A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays [Hardcover]

David Valdes Greenwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2007

Ah, the sweet memories of Christmas. Gifts under the tree. Cookies for Santa. And, of course, the annual fruitcake.

For young David Valdes Greenwood, the indomitable “little fruitcake” at the center of these tales, nothing is sweeter than the promise of the holidays. A modern-day Tiny Tim, he holds fast to his ideal of what Christmas should be, despite the huge odds against him: Sub-zero Maine winters. A host of eccentric relatives. And his constant foil: a frugal, God-fearing Grammy who seems determined to bring an end to all his fun. A book that’s “fa-la-la-licious” (Louisville Courier Journal) and filled with funny, charming Yuletide memories (from building a Lego® manger to hunting for the perfect Christmas tree), A Little Fruitcake will inspire even the biggest Grinches around.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Today, anyone writing humorous true-to-life holiday essays will inevitably be compared to David Sedaris and Jean Shepherd--which isn't unfair, as Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" and Shepherd's "A Christmas Story" are the paragons of Christmas confessionals--but here the comparison is particularly apt. Like Sedaris, Greenwood is a gentle soul who isn't afraid to poke fun at himself, and, also like Sedaris, he lovingly mines his eccentric family for material. Like Shepherd, his prose and delivery are simple and self-effacing, and he comes off as an engaging character."--"Kirkus"

About the Author

David Valdes Greenwood teaches at Tufts University and lives outside of Boston.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738211222
• ISBN-13: 978-0738211220
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,278,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Valdes Greenwood is the author of The Rhinestone Sisterhood, the true story of the lives of four small-town Festival Queens, and two humorous memoirs, Homo Domesticus and A Little Fruitcake. As a playwright, his work has been staged coast to coast and in the UK. A former freelance journalist, Valdes Greenwood is best known for his Boston Globe columns. Currently, he details life as a parent as a Huffington Post Blogger and may be followed on his Twitter feed is divahas2daddies.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect gift fro holiday season, November 6, 2007

By 

C. Vincent (MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays (Hardcover)

A Little Fruitcake is my pick for holiday gift this year. It's a wonderful collection of stories about family and holidays that you can feel comfortable giving to anyone from your traditional Grandma to your quirky and hip college roommate (and it sure beats an actual fruitcake). I'm going to send copies out as early holiday gifts, maybe around Thanksgiving, to help everyone get into the holiday mood.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a WONDERFUL book---one of the best memoirs I've ever read, February 17, 2008

By 

Suzanne Amara (MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays (Hardcover)

I would have loved this book even if it wasn't so well written, as the author grew up in Maine and is exactly my age, so it was like a trip down memory lane to read about his childhood--exciting trips to LaVerderies to get Christmas presents, the feeling of going to the big city when you are really going to a small Maine city, the extra sunny day when I too went inside from playing in the Maine summer to see Nixon resign, picking a Christmas tree from the woods and trying so hard to find the perfect one among the imperfect Maine scrubby forest trees, the transition from the huge colored bulbs to smaller ones that gradually took place, the feeling of a Christmas pageant in a small church, Grants Christmas albums---WOW!

This memoir is told all in Christmases, little samples of the author's life growing up fairly poor in Norridgewock, Maine, half Cuban and therefore half an outsider (although the fact that the other half was an old Maine family probably made it easier).

I know too the feeling of leaving home young and never really going home, and how the guilt when you do visit can be quite overwhelming. This book evokes the time and place so well that it brought me to tears several times. A real triumph.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Families and Holidays, December 2, 2008

By 

L. Greenwood (Detroit) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Little Fruitcake: A Childhood in Holidays (Hardcover)

I loved this book. I laughed and I cried and I wished that the story didn't end.
Understanding thru the eyes of a child, the the hopes and disappointments, which surround the holiday season, lead to the reality for the young adult what in life is really important.
I hope everyone reads and loves this book as much as I did.