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    Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days
    Unavailable
    Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days
    Unavailable
    Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days
    Ebook317 pages5 hours

    Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

    By Jeanette Winterson

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? comes an enchanting collection of stories for the holiday season.

    For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales. For the Twelve Days of Christmasa time of celebration, sharing, and givingshe offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. From trees with mysterious powers to a tinsel baby that talks, philosophical fairies to flying dogs, a haunted house and a disappearing train, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Perfect for reading by the fire with loved ones, or while traveling home for the holidays. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.

    Editor's Note

    Merry spooky Christmas…

    This is not your typical Christmas story collection. Get into the supernatural spirit of the season with fun, inventive tales of flying dogs, trees with magical powers, a talking tinsel baby, a haunted house, and more. Plus, each story is paired with a seasonal recipe, like mulled wine, mince pies, and smoked salmon and champagne. Everything you need to make the holidays merry, spooky, and delicious.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGrove Press
    Release dateDec 6, 2016
    ISBN9780802189745
    Unavailable
    Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days
    Author

    Jeanette Winterson

    Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester in 1959. She read English at Oxford University before writing her first novel, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, which was published in 1985.

    Read more from Jeanette Winterson

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    Reviews for Christmas Days

    4/5

    71 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      It's Jeanette Winterson, people. I could read her shopping list and still be a happy reader. In Christmas Days we have her impeccable style and stories about Christmas. What could go wrong? If you just replied ''nothing'', you are correct.

      Jeanette Winterson offers us 12 stories and 12 recipes for the 12 days of Christmas. The stories are examples of different genres, each one written in a distinctive voice, each one with its own theme. The feature that makes this collection special are the recipies that we find scattered among the stories. Not to mention the lovely black and white illustrations that reminded me of those old-school Christmas pictures my mother used to collect when she was young.

      ''Christmas Tide''- One of the best introductions I've ever read.
      ''Spirit of Christmas''- An enstranged couple comes across a strange encounter, involving a woman and a baby...
      ''Mrs. Winterson's Mince Pies''- Recipe alert!
      ''The Snowmama''- One of the most magical stories. If you wish to feel the spirit of Christmas (yes, I know. It sounds old-fashioned, but that's the sentimental me now) then, this will melt your heart. Pun intended.
      Ruth Rendell's Red Cabbage''- A wonderful account of the friendship between Jeanette Winterson and Ruth Rendell. And a second recipe to inspire your festive table.
      ''Dark Christmas''- No Christmas collection is complete without a ghost story.This one is haunting and heart-breaking.
      ''Kathy Acker's New York Custard''- We have Kathy Acker, Jeanette Winterson and references to Dylan Thomas. And New York.
      ''Christmas in New York''- Christmas is supposed to be a time for miracles. Here, we have the miracle of love when one least expects it. It happens...
      ''My Christmas Eve Smoked Salmon and Champagne''- Recipe- My mother wanted to try this one, but she was threatened with exile from my Christmas table and a written commitment she wouldn't do it again.
      ''The Mistletoe Bride''- A true Gothic story, with hints to Jane Eyre and the Bluebird myth. Fantastic!
      ''Susie's Christmas Eve Cravlax''- Jeanette Winterson gives us a glimpse of her private life. In beautiful prose, she describes the first steps of her relationship with her wife, Susie Orbach.
      ''O'Brien's First Christmas'''- Wishes exist for Christmas'Eve after all.
      ''The Second-Best Bed''- Another eerie, haunting story. The ghosts of old friendships and of old wrong-doings.
      ''Shakespeare and Company's Chinese Dumplings''- Who hasn't spent hours browsing photos of one of the most famous bookshops in the world? Those of us who had the chance to visit it, feel a special warmth in our heart just by mentioning the name.
      ''Christms Cracker''- Stray dogs wants us to be careful what we wish for...
      ''My Mulled Wine (or No More Fruit in Main Courses) ''- Few things say ''Christmas'' better than mulled wine and gingerbread houses.
      ''A Ghost Story'''- A wintery ghost story in the ski resort of Mürren in Switzerland.
      ''Kamila Shamie's Turkey Biryani''- A rather delicious recipe.
      ''The Silver Frog''- A child's story with Dickensian flair and a heart-warming message.
      ''My New Year's Eve Cheese Crispies''- New Year's Eve reflections, memories and delicious crispies.
      ''The Lion, the Unicorn and Me''- A beautiful tale in the voice of the donkey that carried the Virgin Mary and the Holy Child to Bethlehem.
      ''My New Year's Day Steak Sandwich''- Another glimpse of Jeanette Winterson's relationship with her mother, and a recipe I'm definitely going to try.
      ''The Glow-Heart''- Arguably, the most moving story in the collection. The beauty of love, the pain of loss and the ability to start again.
      ''My Twelfth Night Fishcakes''- The last story is dedicated to the Twelfth Night, a time I personally hate. Taking down the decorations and returning to the routine always make me gloomy. I hate fish as well, but that's a different story.

