A Very French Christmas: The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time)

Very Christmas #2

by Guy de Maupassant, Alphonse Daudet, Anatole France

Joyeux Noë “[An]endearing collection of Christmas stories from ten of France’s most esteemed writers―past and present―skillfully translated.” ―Foreword Reviews   This collection brings together the best French Christmas stories of all time, featuring classics by Guy de Maupassant and Alphonse Daudet, plus stories by the esteemed twentieth century authors Irène Némirovsky and Nobel Prize winner Anatole France and contemporary writers Dominique Fabre and Jean-Philippe Blondel. With a holiday spirit conveyed through sparkling Paris streets, opulent feasts, wandering orphans, kindly monks, homesick soldiers, oysters, crayfish, ham, bonbons, flickering desire, and more than a little wine, this collection encapsulates Christmas à la française—delicious, intense and unexpected.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, France, Fiction, Holiday, Classics, Anthologies

179 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer. He is one of the fathers of the modern short story. A protege of Flaubert, Maupassant's short stories are characterized by their economy of style and their efficient effortless dénouement. He also wrote six short novels. A number of his stories often denote the futility of war and the innocent civilians who get crushed in it - many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s.

Reviews

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this collection of short stories when looking to see if any more English translation of Irene Nemirvosky's books. I was sold when I saw her included but several other authors would have had me bite anyhow!

A brief description below of each short story--

*The Gift by Jean Philippe Blondel (2017) A man in his seventies looking at his life and his thoughts on his family on Christmas. (I thought this one was interesting and like it)

*St. Anthony and his Pig by Paul Arene (1880) A hermit tells of tempation, his Pig and the devil. (Good)

* The Louis D'or by Francois Coppee (1893). A gambler penniless takes money from a cold homeless young girl. (I loved this one!)

*Christmas in Algiers by Anatole Le Braz (1897) A soldier's vision on Christmas Eve.

*The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolfe by Francois Coppee (1889) A little poor boy's kindness rewarded. (Great story)

*Christmas Eve by Guy de Maupassant (1882) A writer with writer's block looks to find a well filled out female and what it brings! (A great story)

*Christmas at the Boarding School by Dominique Fabre (2017) A boy who rather go back home to his own country but must stay in France. (My least favorite, it seemed a little too choppy, but I did read it)

*Salvette and Bernadou by Alphonse Daucet (1873) Two soldiers in the hospital and thinking of home during the Christmas. (Heart breaking)

*A Christmas Supper in the Marais by Alphonse Daudet (1872) A manufacturer sees spirits in his seltzer plant.

*A Miracle by Guy de Maupassant (1882) A doctor witnesses a miracle.

*I Take Supper with My Wife by Antoine Gustave Droz (1870) A married couple and their life.

*The Lost Child by Francois Coppee (1892) A banker learns about life when his son is missing on Christmas Eve. (Loved this one)

*The Juggler of Notre Dame by Anatole France (1892) A juggler lives a life with monks. This story sounded familiar from OTR (Old Time Radio - Family Theater- The Juggler of Our Lady-December 24, 1947).
https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com...

*Noel by Irene Nemirovsky (unknown) A story written like a movie being shown to the reader. I don't think I have ever read a book written this way. It is not a play, you just have to read to understand completely. I was wondering how Irene would write a Christmas story and after reading, this is it exactly! Irene is able to capture reality of human nature that is not so often flattering but certainly engaging and one hopes life is better but often times it is not and Irene captures this. A family on Christmas Eve and Day with the drama of life. (My favorite)

[Kristyn - Reading to Unwind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story collection like none I have ever read before. A few of the stories are uplifting towards the end of them and some gave me a lot to think about. I also want it to be Christmas time after reading the book.
My favorite story was in the beginning of the book with the old man who is out with his family. He goes into portions of his life and how it went wrong with him and his deceased wife. I loved getting his reflection back on life and how he came to be sitting with his family. The author did a great job even going into the dynamic of the family it was only a short story, but it felt very memorable and a lot longer. The ending of the story is adorable and really makes me believe in fate. This was an excellent addition to the Christmas story collection.

