Гість на Різдво. Оповідання для всієї родини

by Katherine Paterson

Збірка оповідань відомої американської дитячої письменниці Кетрін Патерсон торкається теми улюбленого усіма свята. У цій книзі - розповіді про дітей та дорослих, про життєві вибори та маленькі дива, про святкову метушню і пошук сенсу, про розбиті серця та розбиті вікна, про жданих і нежданих гостей, янголів і незнайомців, а ще про музику.

Кожне оповідання побудоване довкола якоїсь відомої колядки чи церковного гімну. Вони ніби заохочують переслухати ці пісні й глянути на них з несподіваного боку. Ця книжка буде цікавою і тим читачам, хто прагне відпочити з книжкою, забувши про турботи, і тим, хто шукає за глибокими роздумами, готуючись до Різдва.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Fiction, Christian, Holiday, Contemporary, Anthologies

206 pages, Hardcover

First published August 16, 2013

About the author

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975–1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are about fifteen short stories that make up this unique Christmas collection. My two star doesn't mean that I hated it, it's just that the majority of it was just "ok" for me. There were a few stories that I actually really liked, but the majority of the others were just ok for me. (I think I'm in a reading slump and it has effected my enjoyment.) Anyway, there were maybe two cuss words used, too, which sort of shocked me because the author said these were stories she wrote and her husband read them from the pulpit at Christmas time. Maybe those were ones that were just published?
My final thoughts on this collection is this: these really are unique and culturally diverse stories that many will enjoy the creative writing style that was penned. I truly loved the first story, it was my absolute favorite.

[katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh.

most of the stories were sweet but some of them were terribly written and boring. i know it’s hard to write well-developed characters in a short story but some of the characters were unbearably flat.

nothing special 💫 3 stars

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katherine Paterson was one of my favorite authors growing up, so when I saw this short story collection being offered for free on Kindle, I grabbed it immediately. I love Christmas-themed short stories because they just feel perfect for this time of year.

I admit, I was pleasantly surprised by these stories. These are no cookie-cutter stories, but rather offer a variety of settings and diverse characters. Mary tells the story of her child's birth; a prisoner in Communist China dares to defy her captors by reading the Bible; a wealthy woman, poor in spirit, is befriended by a young boy. Some of the stories are more lighthearted, while others are very poignant and moving. There is a great mix in this collection. Often I would sit down to read only one story, and end up reading two or three. They were short, but so well-written. Like any collection, I preferred some over others, but overall, this was a wonderful set of stories.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not love all these stories. It is extremely difficult, after all, to write a "new" story about Christmas AND almost impossible to write one that is not sentimental nonsense. Paterson does an admirable job of trying! Some of these would be great read-alouds at a family gathering. A couple are laugh-out-loud funny. The last one (title story) is definitely the best.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paterson's husband is a minister and these are stories she wrote to be read on Christmas Eve in her Church over the years. They have all been previously published in various collections, but are all gathered together here in one place for the first time. These are sweet, gentle stories that pull at the heart-strings, some a little too hard. Paterson is a wonderful writer so I found all the stories readable, many of them were just too soppy and sugar-coated for my tastes. Almost, but not all, do make mention of Christ and these are generally decidedly Christian stories. Though there are a couple with just a general Christmas theme. The stories averaged out to 3.5* but the book in general is more of a 3 for me. People who will get the most out of the book, enjoy it most, will be those who attend a church with a minister/pastor who has a wife and small family.

After browsing through the stories again now, regardless of how I rated them when I read them, the ones that stay with me are: Merit Badges, Broken Windows and my Name is Joseph.

1. Exultate Jubilate (1995) - A typical Christmas grump of a Dad who decides not to attend Church with the family this year and while home alone a mysterious stranger arrives. The stranger invites himself in and they end up with Mozart's Kyrie on the stereo and the Dad has a change of heart about the spirit of Christmas. A tender story. (3/5)

2. Star Lady (1995) - A story about bringing the love and joy of God to the old and poor no matter how poor you are yourself. Is a nice story with a heartfelt message but gets rather mixed up with the second message the author is trying to tell. The second message is that irreverent happy clappy churches are much more "fun" than traditional churches which revere and worship the trinity with adoration. The old lady and I are quite happy with our choir singing "Alleluia"s thank you very much. (2.5/5)

3. In the Desert, a Highway (1995) - Lovely story. Set on the cusp of the Cultural Revolution in China, an old man saves a woman's life and she says she will do anything for him. He comes to her that night confessing to be a Christian and so she begins to read his Bible to the illiterate man. This is an act punishable by death if they were ever caught. Eventually they end up in a re-education camp and the Sacred Word brings them each peace in different way. Touching! (4/5)

4. On the Night of His Birth: Mary's Story (1985) - Just a few pages long, a lovely story to read on Christmas. Mary is awake and musing on her new born babe and the circumstances in which she finds herself. (4/5)

5. Angels and Other Strangers (1979) - A white woman stuck in a snow storm on Christmas Eve is helped by a black man. She is afraid of him, thinking he may have bad motives but her little boy thinks he is an angel. (3/5)

