Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

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This novel is talky, smart, anarchic and quite sexy. You begin to linger on those three s’s when you speak the title aloud.”– Dwight Garner, New York Times Plus a look at relationships which are often in the spotlight during the holidays when fathers gather together. What happens when you change your partner and your sexual orientation at the same time. For many years both Mary Portas and Susie Orbach, were married to men before falling in love and later marrying women. Mary Portas and Jeanette (who is married Susie Orbach) discuss the complexities and joys of starting a new relationship with a woman when you're older. And why are ghosts so associated with this time of year.

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days - Goodreads

So at Christmas I think about the Christmas story and all the Christmas stories since. As a writer I know that we get along badly without space in our lives for imagination and reflection.....so light a candle to miracles, however unlikely and pray that you recognise yours...and light a candle to love"I'm really glad I did, because all of these stories are magnificent. Not a sappy, sweet minute in this collection; all of these tales are one-of-a-kind, original, and surprising. Three or four of them were true ghost stories that gave me goosebumps. The rest have a fairy tale quality that pulls you in. My favorites were "Snowmama" and "The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me", a fable about why the ass got the job of taking Mary into Bethlehem.

CHRISTMAS DAYS | Kirkus Reviews CHRISTMAS DAYS | Kirkus Reviews

A riotous reimagining with an energy and passion all of its own that reanimates Frankenstein as a cautionary tale for a contemporary moment dominated by debates about Brexit, gender, artificial intelligence and medical experimentation… While the story has a gripping momentum of its own, it also fizzes with ideas.”— Financial TimesThe Lion, The Unicorn and me, a humorous telling of the birth of Jesus, narrated by the donkey who carried Mary. Winterson takes the theology of Christmas seriously even if she isn’t your typical Christian, and she adds in a lot of interesting historical footnotes about the pagan origins of our holiday traditions. In between the stories are recipes – personal favorites, or hand-me-downs from family and friends – for everything from mince pies to turkey curry. The preambles to these are an opportunity for some autobiographical reflections on her parents’ death and being married to a Jew. I love her thoughts on ritual and family: A sense of continuity - religion is good at that. And a sense of belonging to something more necessary than shopping and party-going. This is a spiritual experience, whether or not you believe in God.” The touching chapter in memory of Rendell carries the delightful revelation that the queen of crime was quite partial to country music. According to Winterson, “she’d sing a bit, usually country and western, sometimes Handel … ‘Jolene’ medley’d with hits from Messiah”. But it also becomes clear that Rendell provided Winterson with a haven of unconditional support she had never experienced at home: “I wrote my second novel, The Passion, in her house. She had been the Good Mother – never judging, quietly supporting, letting me talk, letting me be me.”

Jeanette Winterson - Wikipedia Jeanette Winterson - Wikipedia

Mrs W’s mood changed at once. She didn’t speak to us for the rest of the day and she crushed up a papier-mache robin. The next morning, at breakfast, the table was set with a pyramid of unopened tins of pineapple chunks and a Victorian postcard of two cats on their hind legs dressed up like Mr and Mrs. The caption said “Nobody loves us”. The Lion, The Unicorn and Me is a rather plain retelling of the Christmas through the eyes of the donkey while The Glow-heart story kind of ripped my heart out. I liked this story a lot, also because at the end of it we are offered a visceral sentence on how the orphans live: And there had been a bear, but the smallest children had shared him, so that one had a leg, another an arm, and his head was passed round to anyone who had been punished that day so that they could hold his gentle head against their hurt hearts.

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The more Winterson I read, the more I realise the importance of knowing her life story and how that relates to her recurring themes. The Silver Frog” is like a cross between Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman, while “A Ghost Story” is reminiscent of Michelle Paver’s Thin Air. The stories are often fable-like, some spooky and some funny. Most have fantastical elements and meaningful rhetorical questions. My favorite was probably “Spirit of Christmas,” in which a little girl who embodies the Christmas spirit reminds the narrator not to take love for granted and to appreciate the gifts of time. “Why had we learned to hurry through every day when every day was all we had? … Why are the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all?” While I didn't enjoy all of the stories, I did enjoy the information on the historical context of Christmas and the traditions that surround the holiday. However, she does seem to contradict herself regarding her religious beliefs, suggesting the stories were written during different times in her life.
Not that it matters what her beliefs are, I'm just noting that I found it confusing. Simpkins, Laura Grace. "12 Bytes review: Jeanette Winterson on AI and making life less binary". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021 . Retrieved 19 September 2021.

Christmas Days - Penguin Books UK Christmas Days - Penguin Books UK

Jaggi, Maya (28 May 2004). "Redemption songs". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013 . Retrieved 23 November 2019.

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That said, I can see that other reviewers have found this 'soothing', 'heartwarming', so maybe it's just me, maybe I exaggerate the underlying sadness (I'm sure I'm not imagining it altogether, though). The book itself and the artwork are certainly very festive! And I'm sure it's a most appropriate seasonal read. Today’s story revolves around the trope of the Christmas wish, and centers the story with Irish culture where faeries are a big part of cultural lore. It’s a bit light but cute, with O’Brien finding much of life too exhausting and spending a lot of time resenting the commercialization of Christmas which is a common theme in this collection. A chance wish from a fairy, a cool lesbian fairy at that, seems wasted on something actually surface related like the commercialization she dislikes but ends up being a confidence boost she needs. Another Christmas romance in the books. A clever comic romp that teases at the nature–and future–of life, death and what it is to be human, without ever being ponderous”¦ [ Frankissstein is] first-rate.”— Daily Mail A perfect Christmas book for December – Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson Christmas Days – the blurb The recipe essay was fascinating and discusses how March 25th was always the legal New Year though we celebrate it on Jan 1st (oooooh, so thats why the end of the fiscal year is later). I enjoyed learning how Britain did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752 and had been 11 days off from everyone else for awhile because of it. This is also a lovely reflection on Winterson’s childhood and Mrs. Winterson using a comb and paper to sound the trumpet for the apocalypse so the family could practice what to do. I think I am going to borrow Winterson’s tradition of burning the calendar on the new year, seems fun.