Each story has a different meaning and is written in a different style. I found some of the stories harder to follow along with than others, but overall the stories where great with very profound lessons. Each story is unique in it's own right and they don't really have to be read in any particular order.

I enjoyed the bits and pieces of the older French culture that came through the book. A large amount of the stories are set in the past and it was great to read about life in that time period in France. I liked how the stories where also dated so you could tell the time period of when the story was taking place.

I would suggest this as a great nighttime read around Christmas time right when you are getting in the spirit of the holidays. I would also suggest this could be a book for a middle school reader, although some of the topics where tougher I think it has a lot of valuable Christmas lessons to learn.

I received a copy of this book from France Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion of this book.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ran across this “Very Christmas” series when I was looking for shorter books with a holiday theme. I’m not clear on whether or not these are well known stories in their country of origin or if they are just written by authors who are from that country. Most of these stories are written and set in the 19th century. They end rather abruptly and aren’t too cheerful. It will be interesting to compare these story collections from country to country. 2.5 stars for this one.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Experience Christmas as you have never before, with this unique, very French short story collection.

As you would know if you are familiar with French literature in general, the French cannot be described as the most optimistic people in the world. If there’s a yes, there’s always a BUT shortly after. This reflects as well in this collection of Christmas short stories, which makes it quite unique! If you want something different for your next Christmas, ask Santa to bring you A Very French Christmas: The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time.

my full review is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2017/08/11/...

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this set of short Christmas stories from France. They all had something to offer. I really liked the one with the grandfather and the kid...that was a sweet one.

[Carola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I even bother to finish this book?
Not recommended.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very French Christmas is a collection of fourteen short stories from various authors. These stories include:
The Gift by Jean-Philippe Blondel
St. Anthony and His Pig by Paul Arène
The Louis D'Or by François Coppée
Christmas in Algiers by Anatole Le Braz
The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolff by François Coppée
Christmas Eve by Guy de Maupassant
Christmas at the Boarding School by Dominique Fabre
Salivate and Bernadou by Alphonse Daudet
A Christmas Supper in the Marais by Alphonse Daudet
A Miracle by Guy de Maupassant
I Take Supper With My Wife by Antoine Gustave Droz
The Lost Child by François Coppée
The Juggler of Notre Dame by Anatole France
NOËL by Irène Némirovsky

 A Very French Christmas is quite different from other Christmas books I have read. Each story is only about to 5-15 pages long, making it easy to continue on to the next story, and hard to put the book down. There were a couple of the stories I did not care for but enjoyed most of them. They are fun, interesting, heartwarming, inspiring, delightful, magical, compelling, and even sometimes funny. I loved learning more about French culture during Christmas time.
My favorite story of the collection is I Take Supper With My Wife by Antoine Gustave Droz. I thought it was a cute and charming little story. I found myself chuckling a couple of times reading it.
If a reader is looking for a quick and different Christmas read, I think A Very French Christmas would be a perfect addition to their to read or wish list.
I give this book 4 stars.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ridiculous. I'm sure it seems ridiculous. I've just read A Very French Christmas: The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time. I'm not in France. And it most certainly isn't December.

What's going on?

There are some people who always send you to the good books. Emma, of the blog, Words and Peace, and the organizer of France Book Tours, always sends me to the good books. I just couldn't resist a book of French Christmas stories. Even in August.

So why should you hear about A Very French Christmas? You, especially you, who are not a fan of stories about France or (even) Christmas?

That's easy to answer. A Very French Christmas is really about France or Christmas. Yes, there's a definite French-ish feel to the stories, and all of them have a little dash of Christmas in them. But these aren't baked-potato-loaded-with-French-Christmas-fixings stories. No one really likes those sorts of stories, do they? These are not French stories. These are not Christmas stories. They are just good stories.


(Spoiler alert)
The first story in the book, for example, is a story of a man who really doesn't like Christmas. It's his wife who likes it, his wife who makes him get together with the family every year, to celebrate with food he doesn't care for and gifts he doesn't want. And he does so every year, even after his wife is long passed away. Until the Christmas comes where his wife gives him one last Christmas gift, a gift he is very happy about.


