 2052. I thought it was one of the weaker entries, but I do give credit to the Editor for an anthology with such a variety of settings and perspectives. The Prisoners, by Bienvenido Santos, is an unusual Christmas tale. The author was a Filipino who happened to be in the US when Japan overran The Philippines in WW2, and who was thus unable to go home. His story features a Christmas encounter with a group of German POWs, and a shared experience of Christmas exile.
For me the rest of the stories were OK, without being worthy of particular mention. As with any such collection the content is variable. I would rate most of the stories at 3-stars, but there are a few gems in here.
It’s often understood that a Christmas story will be one with an uplifting or hopeful message, but these are not all like that. Indeed one of the tales in here, Dostoevsky’s A Christmas Tree and A Wedding, is amongst the most depressing stories I’ve ever read. However, thirty-odd stories, each with an uplifting message, would have been a bit much in my opinion.
Probably my favourite in the collection was a comic story, Dancing Dan’s Christmas by Damon Runyan. I hadn’t heard of the author before, but the editor’s notes advise that he specialised in stories set amongst the gangsters and hustlers of Prohibition-era NYC, with liberal use of the New York slang of the period. The story is only 8 pages long but had me laughing out loud all the way through. It involves a drunken escapade by 3 men late on Christmas Eve, after they have spent the whole day drinking in a speakeasy.
Another favourite for me was Georges Simenon’s The Little Restaurant near Place Des Ternes. Like Runyon’s NY story, Simenon focuses on the seedier side of Paris on Christmas Eve. Described as “A Christmas Story for Grown-Ups” it is centred around two women who don’t know one another. Jeanne is a 28-year-old hooker who knows the ways of the world, whilst Martine is a naïve 19-year-old newly arrived in the city from Normandy.
Naivety is also a theme of Midnight Mass, from the 19th century Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis. A sad story, but touching in its own way. It was another of those that appealed to me.
Irène Némirovsky’s 1932 story, Noël, is another set in Paris, but amongst the opposite end of the social scale from Simenon’s tale. She uses the “omnipotent narrator” technique to show us the lives of a group of rather calculating wealthy socialites. Many of the stories though, feature the difficulties of families mired in poverty, and how they struggle to meet the expectations of children at Christmas. This theme appears in One Christmas Eve by Langdon Hughes, Christmas Morning by Frank O’Connor, A Visit to the Bank by Shirley Jackson, The Loan by Wolfdietrich Schnurre and Just Because of Xmas by Cyprian Ekwensi, the last of these being set in Lagos, Nigeria. I thought O’Connor’s story was the best of this group. Dylan Thomas’ famous A Child’s Christmas in Wales is a nostalgic imagining of the perfect Christmases of childhood, no less real for being imaginary. There are similar contributions from Laurie Lee and Tove Jansson.
Reginald’s Christmas Revel, by Saki, features his trademark humour, making fun of the upper classes of Edwardian Britain. Dorothy L. Sayers weighs in with The Necklace of Pearls, a Christmas mystery with her famous sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. The mystery element didn’t do much for me, but the story had its amusing moments.
A Christmas anthology is bound to include at least one ghost story, and there are two in this collection, Green Holly by Elizabeth Bowen and The Leaf Sweeper by Muriel Spark. Ghost stories rarely work for me and neither of these did. A Portuguese writer called Sophia De Mello Breyner Andresen has a story simply called Christmas Eve. The author is described as having been a devout Catholic, and that much is evident from the story. Ray Bradbury’s The Gift provides a contrast, in being set on a rocket ship travelling to Mars in 2052. I thought it was one of the weaker entries, but I do give credit to the Editor for an anthology with such a variety of settings and perspectives. The Prisoners, by Bienvenido Santos, is an unusual Christmas tale. The author was a Filipino who happened to be in the US when Japan overran The Philippines in WW2, and who was thus unable to go home. His story features a Christmas encounter with a group of German POWs, and a shared experience of Christmas exile.
For me the rest of the stories were OK, without being worthy of particular mention. As with any such collection the content is variable. I would rate most of the stories at 3-stars, but there are a few gems in here.
