Customer Reviews

An Irish Christmas

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the early sixties, a small family, recently shattered by the loss of a father and undergoing the transitional period of the son into adulthood, takes a journey to Ireland at Christmas time. Both the mother and son, Colleen and Jamie, take turns telling the story as they wrestle with inner demons and secrets they have kept from each other and that have kept them apart. Those secrets can either tear them apart forever, or bring them a touch of God's grace and hope, if they will allow His plan to unfold and not be hard hearted.

**** Although slow moving and complex, this is a touching story about imperfect people who are very real. Jamie and Colleen offer the readers hope, because they wear masks with those they love, as so many of us tend to do, unknowingly at times. The grace and love that shines through make it worth the struggle to get through the overly leisurely paced narrative. ****

Amanda Killgore

An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson is a story that is told from two different points of view, that of the two main characters: Colleen Fitzgerald and her son Jaime. The story takes place in the early 1960s shortly after the loss of Colleen's husband.

I was really excited about this book but found myself disappointed in it. I often felt that the dialog was a little forced. Especially when it came to inserting slag words from the day. The plot was also horrible predictable and the characters would get on my nerves. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to reach through the pages to smack Jaime for the way that he acted towards his mother. This boy dropped out of school and lied to his parents for years.....yet he when he told his mother he got angry at her when she was upset with him for the lies. He would then blow up other little things that she would do into bigger deals then they wore for nothing else but to make her feel bad. Yet through it all she would forgive him and often agree that he was right to be mad.

The story was a fairly quick read so for that I was thankful and the writing while not stellar could have been worse. While I am not sure if this is a book that I'd recommend to others I can't say that I regret the time that I spent reading it.

[...]

When I take the time to read a book, I want the writing to be quality. Unfortunately I did not find this to be so in "An Irish Christmas." The dialogue was awkward and Colleen's husband - a man who "was over the moon" for her was rewarded with a mediocre, "under the bar" passive kind of wife. None of the characters were really developed including the husband who, after 20 years of marriage - his only impact on his wife and son seemed to be a couple of cliche "God quotes".

It is 1963 and Colleen Frederick's life is disintegrating. President John F. Kennedy has been assassinated, Hal, her husband of twenty-two years has died, and her relationship with her son, Jamie is deteriorating.

Jamie wants to join the Air Force, something given the escalation of what would become the Vietnam War, Colleen passionately does not want, and Jamie isn't interested in the shoe business Hal wanted him to take over. Moreover, Jamie's vagueness about his college education makes Colleen wonder if he's been completely truthful to her. But Colleen, who feels more than a little guilt at not having loved Hal as much as he cared for her, has a secret of her own, one she feels compelled to reveal to Jamie. A Christmas trip to Ireland seems the right place to do it.

An Irish Christmas is told in first person, in the viewpoints of Colleen and Jamie. Ms. Carlson pens a story of secrets, passions and a family coming to know and accept their differences as well as their similarities. While a bit slow-moving at first, I found myself staying up late to follow Colleen's and Jamie's journey to fulfillment through letting God be in control. At times, both Colleen's and Jamie's reactions seemed a bit over the top, but I cheered for each of them because I sensed real love just beneath the surface. The ending was entirely predictable, yet it grabbed my heart just the same.

The secondary characters supported the story and felt entirely Irish. Ms. Carlson made me feel I was there once again. Well-written and detailed, An Irish Christmas left a warm feeling in my heart. A lovely story for Christmas or any time.

Reviewed by Carrie Padgett

Certain elements are expected in a holiday movie or book. It shall have a happy ending. There will be stormy weather, families, and faith. It will be entertainment light; undemanding and as comfortable as a grilled cheese sandwich.

Melody Carlson's An Irish Christmas meets all those expectations.

Colleen Frederick is a new widow with a secret she needs to tell her young adult son. Jamie Frederick has his own burdens to confess to his mother.

Set in the early 1960s, Carlson's novel moves from Pasadena, California to Ireland, a trip Colleen hopes will help her and Jamie reconnect and will make the perfect setting for her confession. Mother and son each tell their secrets, confounding the other. When Jamie, angry and defensive, leaves for a day trip and is detained with no way to let his mom know he's fine, Colleen is forced to rely on the God she has had little time for lately.

