But anyway, I managed to finish An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson yesterday, and while her Christmas books are (to me) not as good as some of her "series" books, they're a pretty decent and light Christmas read.
An Irish Christmas is told from the point of view of two characters: the mum Colleen and the son Jamie. There's a bunch of secrets involving back stories (and hence, the need for two point of views) that being a happy Christmas tale, is all happily resolved by the end of the story.
And that's about all you need to know about the plot. If I were to say anymore, I'd probably give major spoilers away.
The only thing I didn't like much in the story is Jamie. While both his mom and him are hiding some pretty major secrets, I don't know why but felt that Colleen's secret was somehow more understandable than his, which is pretty much me trying to draw lines in shades of grey. I suppose that this is somehow related to the fact that we tend to dislike in others the faults we have, because they remind us of the unpleasant sights of us. Jamie's secret comes about mainly from his over-rationalisation, which leads to misjudgements and more mis-steps (I love alliterations). That is something I can totally relate to and can see happening to me. If you over think like me, it's very plausible that you'll make a wrong mistake. While these mistakes have largely been confined to answers on my exam papers (this is the main reason why I hardly every change my exam answers once they're written down), it's gonna happen in real life sooner or later if I don't change.
I do wonder though, if this comes partly from my love of reading and literature. Literature is mainly trying to guess the hidden meanings in the text and reading can instill paranoia (think about it, when faced with a situation, you not only conjure up your vivid imagination but the imaginations of all authors who have written similar situations). But I guess that it's a small price to pay to love books.
Basically, an Irish Christmas is a lovely little tale that most people will probably enjoy. And the personal lesson for me is that my negative reactions to a character may be because I am subconsciously expressing my dislike for the negative traits that I possess (and share with said character). Not a bad lesson to take home from this relatively short novel.
Great review, Eustacia. I was thinking of reading this book, now maybe I will. :)
ReplyDelete@Pragya: thanks! I really hope you enjoy this book too~
ReplyDelete@reviewingshelf: YAY! Thank you for telling me(: