Customer Reviews

Christmas, Present

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I recently lost my mother to a disease that moved only slightly less rapidly than Mitchard's central character's, but the reality was much the same. The author manages to capture the pain, urgency and humor of such a time. Those last days with a loved one are both awful and wonderful. The holiday timing only adds to the poignant nature of the book. I also respect the author for the tight prose. Its hard to write a good, short book, but Mitchard manages it while retaining her trademark,every day realism. A smart, mature take on family and life. Just the read if you need a little soulful perspective when you return home from the Christmas bedlam at the shopping mall. Bravo.

This touching holiday story begins Elliot Banner's struggle with what to get his beloved wife Laura for their anniversary (which one is it? Is it the important one?), and finally settles on tickets to Cirque du Soleil and dinner at their favorite restaurant. At the conclusion of what would have otherwise been a perfect evening, tragedy begins to unfold in the form of an intense headache experienced by Laura after their car becomes disabled. Laura seemingly irrationally insists upon going to the hospital, where after a series of diagnostic tests, the news is given to them that Laura is dying, and that what is happening within her brain is inoperable. The doctor says that she has perhaps 8-12 hours to live....and so the family begins to gather. Although the ending is sad, the conclusion inescapable....Laura leaves her family with what the reader will see as her final and most precious gift to them...hope.

Enjoyable and a tear-jerker, readers should enjoy this tale of hope and a "life will go on" message, delivered during the holiday season.



DYB

CHRISTMAS, PRESENT begins with Elliot Banner planning a very special wedding anniversary for his wife, Laura. He surprises her with tickets to see the Cirque du Soleil. It's just two days before their December 23rd anniversary and a few days before Christmas. Laura mentions that she has a headache, and on the way home their car breaks down in a busy tunnel. While they're waiting for a wrecker, the headache that Laura has been having escalates, and she becomes severely ill.

The story continues with a shocking diagnosis for Laura and a gathering of their children, Laura's siblings and mother at the hospital.

This is a very small book and a fast read. It's well written and although the title is appropriate, this is not your usual Christmas story. I do recommend this book, but some people may prefer not to read it until after Christmas. This is a serious and mind wrenching story!

In the vein of Donna VanLiere's THE CHRISTMAS SHOES and Richard Paul Evans's THE CHRISTMAS BOX, bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard (THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, A THEORY OF RELATIVITY) has penned a slim but poignant Christmas story that captures perfectly the true spirit of the season. Dramas of familial crises and grief are Mitchard's trademark fare, and this slender novella of love, loss and letting go is no exception.

CHRISTMAS, PRESENT expertly blends the sad and sentimental with the uplifting and inspiring, and somehow manages to be both heartwarming and heart wrenching at the same time. Elliott and his wife of 14 years, Laura, are on their way home from their anniversary celebration two days before Christmas when a searing pain in Laura's head forces an abrupt visit to the local hospital. The pain turns out to be far more than an ordinary migraine and they soon learn the horrible truth that Laura has a fatal, inoperable brain hemorrhage that leaves her with mere hours to live.

As her family gathers around from near and far on Christmas Eve, Laura shares with them loving memories of a life well-lived and she bestows on them her blessings and hopes for the future. Her good-byes to her beloved husband and three daughters are particularly fraught with emotion. However we are saved from over-the-top sentimentality thanks to Laura's serene, reflective demeanor and Mitchard's straightforward prose. Laura's legacy to her shocked and grief-stricken family is giving them the gift and promise of the future by encouraging them to live life to the fullest in her absence. The final chapter provides an uplifting respite from the novel's weighty sadness, as we glimpse into the future and see Elliott and their daughters living out Laura's dying wish for them to visit Paris.

Mitchard perfectly captures the utter heartache and devastation of losing a loved one while imparting a powerful message that we all need to be reminded of sometimes: life is best when shared with those you love, and it is these shared moments that make for a rich, satisfying existence rather than material possessions or achievements.

The only real downside to the book is its brevity, which is a dramatic departure from the meatier, lengthy books Mitchard is known for. Although it's perfect for reading in one sitting during the time-crunched holidays, the subject matter packs such an emotional punch that the abbreviated format doesn't quite do it justice and the storyline isn't as fully realized as it could have been. The result is that it feels like a mere snapshot taken from a larger novel, and the resolution feels rushed and breathless, like a race to the finish line, instead of a thought-provoking and contemplative finale that provides true closure.

Nonetheless, CHRISTMAS, PRESENT will touch your soul and warm your heart, and it makes a perfect little gift for yourself or someone you love.

--- Reviewed by Joni Rendon

I just finished reading this book, and couldn't understand the glowing praise it had garnered. I gave it 2 stars, because it was well written, but the story was brutal. The potential in the set up was there, but wasn't realized. Why was the surprising "secret" included? It didn't make me see the heroine as more human - it made me dislike her. Why did she keep sending people, e.g. her husband, her brother, on errands? That seemed cruel. The final chapter which could have been a balm, simply reinforced my impressions: this was a family which was brutal to each other and the death of the mother did nothing to change that.

I cannot recommend this book.

I have to admit that I looked at this book with great cynicism. Imagine my pleasant surprise to find myself so gripped by the story that I could not put it down until I had finished it. I am a long-time Mitchard fan, and I think the reason I loved this book so much is the reason I run out to the store every time I hear she has a new one: she takes her stories seriously. This is the sort of topic that could easily turn into a gooey mess, but Mitchard's characterizations are so true to life that you feel like you're losing a loved one by the end of the story. I cannot recommend this book enough. What a great Christmas present!

Christmas Present...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Jacqueline Mitchard does it again! Her words wrap you in a wonderful, poignant story that will hold you through every page, evoking laughter, tears and a sense of peacefulness. This is a MUST READ & MUST ADD to your library and a MUST GIVE as a Christmas Present...

Once again,Jacquelyn Mitchard has written an amazingly touching and poetic book! Christmas Present is one of the most beautifully written books that I have ever had the pleasure to read.I actually read it in one evening as I could not put it down!!I highly recommend this book to anyone who appriecates a good read as well as a good cry!!Buy the book!!!!

As far as I know, this author is noted for long novels; so this short work must be a real departure for the writer who rocketed to fame with "The Deep End of the Ocean" and other hefty narratives. My point is this: "Christmas, Present" might be to Mitchard's work what "The Old Man and the Sea" was to Hemingway's canon or what "The Long March" is to William Styron or what "Sula" is to Toni Morrison. It's a perfectly formed, incredibly concise, deeply moving short novel. This is proof positive that Artie Shaw was right when saying: "Simple is best." NOT simple-minded, but simple in the sense that the story's contours, its characters, the time-frame and the details are all so incredibly right. Yes, it's a family-oriented novel (like Mitchard's other works); and yes it bears down heavily on the intricacies of parent-child relationships and also the connective tissue between a dying wife and her traumatized husband. But the magic here is in the author's control of her material: this book can be read in one long sitting; it's a perfect stocking-stuffer. It's also a short novel that will touch your soul. What a work! Grab a copy w/a box of Kleenex.

What I love about this short novel is its truth. This is life the way it really is. The series of characters surrounding the dying woman are skillfully and unsentimentally drawn. Kids wonder whether they will have enough money to keep the dog, one daughter scolds her mother for dying, the husband criticizes his mother-in-law's unskilled mothering. This is anything but syrupy sweet. The book teaches us to be accepting and non-jugemental of all these well-meaning if flawed humans. And it teaches us to be grateful for the moments we have in this life. It reminds me of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" or Jane Kenyon's "Otherwise." It will stay with you for a long time.