Customer Reviews

Christmas Mystery - Abridged Illustrated Edition

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a lovely book that I've given to children and adults the past 2 Christmases.

While not as intellectually rigorous as Sophie's World and not quite as captivating as The Solitaire Mystery (which you must, must read), The Christmas Mystery is more addictive than a bag of peanuts. Rarely have I found a book that appeals to children and adults alike -- but this one does.

Even if you have no background or real interest in Advent and Christmas, this book's fresh perspective will still delight.

Every year, the 1st of December we find The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder in our box of Christmas books, and start to read the first chapter. The book has 24 chapters, so we keep on reading, one chapter every day, untill Christmas Eve. And when we read we follow the little girl Elisabet from Norway around 1940, down through Europe and down through history, untill she, in the last chapter meets Joseph, Maria and the little newborn king. At the same time we meet the boy Joakim who finds a very special advent calendar in an old bookshop, the advent calendar has doors to open, and inside the doors Joakim finds small sheets of paper telling the fantastic story about Elisabet and her travel.
Is the story just a fantasy story, or is Elisabet a real girl, doing a real travel?

The Christmas Story tells us about all this, and alot more. For our family it is a must every Christmas. Not all kids want to listen to it every year, but mother will keep on reading it as long as her eyes allows her :-)

Britt Arnhild Lindland

We have grown to expect striking and intelligent philosophy and thought from Gaarder's books. The Christmas Mystery is, like The Solitaire Mystery, a deceptively simple and yet richly complex story. The only flaw, as far as I'm concerned, is a faint cloying sweetness to the story, but even this can easily be overlooked by the sheer cleverness and spirit of the narrative. It is a potted history of Christmas through the ages, its evolution - or rather, devolution, handled adeptly and intelligently. It is a true book for all the family, and should become compulsory seasonal reading along with A Night Before Christmas and The Christmas Carol. The nice thing about Gaarder is that his mysteries only open up yet more mysteries - he solves his mysteries and leaves us looking at the world through new eyes, trying to explain our own personal mysteries that we have only just noticed....

Although this title mostly follows Gaarder's style of beautiful writing, intertwined stories and happy ending, it's certainly written with the younger readers in mind. It is a mostly recommended read, both for kids and for adults, especially during Christmas time, which was when I read it.

It will make you integrate with Christmas ambiance and spirit, and really make you feel very... "christmassy"! At the same time, its quite entertaining and simplistic style makes it readable during any time of the day. If it grips you as it did me, you could read it overnight, although I preferred to read one chapter each day of December, as the book is designed.

Overall, if you're looking for a simple and yet clever Christmas story, for you or your kid(s), this is the one!

Jostein Gaarder ranks right up there on my list of favorite authors, but I did not feel that this was his best effort. It is very much in the same vein of "The Solitaire Mystery" (my all-time favorite book) and "Sophie's World" (the book that inspired me to get a philosophy minor in college), but covers the same principles talked about in "Solitaire Mystery". Read that one to get your socks blown off, read "The Christmas Mystery" around December to get in the spirit of the holidays!

Our family read this book aloud last Christmas and everyone (including 2 adolescent boys!)loved it. They have already asked if we can read it again in a year or two. Friends who have borrowed it have gone on to order their own copy. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new Christmas tradition.

I bought a copy of this book several years ago for my son. We read it aloud each evening leading up to Christmas. Since then, it has become a tradtion in our family to read a chapter a night every evening, usually starting after Thanksgiving. This will be our 4th reading, and already the children are asking if it's time for our "advent book" reading to begin. Each year we enjoy it more, as it reminds us of the deeper meaning of the holiday we celebrate.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and am ordering copies for my sister's family this year.

Living in Norway I ordered this book so that my American grandchildren could enjoy the excitement and joy of this book together with their parents as a family journey through the advent season. I eagerly anticipated being a part of this daily event.

What a major disappointment! This is but a shadow of the Norwegian edition's illustrations and not engaging for the children. Where was the beautiful picture of the advent poster? Where were the pages with the little windows children could peek through every day? Where were the differing kinds of pages to key them into when the story was in the past or the future?

Next year I shall spend the 400 Norwegian Kroner and bring that book here so we can read the words in English and EXPERIENCE the story from the richness of the Norwegian artist's perspective.

It is no wonder this book is not as enjoyable for American families as it is for the Norwegian ones.

Our family started reading The Christmas Mystery about 5 years ago and it is now a very special Advent activity and a way to come together as a family in a busy season. While it is a bit confusing at first- the story moves backward through time and geography-it is so rich and has so many layers that it's absolutely worth reading. The first year we were just trying to grasp the rudiments of the story. Now each reading reveals new layers of meaning - nuances that I didn't get at first. I would recommend it for children 8 and older, so that it holds their interest.

this book was my favourite i have ever read. every year it is a tradition that i start reading this book on the first of december and every night read a chapter leading to the last night december 24.everone should read this book, and make it apart of their collection today