Six stars
While looking for some holidays reading, I stumbled upon this book by Garrison Keillor. Marketed as a humourous look at Christmas, I was pleased to take some time to read it, in hopes that I could add some joy to the holiday season. Perhaps I grabbed the wrong book, as I found little of entertainment or humour in the piece, always waiting got the other (elfin) shoe to drop so that I could laugh aloud. Keillor appears to be trying to make a point here, but it was lost on me, in a piece that appeared to be more filled with ramblings than humorous Christmas storytelling.
James Sparrow is a wealthy man who has everything he needs in life except the Christmas spirit. He bemoans this loss throughout the early part of the story, as well as the plans he has to go to Hawaii to celebrate the holiday season with his wife. While he hopes to leave soon, James is summoned to a small North Dakota community, where his uncle is dying and needs to settle his affairs. This turn of events sends James into the middle of the American tundra, where cold is the theme of the day.
While James has everything he could want, he also has a number of phobias that resurface when he returns to his hometown. The story tells of them, as well as some of the locals he knew in his years growing up. James spends some time with family, but when a blizzard blows in there is little chance that he will be able to join his wife in the tropics. Stuck with the reality before him, James settles in for a North Dakota Christmas, where he discovers the truth about himself and the holiday season. Sounds like it could be a blast, but I think Garrison Keillor did not get the memo!
While I do enjoy Christmas stories of all sorts, I could not find myself getting connected with this book. It was either too drab or not funny at all, but I failed to connect with any part of it. The characters had potential, the story was laid out for what could have been a riot and the twists I found could have been built up for something amazing. Instead, it fell flat and I stuck around only so that I could review the book and say I made it to the end. While Garrison Keillor might be a great storyteller, this piece does not showcase this and I was rather disappointed in its inclusion in my holiday reading. Some may differ from my opinion, which I laud, as freedom of speech is so very important!
Kudos, Mr. Keillor, I hope others found something other than an oddly shaped piece of coal in this piece.
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