Yes, these are good stories. More than that, they are remarkably good stories. So good that I think I'll go back and read them again.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

« He recalls the celebration of Christmas, which in our beautiful land of Provence is like a bonfire lighted in the heart of winter. He thinks of the walk home after midnight Mass, of the bedecked and luminous churches, the dark and crowded village streets, then the long evening around the table, the three traditional torches, the aïoli, the dish of snails, the pretty ceremony of the cacho fio, the Yule log, which the grandfather parades through the house and sprinkles with mulled wine »

Not bad for a collection of Christmas stories - but also not great...the usual - hearts softened, poor rewarded, miracles and kindnesses shared...but despite some illustrious French authors nothing particularly novel and memorable...

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of Christmas stories written by ten French authors including Guy de Maupassant, Victor Hugo, Anatole France, Irene Nemirovsky and others. Some were poignant but several were depressing rather than uplifting and celebratory as I had expected.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may be naive, but I believe that Christmas stories should be uplifting. Most of these were very much not.

[Stephanie Dagg · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s French about it

Short story collections by assorted authors can be hit and miss. Harnessing together authors from different periods with very different writing styles is quite risky. The logic behind such an enterprise is, I imagine, to seek to introduce the reader to a variety of writing united by some common theme or themes – as here where we have two in Frenchness and Christmas – at the same time bearing in mind that not everyone is going to like everything, but should at least like something! This book presents us with an excellent selection of festive French literature that I think will please and interest the vast majority of readers.
The Frenchness emerges in various ways in the anthology. France has long been thought of as a bastion of male chauvinism, something reflected in the language itself. Get one guy and a thousand girls together and you have to refer to them as ‘ils’ because of that one man! Times are changing, however, if slowly, but it was rather disappointing to see just one female author included in this anthology. Yes, it’s a long story/screenplay but it’s still just one as opposed to nine male authors. The lone female is Irène Némirovsky, of Ukranian Jewish origin, lived half her lifetime in France and wrote in French, but was refused French citizenship. Had she been awarded it, this prolific author might have avoided being arrested as a stateless Jew on 13 July 1942, despite having converted to Roman Catholicism, and sent to Auschwitz where she died just over a month later. It is thus very poignant and powerful to find her work included in this French anthology, since her adopted country let her down.
Other Frenchness emerges in how Christmas isn’t overly romanticised in any of the stories. In many, it’s mainly a background. This is how Noël is in this country. There isn’t the crazy hype starting in October that you get in other countries. There’s an air of restraint about it, but nonetheless, a good time is had by all. There is also a clear focus on eating during the festive season, and this emerges in many of the stories. The importance of food is one French stereotype that holds firm! But there are some small helpings of magic and wishful thinking, a crucial part of Christmas.
Straight talking is another Frenchness. No beating around the bush. Thus it’s a little startling and uncomfortable, for Western European readers at least, to come across an African character called Black Jo in one of the stories. It’s not offensively motivated, it’s who he is to the other boys at the school, and as the narrator of the story comes to know the boy better, he begins to call him Jo or Joseph.
But all these Frenchisms, together with the variety of writing we are offered, give a good impression of the country’s historical and present culture.
These are the stories and authors:
The Gift – Jean-Philippe Blondel (b.1964) Relationships and loneliness at Christmas.
St Anthony and his Pig – Paul Arène (1843-96) Great fun this one! St Anthony struggles with terrible temptation.
The Louis d’Or – François Coppée (1842-1908) A gambler seeks redemption.
Christmas in Algiers – Anatole La Braz (1859-1926) A soldier far from home attends a midnight mass with a difference.
The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolff – François Coppée (1842-1908) A touching tale, the most Christmassy of them all.
Christmas Eve – Guy de Maupassant (1850-93) The moral of this story is don’t pick up a pregnant prostitute on Christmas Eve…
Christmas at the Boarding School – Dominique Fabre (b.1960) A young African boy in France, because of ‘events’ faces Christmas far from home.
Salvette and Bernadou – Alphonse Daudet (1840-97) Two imprisoned French soldiers remember the Breton Christmases of their youth.
A Christmas Supper in the Marais – Alphonse Daudet (1840-97) A Christmas ghost story – or just too much wine for Christmas supper?
A Miracle by Guy de Maupassant (1850-93) Evil spirits at Christmastime.
I Take Supper with my Wife – Antoine Gustave Droz (1832-95) Husband and wife share a playful Christmas Eve supper.
The Lost Child – François Coppée (1842-1908) A sweet Christmas miracle.
The Juggler of Notre Dame – Anatole France (the pseudonym of Jacques Anatole Thibault 1844-1924) Another religious miracle based on a medieval legend.
Noël – Irène Némirovsky (1903-42) Bittersweet undercurrents during a Christmas party held by affluent Parisians.
The book makes for an interesting and quite challenging read, will make Christmas more multi-cultural and will, I hope, tempt readers to discover more French writers after sampling the writing in this anthology.
My only gripe is with the subtitle – in my opinion it’s a little rash to claim things are the ‘greatest’ but it gets attention I suppose, and it’s acceptable ‘puff’. However, I think the anthology would have worked just as well without it. Clearly the stories are selected because the editing team considers them to be exceptionally good and worthy of inclusion, and thus it’s implicit that there is merit in reading them. I suspect an anthology of awful stories not worth reading has yet to be published…
I also take slight issue with the ‘of all time’ label as three of our ten authors were born in the twentieth century, and all the other seven in the nineteenth from 1832 onwards. But since some of the stories refer to earlier times and we come right up to the present, then we do get a taste of many ages.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy and warm collection of short stories from French authors primarily from the late 19th century and the last few years. Some were more memorable than others but all evoked the Christmas spirit. I think my favorite was the last tale, Noel.