December 12, 2020
Jessica Harrison’s carefully-curated anthology doesn’t go for the easy festive fix, although traditional, ‘heart-warming’ scenes sneak in from time to time, her compilation represents Christmas in an adventurous variety of guises, settings, and genres from fairy tales to crime. There are 32 pieces altogether, jostling for attention alongside obvious seasonal candidates, like Laurie Lee, Dylan Thomas, Truman Capote and O. Henry, are less conventional choices from Tove Jansson, Irene Nemirovsky, Grace Paley, Lucia Berlin, Shirley Jackson and Georges Simenon.
Stand-outs for me included: Dorothy L. Sayers’s slightly satirical “The Necklace of Pearls” featuring society sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey; Selma Lagerlof’s mysterious, fable-like “The Legend of the Christmas Rose”; Italo Calvino's acid, perversely-funny "Santa's Children"; Elizabeth Bowen’s drily amusing, wartime ghost story “Green Holly,” and Langston Hughes’s acutely-observed “One Christmas Eve” about a little boy who dreams of going to the movies in a place where the cinema’s for ‘white folks only.’
If there’s a knack for reviewing this kind of disparate collection, I don’t have it, although I can point to a distinctly melancholy, elegiac tone permeating a number of Harrison’s choices; recurrent images of isolation, poverty, family pressure, the tensions that arise from differing cultural expectations of what Christmas is/was/or might be. But there’s also an underlying, albeit fragile, optimism, a glimpse of people doing their best in difficult circumstances, forging unexpected connections, caring for others in the best ways they can – even if their methods might fall into the oddball category. And for those reasons, this came together to project a vision of Christmas I frequently found more relatable than the formulaic, saccharine, ‘Hallmark’ version that inevitably surfaces around this time of year.
Rating: 3.5
Stand-outs for me included: Dorothy L. Sayers’s slightly satirical “The Necklace of Pearls” featuring society sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey; Selma Lagerlof’s mysterious, fable-like “The Legend of the Christmas Rose”; Italo Calvino's acid, perversely-funny "Santa's Children"; Elizabeth Bowen’s drily amusing, wartime ghost story “Green Holly,” and Langston Hughes’s acutely-observed “One Christmas Eve” about a little boy who dreams of going to the movies in a place where the cinema’s for ‘white folks only.’
If there’s a knack for reviewing this kind of disparate collection, I don’t have it, although I can point to a distinctly melancholy, elegiac tone permeating a number of Harrison’s choices; recurrent images of isolation, poverty, family pressure, the tensions that arise from differing cultural expectations of what Christmas is/was/or might be. But there’s also an underlying, albeit fragile, optimism, a glimpse of people doing their best in difficult circumstances, forging unexpected connections, caring for others in the best ways they can – even if their methods might fall into the oddball category. And for those reasons, this came together to project a vision of Christmas I frequently found more relatable than the formulaic, saccharine, ‘Hallmark’ version that inevitably surfaces around this time of year.
Rating: 3.5
December 20, 2022
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories is a compilation of short stories set at or around Christmas, compiled by Jessica Harrison. As with all anthologies, there were some stories that I enjoyed more or less than others. Overall, though, this was a pleasant read and one I enjoyed for December.
** Thanks so much to Jessica Harrison, Penguin Classics, and NetGalley for this ARC! The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories is available now. **
** Thanks so much to Jessica Harrison, Penguin Classics, and NetGalley for this ARC! The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories is available now. **
December 27, 2022
3.5 STARS
Definitely a mixed bag of stories in this collection. There are 32 included, many are translations, so definitely stories I had never heard of or read. What was interesting about many of these translated stories is that they were not my idea of a Christmas story. For instance, the Dostoyevsky story, A Christmas Party and a Wedding,was about an older man setting his sights on an 11 yr old girl because she had an excellent dowry. He meets her and hears of her good fortune at a Christmas party (to say, he was creepy is speaking kindly) and 5 years later a wedding takes place- yup, he has won his prey! I found it rather repugnant to say the least. What is considered a Christmas story definitely changes based on which country you are in.
Of the 32 stories, these were my 5 star readings:
-The Fir Tree. Hans Christian Andersen
-The Legend of the Christmas Rose. Selma Lagerlof
-On Christmas Eve. Langston Hughes
-Christmas Morning. Frank O’Connor
-The Little Restaurant near Places does Ternes. George Simenon
- Reginald’s Christmas Revel. Saki
- A Christmas Memory. Truman Capote
Published: 2019 as a collection.
