Coal Dust Kisses: A Christmas Memoir

by Will Ferguson

From the two-time winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour comes a Christmas memoir that spans generations and crosses continents ... Northern lights. Samurai castles. Cree legends. Cape Breton coal mines. South American jungles. Nordic nights. Cherry blossom springs. Will Ferguson traces a single story of coal dust and Christmas from his grandfather's childhood in Scotland through to Ferguson's own befuddled life as a father. Along the way, he presents Ultimate Haiku and invents a "Canadian dance" (to the amusement of Ecuadorian villagers). He explores Japanese myths, rides on bus roofs through the Andes, and navigates the machinations of kindergarten playgrounds. Ferguson delves into the philosophy of four-year-olds and reveals at last the true root of celebrity culture. He even answers the burning question, once and for What book should you have with you if you are stranded on a desert island? A richly layered story, told with warmth and humour, Coal Dust Kisses is funny, poignant, and heartfelt.
 

Genres: Canada, Christmas, Nonfiction, Memoir, Adult

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2010

About the author

Will Ferguson is an award-winning travel writer and novelist. His last work of fiction, 419, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He has won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour a record-tying three times and has been nominated for both the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His new novel, The Shoe on the Roof, will be released October 17, 2017. Visit him at WillFerguson.ca

Ferguson studied film production and screenwriting at York University in Toronto, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1990. He joined the Japan Exchange Teachers Programme (JET) soon after and spent five years in Asia. He married his wife Terumi in Kumamoto, Japan, in 1995. They now live in Calgary with their two sons. After coming back from Japan he experienced a reverse culture shock, which became the basis for his first book Why I Hate Canadians. With his brother, Ian Ferguson, he wrote the bestselling sequel How to be a Canadian. Ferguson details his experiences hitchhiking across Japan in Hokkaido Highway Blues (later retitled Hitching Rides with Buddha), his travels across Canada in Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw, and a journey through central Africa in Road Trip Rwanda. His debut novel, Happiness, was sold into 23 languages around the world. He has written for The New York Times, Esquire UK, and Canadian Geographic magazine.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet read. Perfect for Christmas Eve.

[Dave White · Rating 5 out of 5]

He, the author, is an open book or seems to be.
I've driven through his home town and it doesn't get a lot more isolated than Fort Vermillion.
The book is as much a brief biography as it is a Christmas memoir.

[Valerie (Pate) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful little vignette. Will Ferguson is an excellent author - I have enjoyed many of his travel memoirs - and this incredibly short reflection upon the meaning of Christmas is a perfect cozy read, brimming with nostalgia.

[Maddison Wessel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute little Christmasy memoir where the author shares his family’s Christmas tradition of receiving coal dust kisses from Santa. A Scottish tradition, that he shares with other families around the world during his travels abroad. It’s a neat tradition and a cute, quick read.

[Elena Romanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

hilarious and touching at the same time

[The Bookish Owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read.

[Kiirstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brief but charming little book that follows the arc of Will Ferguson's family Christmas stories and memories from his great-grandfather down through to Ferguson's own sons. There are some little detours along the way to South America and Japan, and ruminations on family, traditions, and growing up in Canada's North. Nothing groundbreaking here, but the writing is very lovely and the book is both funny and a little sweetly melancholy, just like the holidays. Not a must-read, but short enough that you might as well, if you want some seasonal reading.

full review at a book a week

[JennLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humourous telling of how the Maritime tradition of "coal dust kisses" travelled through many times, places, cultures and generations. Delightfully written ... as you would expect from a multi-Leacock award winner. A quick and pleasurable Christmas treat Canadians (and others) should enjoy at least once!

[James Levesque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book for Christmas. I really enjoyed Will Ferguson's style of writing, I also loved the Canadiana feel of the short vignettes connected by the Christmases through a man's life and kisses from Santa.

I might read it again next year.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small, pleasant read. Very well written.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick one-sitting read by Will Ferguson, an author known for his sense of humour. He combines that sense of humour with a delightful story just sugary and sweet enough for Christmas.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, with such vivid images, detailed, smooth writing and a thread of coal dust kisses throughout. Rich, layered writer that knows how to tell a plain story and dress it up.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but delightful read about a Christmas tradition passed through generations.