[Lucy Pollard-Gott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very French Christmas: The Greatest French Holiday Stories of All Time is a joy to hold and page through, as it is beautifully produced–not surprising since it comes from New Vessel Press. This collection of fourteen stories derives primarily from the late nineteenth century, the heyday of Christmas stories, one might say, given the popularity of annual Christmas tales from Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and others. But A Very French Christmas feels very French, and also very fresh, owing to the inclusion of a long story by twentieth-century writer Irène Némirovsky and new stories by contemporary writers Jean-Philippe Blondel and Dominique Fabre, commissioned expressly for this book. Although these stories can be sentimental and heartwarming at times, many of them have a bracing quality, taking an ironic view of holiday celebrations, and exploring the way people’s desires and expectations for the season can be confounded.  This is equally true of the older stories.

The collection opens with a new story, “The Gift,” by Jean-Philippe Blondel, who is known for his recent, well-received novel, The 6:41 to Paris.  Like that novel, this story presents another unexpected meeting between a man and woman, this time at a Christmas luncheon. 

In this very strong collection, I found all the stories to be fascinating, just as the book’s subtitle promises.  The Christmas themes are treated with a refreshing originality and variety, and I can imagine returning to reread this collection for many Christmases to come.

For my full review, including discussion of stories by Guy de Maupassant, Anatole France, and others, visit The Fictional 100.

*Note:* I received a copy of this book free of charge from the publisher.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am ashamed to admit I don’t have enough experience of reading the great French authors, so with contributions from names like Guy de Maupassant, François Coppée and Anatole France I thought this collection of short stories would be a perfect introduction and I wasn’t disappointed.

This selection of Christmas tales was full of beautifully written pieces, where the descriptions of winter helped to cool me down on a hot summer day, although I wasn’t really filled with the Christmas cheer I was expecting. These traditional tales set in years gone by often reminded me of Dickens. Many of the stories seemed to show how lonely Christmas can be for some; the old man struggling to fit in with his family, the hermit and his pig, the young gambler bankrupt on Christmas Eve, the dying soldier far from home and the wealthy but lonely merchant are just a few examples to be found, along with a good smattering of ghostly apparitions and orphans. They were certainly stories that made me think and I enjoyed this different perspective.