Definitely a mixed bag of stories in this collection. There are 32 included, many are translations, so definitely stories I had never heard of or read. What was interesting about many of these translated stories is that they were not my idea of a Christmas story. For instance, the Dostoyevsky story, A Christmas Party and a Wedding,was about an older man setting his sights on an 11 yr old girl because she had an excellent dowry. He meets her and hears of her good fortune at a Christmas party (to say, he was creepy is speaking kindly) and 5 years later a wedding takes place- yup, he has won his prey! I found it rather repugnant to say the least. What is considered a Christmas story definitely changes based on which country you are in.
Of the 32 stories, these were my 5 star readings:
-The Fir Tree. Hans Christian Andersen
-The Legend of the Christmas Rose. Selma Lagerlof
-On Christmas Eve. Langston Hughes
-Christmas Morning. Frank O’Connor
-The Little Restaurant near Places does Ternes. George Simenon
- Reginald’s Christmas Revel. Saki
- A Christmas Memory. Truman Capote
Published: 2019 as a collection.
December 14, 2022
Far from joyous, these Christmas stories are predominantly somber and sad. That doesn’t mean they are bad, of course. In fact, the best stories in this collection tended also to be the saddest, using Christmas either as a lens through which to see how social problems (e.g., arranged marriages, poverty, racism) impact children’s lives, or as way to convey a life lesson. Overall, the collection was a mixed bag, and some of the included stories were probably not worth reading. Here are the stories I thought were the best, ranked in descending order, per my opinion:
A Christmas Party and a Wedding (Five Stars)
“Then came the presents which decreased in value in accordance with the decrease in rank of the parents of these happy children” (p. 14).
“But through this severity and gravity, through this sadness still shined the first childish look of innocence; one sensed something utterly naïve, unformed, youthful, which seemed to be silently begging for mercy” (p. 19).
The Loan (Five Stars)
“Christmas, he said, was a festival of joy; the important thing now was not to be sad, even if one didn’t have any money” (p. 195).
Christmas Morning (Five Stars)
“He comes to any little child that does his best … whether they’re good spellers or not” (p. 125).
“I’m not a baby … and I can spell better than you, and Santa Claus won’t bring you anything” (p. 126).
One Christmas Eve (Five Stars)
“Between meals today, she had cleaned the whole house for the white family she worked for, getting ready for Christmas tomorrow” (p. 103).
The Fir Tree (Four Stars)
“All around grew scores of bigger companions, both firs and pines, but the little fir tree was so eager to grow up that it didn’t think about the warm sun or the fresh air … The tree took no pleasure in the sunshine, in the birds, or in the crimson clouds that sailed overhead both morning and evening” (p. 1).
A Visit to the Bank (Four Stars)
“‘That’s just what I’m going to bring you,’ Santa Claus said. ‘I’m going to bring good little girls everything they ask for’” (p. 167).
Christmas Eve (Four Stars)
“Because he’s poor, and poor people don’t get presents” (p. 206).
“He wouldn’t have had presents or a Christmas tree or a stuffed turkey or any eggy bread. Poor people are poor and all they have is their poverty: (p. 208).
Noel (Four Stars)
“True love only comes when you’re married, and I don’t mean with you husband, naturally” (p. 76).
A Christmas Party and a Wedding (Five Stars)
“Then came the presents which decreased in value in accordance with the decrease in rank of the parents of these happy children” (p. 14).
“But through this severity and gravity, through this sadness still shined the first childish look of innocence; one sensed something utterly naïve, unformed, youthful, which seemed to be silently begging for mercy” (p. 19).
The Loan (Five Stars)
“Christmas, he said, was a festival of joy; the important thing now was not to be sad, even if one didn’t have any money” (p. 195).
Christmas Morning (Five Stars)
“He comes to any little child that does his best … whether they’re good spellers or not” (p. 125).
“I’m not a baby … and I can spell better than you, and Santa Claus won’t bring you anything” (p. 126).
One Christmas Eve (Five Stars)
“Between meals today, she had cleaned the whole house for the white family she worked for, getting ready for Christmas tomorrow” (p. 103).
