The Christmas Mystery [Paperback]

Jostein Gaarder (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Orion Children's (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858815649
• ISBN-13: 978-1858815640
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Jostein Gaarder is the author of SOPHIE'S WORLD, a huge bestseller in over 40 countries. He was born in Oslo in 1952 and lives there now with his wife and two sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight for all ages, May 14, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Christmas Mystery (Hardcover)

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.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Tradition, January 3, 2002

By 

Britt Arnhild Lindland (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Christmas Mystery (Hardcover)

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

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the great seasonal novels, January 28, 2000

By 

Daniel - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Christmas Mystery (Hardcover)

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....