A story of childlike faith in magic, and hope for better things, coupled with practical action. There’s a bit of playing with gender expectations (male and female snowpeople, and human children whose names leave you unsure at first) and puns on “snow” that soften the deprivation of one of the main characters. More ghosts, this time in a ski resort, with thoughts of empire and how the British made downhill skiing a competitive sport, “ rather than just the fastest way to get to the bottom of the hill”. Winterson, Jeanette (9 October 2009). "The story of my Spitalfields home". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019 . Retrieved 12 January 2019– via www.thetimes.co.uk. Today’s story revolves around the trope of the Christmas wish, and centers the story with Irish culture where faeries are a big part of cultural lore. It’s a bit light but cute, with O’Brien finding much of life too exhausting and spending a lot of time resenting the commercialization of Christmas which is a common theme in this collection. A chance wish from a fairy, a cool lesbian fairy at that, seems wasted on something actually surface related like the commercialization she dislikes but ends up being a confidence boost she needs. Another Christmas romance in the books.

Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson | Waterstones

This is a beautifully formatted book, and probably perfect for anyone who loves both Christmas and Winterson. But, for me, most of the stories are just okay; and the musings preceding the recipes are too meandering and sometimes repetitive, hence the three stars. I also enjoyed today's essay, a turkey recipe from Kamila Shamsie (I LOVED Home Fire), and a fun story about a turkey that would imitate human speech. Until he met a tragic turkey end, something kept from Winterson until they were an adult. Winterson takes the theology of Christmas seriously even if she isn’t your typical Christian, and she adds in a lot of interesting historical footnotes about the pagan origins of our holiday traditions. In between the stories are recipes – personal favorites, or hand-me-downs from family and friends – for everything from mince pies to turkey curry. The preambles to these are an opportunity for some autobiographical reflections on her parents’ death and being married to a Jew. I love her thoughts on ritual and family: A surge of inventiveness… Frankissstein is a book that seeks to shift our perspective on humanity and the purpose of being human in the most darkly entertaining way… gloriously well observed.”— Observer My favorites are the most ghosty ("Dark Christmas," "A Ghost Story," "The Second-Best Bed") and the sweetest ("The Snow Mama," "The Silver Frog"). Least favorite: the one set in New York. Even someone as English as Winterson should know not to have New Yorkers talk about "fairy lights" and "sledges."

What a wonderful treat for the Holiday's! 🎄 This novel is a combination of fictional stories as well as personal stories from the author. Winterson also includes recipes to bake for the season. The audiobook version is narrated by Imogen Church as well as Jeanette Winterson. My favorite fictional story is, "Mistletoe Bride"..my favorite personal story is the one told by the author about her childhood turkey named, "Ah-Ha!". This book is comforting, funny, and very reflective. A life lesson that I took away from this book is to always be true to yourself and never let others define who you are. Refreshingly, Jeanette Winterson’s Frankissstein… is a wildly inventive reimagining of one of science fiction’s most beloved stories… lyrical, gloriously raunchy, pulpy and absurd.”— New Scientist Plus a look at relationships which are often in the spotlight during the holidays when fathers gather together. What happens when you change your partner and your sexual orientation at the same time. For many years both Mary Portas and Susie Orbach, were married to men before falling in love and later marrying women. Mary Portas and Jeanette (who is married Susie Orbach) discuss the complexities and joys of starting a new relationship with a woman when you're older. And why are ghosts so associated with this time of year. I love Winterson doing horror, this is now the third story and I can see how they would really make it sing in full novel space. This one was fun, I spent a lot of my teenage years skiing and do enjoy the almost eerie space of a snowy hill that this story captures. It has a good historical legacy attached: I liked the incorporation of Arthur Conan Doyle and the real mystery of George Mallery and Arthur Irvine who perished on Everest. Chilling, especially with a snow storm headed my way.

Christmas Days - Penguin Books UK

My dad opened the door dressed in a knitted waistcoat and matching knitted tie. The whole house had been re-knitted. I liked this story a lot, also because at the end of it we are offered a visceral sentence on how the orphans live: And there had been a bear, but the smallest children had shared him, so that one had a leg, another an arm, and his head was passed round to anyone who had been punished that day so that they could hold his gentle head against their hurt hearts. This is a wonderful story about a mysterious Christmas-Tree Fairy. The narrator loathed Christmas. It meant sadness to him. As a child, he never had a Christmas gift. He lived alone in a furnished apartment. Returning home from a party, he found a Christmas tree in his apartment. What did he do? He called the police. The next night, the tree was lit when he returned home. He was as unhappy as Scrooge. But this fairy did not just bring gifts, she offered a perspective that made this Christmas more joyful than any the narrator had ever known. I'm paraphrasing here but I was touched when she wrote how grateful she was for the last Christmas with her dad, not because it re-wrote their past, but because it re-wrote their ending. Their story, for all it's pain, ends with forgiveness.She hadn’t seen me for two years. Nothing was said. We spent the next hour admiring the effects of snare drum and trumpet solo on “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. A very unusual Christmas book. Winterson loves Christmas for its reflection, ritual, love and community . The recipes in the book are less about putting on a holiday show and more about how food can help make Christmas (and life) merrier and brighter. The stories are all designed to raise the ghost of an idea, like modern Christmas Carols, most featuring ghosts and/or magical creatures. All throughout, there's a bit of history, some autobiography, and this wish: "...light a candle for the future; that it may happen and not be swallowed up by darkness."

Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson review - The Guardian

Jeanette Winterson". Bookclub. 4 April 2010. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016 . Retrieved 18 January 2014. One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council. Winner, Lesbian Memoir or Biography category, Lambda Literary Awardsm for Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? [25] Miracles are never convenient (the baby’s going to be born whether or not there’s a hotel room – and there isn’t). So at Christmas, I think about the Christmas story, and all Christmas stories since. As a writer I know that we get along badly without space in our lives for imagination and reflection. Religious festivals were designed to be time outside time. Time where ordinary time was subject to significant time. What we remember. What we invent.

Winterson, Jeanette (21 September 2023). "Jeanette Winterson: I didn't believe in ghosts… until I started living with them". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 22 September 2023. Eide, Marian (2001). "Passionate Gods and Desiring Women: Jeanette Winterson, Faith, and Sexuality". International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies. 6 (4): 279–291. doi: 10.1023/A:1012217225310. S2CID 141012283.

Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

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. Brooks, Libby (2 September 2000). "Power surge". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008 . Retrieved 11 December 2016. Gadher, Dipesh (26 October 2008). "Lesbian novelist Jeanette Winterson planned last visit to dying ex-lover". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 . Retrieved 17 March 2011.Does it matter who actually tendered this seasonal olive branch, given that the visit was a disaster in any case? Yet the inconsistency feels significant, because this book is as much about healing and forgiveness as it is about fairytale cruelty to children. Winterson’s chapter for New Year’s Eve considers Christmas as a time of reflection – there’s a recipe for cheese crispies to aid the process – in which she notes: “Memory isn’t an archive. Even a simple memory is a cluster … our memories change as we do.”