6. Merit Badges (1995) - A girl scout gets "bushwhacked" into visiting a senior at a nursing home during the Christmas season. She ends up liking her old lady but the two of them run into a problem when the rules say that minors are not allowed to visit unchaperoned. A very sweet story about the meaning of joy. (4/5)

7. Guests (1979) - Same simple, lovely quality story as most of the others here. A pastor in WWII Japan is alone, his secret congregation has diminished to none, his wife and children killed by allied bombs. Then that next Christmas he celebrates the service alone and halfway through a little Korean girl (Koreans were brought over as slave workers by the Japanese) sneaks in and he introduces her to the King. (3/5)

8. Watchman, Tell Us of the Night (1995) - A night security watchman out of the habit of prayer because of the downward trend of his circumstances prays for a miracle while working Christmas Eve. He learns first hand that Christmas really is about Jesus. Another sweet story. (3/5)

9. Why the Chimes Almost Rang (19??) - A little girl tries to make something really special happen on Christmas Eve at Church but knows nothing like that is bound to happen for real when she stumbles upon a homeless woman and her little boy stealing food from the food closet for the needy. Quite moving and my favourite in the collection so far. (5/5)

10. Broken Windows (1979) - This one is a cut above the others in being more than just sweet it manages to have a sincere message. An aging pastor is having a hard time writing his Christmas Eve sermon which he wants to base Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart, These, O God, You will not despise." He ends up meeting a very poor mother and children and having a revelation about the words of the creed "he descended into hell". Well written. (5/5)

11. My Name Is Joseph (1995) - A tribal member from high in the hills tells his story from boyhood in the mountains of Central America in a village with a Catholic Priest. Joseph (Jose)'s life story takes him many places with many feelings towards God and faith until eventually his life is comparable to the Holy Family's as a network of nuns and priests smuggles his family and pregnant wife through Mexico across the US border. A reminder of the Christ child's birth. Eloquent. (5/5)

12. Woodrow Kennington Works Practically a Miracle (1979) - Another nice quaint story. A five year old is hard put out when a new baby comes home. The older brother, twelve, is very accepting but sets out to help the young sister adjust. She goes from one extreme of being bad-tempered to overly religious until there first Christmas Eve with the baby, when she learns the love of family. (4/5)

13. No Room in the Inn (1995) - I just keep saying the stories are lovely at this point and this one is as well. Country folks in a diner during a storm just before Christmas are worried about Armenians suffering through an earthquake they've just heard about on the news but they are so caught up in their own selves they miss the people most in need right upon their own doorstep. (4/5)

14. The Handmaid of the Lord (1995) - I can't say I liked this one. Some people may find it sweet and charming but I'm more cynical. A little girl feels badly done to this whole year that her new baby brother is born, she's minister's daughter, 3rd of 4 children and doesn't have a good New Testament name like the others. She's upset at God, moans and whines, and wants a big part in the pageant. Doesn't get it of course, then something happens and she has to fill in and she's filled with righteousness at the end. Blah! (2/5)

15. A Stubborn Sweetness (1995) - A soppy story story of an embittered dying father and his alienated son both finding their way back to God. Meh. (2.5/5)

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not going to say a lot about the content of this book as each story is wonderful. There are thirteen short stories all set at Christmas. They feature a variety of people from a department store watchman, a lonely widower, a pregnant teenage runaway, a political prisoner in China, a grieving mother, a privileged American, and even Mary and Joseph. Each of them has lost something of their Christmas cheer and/or faith and something happens to bring back the true meaning of Christmas. This is a faith based book and I absolutely loved it. I can't believe it took me so long to read this book, but I know it will be one that I will revisit again. Katherine Paterson wrote these songs for her pastor husband to use from the pulpit and I can just imagine sitting in those pews listening to these stories. This would make a perfect book to use as an advent study. I recommend it to anyone looking to read about personal Christmas Experiences and how they affected people.

[Julie Zilkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book of short stories. We enjoyed once each morning, and that last one was best of all...I couldn't finish for some time because of the tears that welled up and my voice that wouldn't read before I sat for a few moments. I am always amazed at the power of a simple sentence...in this case a mere seven words that have the power to illicit so much emotion. The privilege of being human and created in the image of God is so evident in the small miracle of good literature bringing this kind of reaction to me.

[Mary Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book of short stories given me by friends last Christmas. Well written. Some stories I enjoyed more than others.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm and enchanting, each of these short stories are full of the spirit, love and joy of the Christmas season. From the young child who offers his friendship to an older woman and teaches her the true joy of the season to the story of a lonely widower who finds joy, each story will touch your heart in a special way. Read a story a day, feel the warmth over and over.

A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season by the Award-Winning author, Katherine Paterson makes a perfect gift for yourself or someone you know who will love these special thoughts of the season!

I received a review copy from Westminster John Knox Press in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: August 30, 2013 (Hardcover) August 16, 2013 (eBook)
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780664239152
Genre: Holiday Fiction
Page Count: 147
Available from: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.

[Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, these are just what you'd expect: short stories about people realizing the true spirit of Christmas. A few of them rose to a 4-star level for me and there were a few characters I really liked.