Culturally I learned a lot and was certainly glad to make my acquaintance of some of France’s great writers. I am looking forward to re-reading this book nearer the festive season and now that I’ve dipped my toes into the literature of some of France’s greats, I’m keen to read more.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very interesting to read the style of Christmas stories written in the late 19th century. These 14 short stories are so finely written, that a only a few pages convey the real feeling. Already then, many people believed less in religion and yet they wittnessed Miracles. I was so amazed to read these stories were from 1892. One story said, the snow was 5 foot deep, a most unusual amount. But, the story "Christmas in Algiers" by Anatole Le Braz (1859-1926), written by a soldier could have been written today. "...one feels his way across the muddy roads, for the tradition of snow-white Christmases is dead; the seasons have changed their habits, like us men." It is 2020 now and we have no snow this year for Christmas, so we think a new problem, climate change is the reason.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was up and down for me. A couple of the stories were great, festive and thoughtful, quiet and heartwarming. More were sad, dark and showed a starker side of humanity. And there was one that was so horrid and racist I couldn’t finish it. Maybe some were perfectly French, but not for me. I did like the #audio narration.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories were interesting and cute. I read this on Christmas eve with my teenage daughters and they loved it. I left it on display in my living room for Christmas and my mother in law read and liked it too. Very entertaining.

[Athena Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

so sad!!! didn't really fill me with the "joy" of Christmas

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I saw Guy de Maupassant and got excited. Now I'm just disappointed.

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of 14 classic French Christmas short stories is a true delight to read on the cold nights of December by the light of the Christmas tree. The stories range from fanciful to fantasy and all are meant to touch hearts with the joy and wonder of the season—except for the few that skewer the season.

Featured authors include by Guy de Maupassant, Jean-Philippe Blondel, Paul Arène, François Coppée, Anatole Le Braz, Dominique Fabre, Alphonse Daudet, Antoine Gustave Droz, Anatole France, and Irène Némirovsky.

Three of my favorites:
• "The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolfe," by François Coppée is the story of an orphaned seven-year-old boy named Wolfe who lives with a wicked aunt who barely clothes and feeds him. He is bullied by his schoolmates. On Christmas Eve when his school class is led out of the church following midnight Mass, Wolfe has a wonderous and enchanting encounter with the Christ child.

• "The Gift," by Jean-Philippe Blondel is the story of two long lost lovers, who meet again in their old age in a most serendipitous and splendid way.

• "Noël," by Irène Némirovsky is like a sword to the soul. It opens by asking the reader to read the story as if it were being viewed as a film. A wealthy, upper class French family—mama, papa, two older daughters in their early 20s, and two younger children—are living in opulence and celebrating a storybook Christmas. But underneath the surface, much is terribly, horribly wrong. The parents are both having affairs, and one of the older daughters is pregnant (and not married). The disgrace!

[Silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not care for the conventional modern Christmas stories. They are frankly to warm and fuzzy, sentimental, and often romance oriented for my tastes.

Thus I like to go on a quest to find holiday themed books that break the convention and offer something different and unexpected.

This one caught my eye for a few reasons. For one because it is French and in addition to enjoying French literature as a whole I was curious as to how they would portray the holiday. Second I was intrigued by the fact that it was a mix of both contemporary and classical authors. Finally I was sold upon seeing that Guy de Maupassant was one of the contributors.

I have to say the collection did not disappoint. It was all that I would have hoped for. Some of the stories were sentimental and did espouse traditional messages as to the meaning of Christmas. But on the whole the tone of many of the stories was more ironical and satirical. These were not gushy feel good stories ( which for me was a big positive) and some of them were rather bleak and stark ( again coming from me that is a compliment).

While some stories I certainly found more outstanding than others across the board the writing was strong and usually rather clever.

[Jessica Stevens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish, mainly because I can't stand stories glorifying infidelity.

I am reviewing the first A Very French Christmas, not this one, though Goodreads won't let me add another book with the first edition. I would probably finish it if this edition had a story by Victor Hugo in it.