The Fir Tree (Four Stars)
“All around grew scores of bigger companions, both firs and pines, but the little fir tree was so eager to grow up that it didn’t think about the warm sun or the fresh air … The tree took no pleasure in the sunshine, in the birds, or in the crimson clouds that sailed overhead both morning and evening” (p. 1).
A Visit to the Bank (Four Stars)
“‘That’s just what I’m going to bring you,’ Santa Claus said. ‘I’m going to bring good little girls everything they ask for’” (p. 167).
Christmas Eve (Four Stars)
“Because he’s poor, and poor people don’t get presents” (p. 206).
“He wouldn’t have had presents or a Christmas tree or a stuffed turkey or any eggy bread. Poor people are poor and all they have is their poverty: (p. 208).
Noel (Four Stars)
“True love only comes when you’re married, and I don’t mean with you husband, naturally” (p. 76).
December 14, 2022
A perfect collection for the time of year, with some of these stories making my all time favourite list.
It has a good mix of new and old writers and Christmas's from near and far.
Among my faves were:
The Fir Tree - Hans Christian Anderson
Boys - Anton Chekhov
One Christmas Eve - Langston Hughes
The Christmas Turkey - Mario De Andrade
Christmas Morning - Frank O'Connor
A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas
A Visit to the Bank - Shirley Jackson (probs my fave!)
The Leaf Blower - Muriel Spark
There are a few writers that I read for the first time that I've just bought books for, such is the joy of an anthology.
It has a good mix of new and old writers and Christmas's from near and far.
Among my faves were:
The Fir Tree - Hans Christian Anderson
Boys - Anton Chekhov
One Christmas Eve - Langston Hughes
The Christmas Turkey - Mario De Andrade
Christmas Morning - Frank O'Connor
A Child's Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas
A Visit to the Bank - Shirley Jackson (probs my fave!)
The Leaf Blower - Muriel Spark
There are a few writers that I read for the first time that I've just bought books for, such is the joy of an anthology.
January 4, 2024
I finally got to read several of the short stories that Connie Willis references, directly or indirectly, in her Christmas short stories! Dancing Dan's Christmas, The String of Pearls, even the dreadful The Fir Tree- which starts off this collection. Bold move, Penguin Classics! (Blech.) But overall I loved these stories, which were sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes a little strange- though I prefer the version of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales illustrated by Chris Raschka.
December 11, 2020
I struggled with this one, which was disappointing as it sounded so promising. The collection is a mixed bag from around the world and different centuries. It certainly shows the varied literary approaches to Christmas and the different views of it.
Many of the older stories were depressing and not about Christmas so much as they were set at Christmas. There were some heartwarming stories and a few that really showed the miracle of Christmas. The stories are fairly short so when you want a quick read, this is a good book. The variety of stories is also good.
My problem was that most of the stories failed to engage me and it was a struggle to keep reading. I did like the stories by O. Henry, Hans Christian Andersen, Ray Bradbury and a few others. But overall, the collection was disappointing.
Many of the older stories were depressing and not about Christmas so much as they were set at Christmas. There were some heartwarming stories and a few that really showed the miracle of Christmas. The stories are fairly short so when you want a quick read, this is a good book. The variety of stories is also good.
My problem was that most of the stories failed to engage me and it was a struggle to keep reading. I did like the stories by O. Henry, Hans Christian Andersen, Ray Bradbury and a few others. But overall, the collection was disappointing.
January 6, 2020
This collection of Christmas stories spans both old and new and everything in between, reflecting the differing and changing views and approaches to the Christmas season from the warm and fuzzy to the cold and chilling. Each story has been well chosen to reflect the mythology and story telling history associated with the Christmas season to remind the reader of the real meaning behind it and the different traditions arising from it. This is not necessarily a completely heart-warming collection but who said Christmas was only about such things. My only criticism is the lack of context for some of the older stories, as I feel knowing the basis of some of these stories would've added a bit more to each of them.
December 23, 2022
I appreciated the fact that this book had a varied collection of authors, including some that I had never heard of before. But perhaps one has never heard of them before for a reason...