I probably shouldn't even rate collections of short stories as that is not one of my favorite formats, but if you like short stories you will probably like this more than I did.

Note: I received a free e-galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of Christmas stories is great for reflecting more on the meaning of the season. Two of my favorite stories were "Star Lady" because of the contrast between the young boy and the recently-retired woman and "Angels and Other Strangers" where again a young boy's actions put things into perspective for adults. In true Paterson fashion, there is also a story set in China during the Cultural Revolution.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encouraging collection of short stories.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this one on my to-read list for too long so I decided this was the Christmas when I was finally going to read these short stories. I gave it a three-star rating because of the fifteen stories included only three of them grabbed me like I wanted. The interesting thing I am seeing as I read through other reviews is that everyone has different favorites from these stories, so, it is clear, what touches me likely will not touch you. The stories are all well written, there are moments when I almost felt as though I was reading something written by one of my favorites, Pearl S. Buck. I do recommend the book. For the record, my three favorites are On the Night of His Birth: Mary's Story, Broken Windows, and A Stubborn Sweetness (this one does deal with dementia so be prepared for that).

"As he stood at the pulpit, even Wayne was smiling up at him, waiting to hear the Christmas story of God who not only accepts the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, but of God who is himself broken.
He descended into Hell. Philip didn't say so aloud, but suddenly he knew what the words meant. Born in a stinking barn, friend of the poor, the prostitute, the thief - broken at last on a cross. He descended into Hell. And just for a while, maybe for just this once in Philip's usually proper and comfortable life, God had let him be there, too."

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its author, Katherine Paterson, a award winning children's author who writes books that stick with you. This book of short stories, written over a period of years as a story to read at Christmas Eve church services is relatively short. As I often find with short stories, some of the stories I really liked and some not so much. That is the joy of short stories, you can read them one at a time and if you like one you move quickly ahead expecting the same from the next one. If you don't like one, you expect that you'll like the next one better! Although all of the stories are built around Christmas in some sense they are quite different from each other ranging from stories set in communist China to small town America. Some seem a little dated (the one set during the Cultural Revolution in China made me wonder how long since I had read a story with that setting but it turned out to be one of my favorites). So many of us get too busy during the holiday season; this book gives you a chance to take a little time out and savor the reasons we celebrate Christmas.

[Marisa Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only Katherine Paterson would write short stories for her husbands Christmas Eve service that would be read aloud and include: estranged father- son relationships, illegal immigrants, communist China , and so much more.
These short stories immediately pull you in and love these characters. How she connects it to the Christmas is masterful. She is the queen of having characters help others who are definitely hard to love.

Beautiful

Simple

Thought provoking

I’m reading her bio done by Gary Schmidt next.

[Nikole (literarily_occupied) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐ / 3 stars

I appreciated these short stories for what they were; little reminders of the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to be uplifted by the spirit of Christmas.

A few of them I really enjoyed and some not as much; however, I feel that they would fit better in a group setting to be read and discussed one story at a time (as they were originally intended) rather than read all at once by an individual.

[Molly Grimmius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Katherine. For years, she would write a story to be read on Christmas Eve at the church her husband was a pastor at. Her stories are beautiful and hard and run the gambit of post nuclear bomb in Japan, communist China, immigrants illegally coming to America and pastor’s kids that don’t feel loved at all. They all hold beauty and truth and leave you thinking. Loved reading these and revisiting some I had already read.

[Fraser Coltman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of Christmas stories is peopled by richly drawn characters. The author displays her love for children and young people in stories of a Christmas pageant, and Girl Scout who befriends a senior while making a required visit at seniors’ home.

These are not stories about some spirit of Christmas that makes all end well. These bear witness to present of Christ’s Spirit quietly at work in the lives of people to give them a clearer sense that life is filled with stubborn sweetness God’s mercy and kindness through His Son, Jesus Christ.

[Carrie Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, real life stories.

Short, but sweet Christmas stories reflecting real life situations. Small, unexpected miracles seem happen more often during the Christmas season, if we are paying close attention.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

most of the stories are from her earlier books, Angels and other Strangers, and A Midnight Clear. There are 2 new stories. I'm glad these are back in print though -- a powerful, unique book. In some ways, they are children's stories, and in some ways they are for all of us.

[Kathryn Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Katherine Paterson's writing. I like how she writes in a sparse way but communicates so much. This is a collection of short stories written over many years to be read in her church during advent and christmastime. I loved it.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Christmas book is a compilation of 15 very short stories about different people and their Christmas experiences. A few of them are very good reads and the rest are just so-so. It was an okay read.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection of short stories (and inspirational without being overly preachy)

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, feel good Christmas stories - exactly what I'd expected!

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just bad.

[Sheila Dailie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the stories were sweetly thought provoking. A couple seemed deeply disturbing though Katherine’s hallmark of hope was present in every story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful Christmas read!

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

deeply moving short stories that capture the heart of Christmas in many different circumstances and countries.

[Rich Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like reading a collection of Hallmark Channel Christmas movies.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like it—dnf