I only read the first story. I appreciate the old man's way of speaking and addressing the issue that he's been moved to only "Grandpa" and is almost just an ornament at the holidays, as unfortunately so many of our elders are. The young them are still there. One only has to take the time to find them.

However, the story was a major turn off because he obviously had an affair on his wife with some feminista he worked with, whom he meets at the end of his life one more time. Lol she talks about how she hates how men only keep her as an obligatory ornament, and is only truly good for sexual appeasement. BUT THEN SHE GOES AND HAS SEX WITH A DUDE SHE WORKS WITH! Lol. Ugh. And of course, she's the one he's passionate about because wow, he's unfaithful. Duh.

Anyway, some people like these kinds of stories. I do not. So, I will read no further.

Grade: F.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading all the Christmas short stories I can get my hands on for a number of years--especially classic ones--so most anthologies tend to be full of stories I've read many times over (which is not necessarily a bad thing). But I was especially excited about finding this audiobook, because I don't read much French literature, and all the stories in it were new to me.

Turns out, there are good reasons why I don't read a lot of French lit.

Some of the stories were sweet, and some of them involved a secretly pregnant prostitute giving birth in our unsuspecting main character's bed on Christmas Eve. (I'll take "Plot Twists I Didn't See Coming" for $500, Alex.)

I am glad to have found a book full of new-to-me Christmas stories, but it's one I probably won't be returning to anytime soon.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent selection of short stories, all by talented and famous French authors. However, if you’re looking for happy Christmas stories to soothe your soul, you might not find what you’re looking for here, although François Coppée’s “The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolfe” and his “The Lost Child” do have the special magic of Christmas in them and Antoine Gustave Droz’s “I Take Supper with My Wife” is quite sweet. Many of the stories mention that Santa is not real which seems a travesty in a Christmas story. Superb writing, however. Even includes two stories from my favorite short story writer, Guy de Maupassant, but these particular two are not my favorite of his (his ghost stories are better). So, this collection is worth reading if you want to lose yourself in gorgeous writing but be forewarned that they’ll include despair, suicide attempts, affairs etc in addition to holiday customs.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is too gorgeous a book to receive such a low rating, but I have never read a book of such depressing stories! What we Americans have made happy stories (fairy tales, Christmas stories), the French make BLEAK. I did enjoy the story about the lost little boy, but other than that, this was not a joy to get through.

[Kathryn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read several in this series and I really enjoy them. In general, I like short stories a lot especially at Christmastime. I would say that most of the short stories in this series have a sad tone and I'm not sure if that's because of the publishers that are curating these collections or other factors.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a book of short stories to read over the Christmas holiday and I found “A Very French Christmas” and had to give it a try. I was doubly excited because the first story was written by Jean-Philippe Blondel, an author I had just finished reading (Exposed).

I won’t give a synopsis but rather comment on the whole. Though I liked many of the stories (especially Mr. Blondel’s) there is a rather herky jerky quality to the collection. First, the time period and style of each story ranged from contemporary to the 1800’s which would not have been a problem had the stories more obviously held together as Christmas stories. Though most of the stories are set on or near Christmas, the themes may or may not have had much to do with Christmas at all.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sense of place and time I found myself in in each story. But I did not like the lack of flow from one story to the next. Imagine going to a wine tasting where you are given a glass of Chardonnay followed by an IPA, a Pinot Grigio, an apple cider, a Sauvignon blanc, and a Burgundy. If you are expecting white wines then the other drinks, no mater how tasty, require a hard stop and a palette cleanser between selections if you hope to appreciate each one fairly.

Even though this book did not meet my expectation as a collection of Christmas stories, and I could not recommend this as a family read-aloud, I can recommend this as a book of varied good to excellent French short stories. And, I do wonder if one were to ask a French person what their favorite Christmas stories are, how many, if any, are in this collection.

[Nena · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good other no so good

A mix bag of short stories. We’ll written but several were quite depressing- not what I like in a Christmas story. Left me depressed and I would not want to read books by some of this authors.

[Terzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun collection of sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting stories for the Christmas season.