It was interesting to see all the different cultures of Christmas and I liked the fact it wasn't look we are all so happy etc but there seemed about 10 stories of the same premise: we are so poor we can't have any food or presents woe is us lets steal a tree?? Idk this seemed to happen a lot, which is fine the first time but rather continued on with the same spiel is a little boring.
There were literally 2 stories out of about 25 that I actually liked (Laurie Lee's purely for the writing and Saki's which was actually quite funny and also a new author so I appreciate that. Every other story was a bit meh and I felt I was counting the pages until the end)
All in all not great and not really what I was expecting, was particularly disappointed in Angela Carter's one which I thought would be scary but was literally about some ship made out of cake?!? idek what that was.
I will be keeping the book purely because it goes with my clothbound collection and looks pretty lol but will not recommend.
It was interesting to see all the different cultures of Christmas and I liked the fact it wasn't look we are all so happy etc but there seemed about 10 stories of the same premise: we are so poor we can't have any food or presents woe is us lets steal a tree?? Idk this seemed to happen a lot, which is fine the first time but rather continued on with the same spiel is a little boring.
There were literally 2 stories out of about 25 that I actually liked (Laurie Lee's purely for the writing and Saki's which was actually quite funny and also a new author so I appreciate that. Every other story was a bit meh and I felt I was counting the pages until the end)
All in all not great and not really what I was expecting, was particularly disappointed in Angela Carter's one which I thought would be scary but was literally about some ship made out of cake?!? idek what that was.
I will be keeping the book purely because it goes with my clothbound collection and looks pretty lol but will not recommend.
December 23, 2021
A solid collection of Christmas Stories by many wonderful, talented writers. They aren't necessarily filled with the Christmas cheer we're accustomed but the stories were picked well and there were some gems in this collection.
December 25, 2022
I really liked this collection of stories in order of when they were published, from Hans Christian Anderson's The Fir Tree (so sad!) to Angela Carter's The Ghost Ships. An impressive range of authors, many in translation. A good mix of authors I'd read, ones I'd heard of but not read, and ones that were new to me. My favorites included Saki's "Reginald's Christmas Revel" Selma Lagerlof's "The Legend of the Christmas Rose," Irene Nemirovsky's impressionistic "Noel" Damon Runyon's "Dancing Dan's Christmas" Langston Hughes' "On Christmas Eve" Elizabeth Bowen 's "Green Holly" Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales" (a long time fave) Simenon's "The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes" Capote's "A Christmas Memory" Schnurre's "The Loan" Sophia de Mello Breyner Andersen's "Christmas Eve" Paley's "The Loudest Voice" and Lucia Berlin's "Noel Texas 1956." Way more gems than duds, and runs the gamut: ghosts, sad, happy, Christian and not, but not sentimental at all.
Edited to add: this is another in Penguin's beautiful series of classics with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith so it was lovely to hold and to read and be lovely on the shelf. Also, this book had an EXCELLENT mini bio of each author at the end, and for that I'm rounding up to five stars. Every anthology should use this one's end notes as a model.
Edited to add: this is another in Penguin's beautiful series of classics with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith so it was lovely to hold and to read and be lovely on the shelf. Also, this book had an EXCELLENT mini bio of each author at the end, and for that I'm rounding up to five stars. Every anthology should use this one's end notes as a model.
December 31, 2019
A pretty uninspiring and disappointing collection of stories. Most of them left me feeling far from Christmassy, sadly. I’m giving this 3 stars though because of the handful of stories I did enjoy, including ‘The Fir Tree’ and ‘The Ghost Ships’.
December 15, 2021
Didn’t like this like I thought I would. The stories were really boring and didn’t make a lot of sense. I enjoyed two out of like 40? Will be unhauling, even though the cover is gorgeous and I literally just bought it. Oh well.
December 30, 2021
Welp that was underwhelming to say the least. I only liked maybe 4 of the 32 short stories in this. Womp womp.
December 12, 2022
This collection was a little disappointing, and a very mixed bag indeed. As you'd expect from such a varied selection of stories from different eras and countries, I liked some, and not others. A lot of the older stories were quite depressing and downright odd, and distinctly lacking in Christmas cheer. My favourite was Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory (so beautiful), closely followed by the contributions from Tove Jansson and Dylan Thomas (both of which I had read before). Not a book I would recommend, and my 3 star rating reflects the fact that there were only a handful of 5 star stories I loved, while the majority were just "meh".
