Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

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My favorite short stories were those about a snowperson come to life and restoring hope for a young girl and her mother (‘The Snowmama’); a nativity story told from the point of view of a very special animal (‘The Lion, the Unicorn and Me’); and a touching story about the bereavement of a loved one at Christmastime (‘The Glow-Heart’). 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. For the Twelve Days of Christmas—a time of celebration, sharing, and giving—she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. I’ve not read Jeanette Winterson’s writing before this lovely and imaginative collection of short stories and personal essays. Jeanette Winterson is consistently engaging, but I did find the essays to be more memorable and inventive than the stories.

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

Even in a story I didn't particularly enjoy, I highlighted many quotes that spoke to me, really beautiful thoughts that gave me pause. Reconciliation is a big theme in this book, and Winterson long journey through addressing her childhood is always in the periphery in her books. Scatter yourself like balls of mercury wherever you please and be sure to cause trouble from the moment you hear the first scream. Religious festivals are “ time outside of time” and teach us to look out for miracles, which are unexpected and often inconvenient intrusions in space-time, seasoned with fate and chance. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit was a fictionalised account that brought her to fame (my brief review HERE).

Winterson has written thirteen novels for adults and two previous collections of short stories, as well as children's books, non-fiction and screenplays. And normally I would not say that a book should be judged on its looks, but this book is absolutely gorgeous, with red page numbers and colored illustrations. I hate the taste and texture of cooked cheese, but Winterson’s attitude to the change of year is inspirational.

Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson review - The Guardian

Whatever the reason, there was a drill to Christmas, from making the mincemeat for the mince pies to singing carols to, or rather at, the unsaved of Accrington. Zile de Crăciun" , cuprinde douăsprezece scrieri ce conțin teme despre familie, dar si povești cu stafii, cu un aer gotic amestecat cu crâmpeie din viața de zi cu zi.I use, but don’t read cookery books, and to my surprise, the musings on food, festivities, and ritual (4*) were far better than most of the stories (2* - 3*), some of which felt more suited to Halloween. 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.

CHRISTMAS DAYS | Kirkus Reviews CHRISTMAS DAYS | Kirkus Reviews

I expected something fluffy and lame to be honest, but this was totally different than what I was expecting. 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.Frankissstein is intellectually bracing and sexually explicit; a historical literary romp and a futuristic thriller. Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson is published by Jonathan Cape. But so much else is so structurally coy that real effects are muted and disadvantaged: O'Brien is writing a book more about earnestness than about war, and the peekaboos of this isn't really me but of course it truly is serve no true purpose. She has won a Whitbread Prize for a First Novel, a BAFTA Award for Best Drama, the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, the E.