      You need to read this book. Not only as a Christmas collection, but as a beautiful example of Literature. All the joys and the aches that accompany each one of us are included in short, but so layered pieces of text, written in the engaging, immediate way of Jeanette Winterson. One of the best books I've ever read.
    • 5/5
      This book was an absolute joy to read. I enjoyed all twelve stories which ranged from the downright creepy to the fantastical and funny. My intention was to skip the recipes, but they are prefaced by charming thumbnail sketches of the author's friends and family: so I read those as well. Jeanette Winterson writes effortlessly well, is comfortable with any and every genre and conveys successfully what Christmas means to her without laying it on with a trowel. A must for the Season of Goodwill, or any other time of the year.
    • 5/5
      I must confess to not being the biggest fan of short stories but when I saw this book I knew I had to have it. A mixture of 12 Christmas stories, 12 festive recipes with the tales that are associated with them, and Jeanette Winterson's own particular brand of dry wit made this an absolutely wonderful read. The stories have a whimsical, magical and spiritual feel to them. My particular favourites were The SnowMama, Dark Christmas and The Second-Best Bed. The last two were ghost stories and sometimes I find suspending belief difficult but in the case of these two I found them absolutely compelling. Of the tales of food I loved reading about Ruth Rendell's red cabbage and Mrs Winterson's mince pies. There was also a wonderful piece about the bookshop in Paris, Shakespeare & Co. The whole thing was wound up with a piece from the author herself about the last Christmas she spent with her mother and whilst it made me laugh I also felt quite sad, although Winterson has obviously come to terms with her difficult childhood. She's a truly fascinating person, in my opinion and a very talented writer.This is a charming and brilliant book and is beautifully presented as a clothbound hardback. It truly was a delight to read and I can see it being a book that comes out again at future Christmases.
    • 4/5
      This may well be the only Christmas book I read this season, and of so I am glad I chose this one. I loved every single story, though of course I had a few favorites.The Snowmama, a magical heartwarming story with a wonderful message.The Mistletoe Bride, a gothic tale of well deserved revenge.Christmas Cracker, a wonderful tale that ends with the true meaning of Christmas. The Silver Frog, a loose presentation of a Scrooge type story.The Lion, The Unicorn and me, a humorous telling of the birth of Jesus, narrated by the donkey who carried Mary.In between each story is a recipe and I also loved the stories that went with them. Here Winterson lets the reader into her life, her hardships, her new wife, Suzy Ormond and her traditions which a non Jew is now trying to blend with a Jew who does, not celebrate Christmas.
    • 4/5
      There are fantasy elements in some of these stories, and sentiment as well. Though aspects repeat, the collection is rather varied for a single author collection around a common holiday. I might be inclined to add another ½ star, but [[Jeanette Winterson]] makes a few statements as fact based more on fashionable rumor than meticulous research.
    • 2/5
      This collection features short stories and recipes/food memories. "The Mistletoe Bride" featured gothic elements and was probably my favorite story, but it seemed reminiscent of another story I read at some time. Only a couple of the recipes interested me. Most of the stories fell flat for me and didn't seem Christmas-y at all although they were all set around the holiday. Perhaps the reason for this is the author's cynicism for the holiday outlined in the book's introduction. I nearly abandoned the book in the middle of the introduction in spite of the fact the Pearl rule page point could not be invoked.
    • 4/5
      This is such an engaging surmise, a short, seasonal story followed by a seasonal recipe, complete with story. I listened to it on audio book, with the stories read by a narrator, the recipe and associated memories by the author. This works really well. The short stories are a wide range, all with a seasonal flavour. But, be warned, I spent a lot of the time with tears flowing down my face - this is not a fancy free and sugar sweet reflection on Christmas, it is about life, with all its love and loss writ large, Christmas just has a way of bringing all of life to a head. Emotion is often closer to the surface at Christmas and this just makes that really plain. It is reflective, thought provoking, sad but with moments od lightness and humour. Which is, afterall, what real life is. I've not read any of her other works, and she does cover some of her past and her relationship with both her parents and remembrance of Christmases past.
    • 4/5
      One truly haunting story and several great ones.
    • 2/5
      Perhaps I might have enjoyed this collection better had I read it in print rather than listening to it on audio; the reader is OK but has kind of an "old lady voice." It's a collection of 12 miscellaneous stories/essays/remembrances by Winterson, most of them concluding with a recipe relevant to the piece or made by one of the subjects. I didn't really feel like this was a very Christmas-y read for the holidays, and most of the "stories" were rather mundane.