December 16, 2020
Favourites: a Christmas Memory by Truman Capote, Christmas Eve by Sophia De Breyner, A Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy Sayers and A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country by Laurie Lee
January 2, 2020
Legends old, and stories from all time, reminding us of the essence of Christmas, the good bits, and the not so good bits, but overall heart-warming.
December 19, 2022
ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇɴɢᴜɪɴ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏғ ᴄʜʀɪsᴛᴍᴀs sᴛᴏʀɪᴇs
✨ ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 ✨
This book of short classic Christmas stories is the perfect book to cozy up with this holiday. I am in love with this collection and can see that myself and my family will cherish reading these Christmas stories for years to come.
Some of my favorites so far have been:
🎄 The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
🎄 The Legend of the Christmas Rose by Selma Lagerlof
🎄 A Chaparral Christmas Gift by O. Henry
🎄 The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers
🎄 One Christmas Eve by Langston Hughes
🎄 The Gift by Ray Bradbury
This is a collection of some of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world. These short stories take readers on a Christmas journey, from the frozen Nordic woods to the glittering streets of Paris, a New York speakeasy to a quaint English country house, the bustling city of Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even deep into outer space. Featuring Santa, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons, and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
Collected works by writers big and small make this an essential companion for any Christmas reader. Classic Christmas storytellers such as Hans Christian Anderson and O. Henry have features in this compendium, as well as some unexpected names like Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, and Chekhov, in addition to little-known treasures such as Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Italo Calvino and Irène Nemerovsky (and more!).
Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse for sending me a copy! I loved it!!
✨ ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎 ✨
This book of short classic Christmas stories is the perfect book to cozy up with this holiday. I am in love with this collection and can see that myself and my family will cherish reading these Christmas stories for years to come.
Some of my favorites so far have been:
🎄 The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
🎄 The Legend of the Christmas Rose by Selma Lagerlof
🎄 A Chaparral Christmas Gift by O. Henry
🎄 The Necklace of Pearls by Dorothy L. Sayers
🎄 One Christmas Eve by Langston Hughes
🎄 The Gift by Ray Bradbury
This is a collection of some of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world. These short stories take readers on a Christmas journey, from the frozen Nordic woods to the glittering streets of Paris, a New York speakeasy to a quaint English country house, the bustling city of Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even deep into outer space. Featuring Santa, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons, and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
Collected works by writers big and small make this an essential companion for any Christmas reader. Classic Christmas storytellers such as Hans Christian Anderson and O. Henry have features in this compendium, as well as some unexpected names like Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, and Chekhov, in addition to little-known treasures such as Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Italo Calvino and Irène Nemerovsky (and more!).
Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse for sending me a copy! I loved it!!
December 13, 2023
A varied collection of stories in terms of genres, themes and subject matter. All of them have at least an oblique reference to Christmas in some way, even if the content of some of these stories have hardly anything to do with the spirit of the season.
As some readers have commented, readers expecting a fuzzy and cozy “Hallmark” experience may be disappointed. However, if you approach this collection with an open mind, you might just find some choice crackers in the bag.
The collection opens reliably enough with Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Fir Tree”, about a haughty young tree who finds out that the fate that awaits the Christmas Trees he aspires to become one of, is less glamorous (and infinitely more horrifying) than what he envisages.
There is much that the collection offers: other stories, both originally in English and translated from other languages, include a sitting room whodunnit featuring Doroty L. Sayers’ much-loved Lord Wimsey in “The Necklace of Pearls”, Frank O’Connor’s coming-of-age tale of a boy discovering the reality of his family situation in “Christmas Morning” and Shirley Jackson’s sardonic tale of a poor widow’s encounter with a mercenary Santa Claus in “A Visit to the Bank”, among others that I enjoyed. A rather unexpectedly tender and moving gem was Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”, in which the narrator recalls his childhood friendship with a much older relative, and a specially memorable last Christmas he spent with her. Strangely, it was Dylan Thomas’ poetic prose in “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” that I found hard to digest.
All in all, a curious assortment that is less than the sum of its parts, but which I am glad to have read, for the short works of authors I have enjoyed and others that I discovered through this collection.