Jamie's world is rocked by Colleen's news and he reacts by becoming defensive and ignoring his own deceit. Jamie must confront himself and his shortcomings in Connemara, including why he deceived his parents back home. The people he meets in Ireland, especially a stranger in a local restaurant, help lead him back to his mother and to his own new relationship with God.

The book is written in first person with Colleen and Jamie alternating chapters. Jamie's voice in his sections is too similar to Colleen's; sometimes I missed who I was supposed to be listening to. Jamie often didn't sound like a young adult, much less one in the early 1960s.

Carlson does a good job making Ireland real and the Irish characters come alive in the pages of her story.

An Irish Christmas will leave you with a light heart and a comforted spirit, much like a comfort food on a rainy day.

Armchair Interviews says: Well-written, this is a quick read for the busy holiday season.

An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson is a nice idea for a story, but the plot is too predictable and not the least bit captivating. I enjoy a good love story, but this novel lacks interest and surprise. No drama in a love story equals boring. Colleen takes her adult son, Jamie, and a deep dark family secret to Ireland for an extended Christmas vacation. While there, she confesses that Jamie's father, who recently passed away, was really not his dad after all. Lots of brooding and pouting ensue, and then lo and behold, Colleen's first true and only love meets up with "their" son in Ireland. Jamie convinces his mother to see the man, and well...........the rest is history and very predictable.
If you want to read a good Christian fiction novel, then stick with The Christmas Bus, Carlson's 2006 creation. It humorously captures the essence of Christmas by pointing out the things at which all of us need to become better at being and doing. Carlson's skillful use of characters and personalities to tell a unique Christmas story is superb.

Colleen May Fredrick, is a recently widowed woman who wonders if she had been a good wife to her husband, Hal. She had tried hard to make a nice home for him. Their twenty years of marriage seemed to give contentment to each of them. Hal, cherished her and Colleen felt guilty about that because he was not really the love of her life. Hal had a lot of faith and whenever she was afraid, he always told her to trust in God. She's also upset because Jamie, her son has refused to take over his father's business and Hal had been very hurt about that before he died. Colleen suspects there's a lot that Jamie has never told her.

James William Fredrick known as Jamie is their only child. He has had a lot of things handed to him by his parents, but he wasn't interested in their dreams, of what he should do, he has his own dreams. After his father's death, Jamie decides to come clean with his Mom and tell her all the things that she doesn't know about his life.

Mother and Son don't seem to know each other anymore. Colleen decides that they need to take a trip. Christmas is coming soon and since she had always wanted to visit Ireland, she belives it may help to recharge her relationship with Jamie. She remembers Hal's words and tries to put her trust in God.

I liked the way the story is told. The chapters alternate between Jamie and his Mom and we hear what each has to say about their lives and each other.

This is not your typical Christmas story, but still a very enjoyable read.

I read one of Melody Carlson's other books (The Christmas Dog I think it was) and it was a nice little story. Nothing to write home about, but good enough that I hoped for something in a similar vein with this one. Add the Irish setting? Winner, right?

No.

Jamie. Holy cats what a terrible, terrible character. So selfish and immature. When he wasn't being a total dolt, he wasn't bad.

The dialog is bad. Seems very forced.

I guess what is frustrating the most though, is Carlson *can* write a sweet tale and this one could have been just wonderful! It needs SERIOUS editing for content/flow/plot & character development. But it has some good basic pieces that COULD be really nice. Maybe she'll re-work it.

About a year after Colleen's husband dies, she and her single adult son go off to Ireland where they both have something to reveal to the other.

I find it difficult to believe her son Jamie would so easily accept her news having only heard it such a short time ago. I would think it would take more time to digest and work through and still...

And his sudden concern over his mother as though he magically matured.

What happens towards the end surely comes as no surprise in this type of story.

And to think Margaret responded the way she did. Hmph. I don't buy it.

Other than that, I liked it.

After I got into this book, I thought it was really a downer for Christmas. The mother lost her husband and the grown son was at odds and had deceived his mother. While the ending was a little too unbelievable, that's why they call it fiction. The book does give us all a lesson in forgiveness, communication, and not jumping to conclusions.