As some readers have commented, readers expecting a fuzzy and cozy “Hallmark” experience may be disappointed. However, if you approach this collection with an open mind, you might just find some choice crackers in the bag.
The collection opens reliably enough with Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Fir Tree”, about a haughty young tree who finds out that the fate that awaits the Christmas Trees he aspires to become one of, is less glamorous (and infinitely more horrifying) than what he envisages.
There is much that the collection offers: other stories, both originally in English and translated from other languages, include a sitting room whodunnit featuring Doroty L. Sayers’ much-loved Lord Wimsey in “The Necklace of Pearls”, Frank O’Connor’s coming-of-age tale of a boy discovering the reality of his family situation in “Christmas Morning” and Shirley Jackson’s sardonic tale of a poor widow’s encounter with a mercenary Santa Claus in “A Visit to the Bank”, among others that I enjoyed. A rather unexpectedly tender and moving gem was Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory”, in which the narrator recalls his childhood friendship with a much older relative, and a specially memorable last Christmas he spent with her. Strangely, it was Dylan Thomas’ poetic prose in “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” that I found hard to digest.
All in all, a curious assortment that is less than the sum of its parts, but which I am glad to have read, for the short works of authors I have enjoyed and others that I discovered through this collection.
December 23, 2022
I picked this up since it’s nearly Christmas! Some stories were moving and magical, some were grim and sad, others were just very strange and weird! It is the usual case with short story collections for me, I loved some, thought some were ok then others I wasn’t actually too sure what the hell I had just read!
The stories feature some great writers and without a doubt, every single story is well written, just some did not quite hit the mark with me. To be honest, some were just not Christmas stories at all. If you do read this, I would not go in expecting festive, heartwarming tales as most certainly are not. There is a melancholic tone to them all and some stories explore various social issues for different families who may live in poverty and also racial discrimination.
What I really loved about it was that at the back there was a write up about each other and their background which shed a light as to why their stories were written in a certain way. It made me appreciate each story a lot more.
Overall, I enjoyed half of this book and not the other half. A dark collection of Christmas stories that feel very traditional yet explore modern themes. Just do not expect it to be a happy, joyous book!
The stories feature some great writers and without a doubt, every single story is well written, just some did not quite hit the mark with me. To be honest, some were just not Christmas stories at all. If you do read this, I would not go in expecting festive, heartwarming tales as most certainly are not. There is a melancholic tone to them all and some stories explore various social issues for different families who may live in poverty and also racial discrimination.
What I really loved about it was that at the back there was a write up about each other and their background which shed a light as to why their stories were written in a certain way. It made me appreciate each story a lot more.
Overall, I enjoyed half of this book and not the other half. A dark collection of Christmas stories that feel very traditional yet explore modern themes. Just do not expect it to be a happy, joyous book!
January 2, 2024
I am dnfing this book. I can’t remember the last time I dnfed a book, which I am thinking was never. Just one question: Why exactly are these called CHRISTMAS stories? Who decided to call this book ‘The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories’. And I, thinking it would be a quick, fun, very whimsical, Christmasy read, went on torturing myself for the past 2 weeks of my life. 2 stars and that is generous. And I am marking this as read because I did not waste all this time for nothing.
January 1, 2023
Average of 3 stars. Some of these stories are definitely 5 star material, a handful are 1 star, and many fall somewhere in the middle. I've discovered some new stories I really like and will for sure re-read and some I will for sure never read again. Overall, it was worth it, I think.
December 26, 2020
Gute Mischung aus unterschiedlichsten Weihnachtsgeschichten. Manche waren gar nicht meines, einige haben mir dafür supergut gefallen!
December 18, 2021
A very well curated collection, extremely diverse stories from over the world, different times and settings. Would highly recommend for a seasonal read. My personal favorite was Truman Capote’s Christmas Memory.
December 26, 2022
Like every collection of short stories, I loved some, I liked some, and really disliked others. I really appreciated the little biographies at the back. Tove Jansson's story almost made me cry.
December 23, 2023
The best collection of short stories I’ve read to date! However, if you’re looking for warm and fuzzy Christmas stories this isn’t the book for you. The cover may look inviting, but most of the stories have a melancholic slant. Superbly executed!!
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