Customer Reviews

The Mitford Snowmen: A Christmas Story

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

This book bills itself by saying 'if you find the Mitford novels a feast, you'll find the Mitford Snowmen a delicious dessert.' That may be true but this dessert barely filled my back tooth. The type in the book covers 4' x 3.5' of the page and there are only 23 pages to the book! Of those 23 pages, 14 have type with the remaining being graphics designed to sell greeting cards. Of the 14 with type, 5 also have graphics and two are half pages. Skip the book and, with the money you save, buy yourself a real dessert.

Mama mia! I cannot believe one single soul( considering the number of people it takes to get a book into print and on the market) in the Jan Karon corner (including Jan herself!) did not have the honesty to say, "This isn't worth the paper it's written on."

Did the publisher actually think the fans of Jan Karon would accept such a...a...book? story? whatever? just because her name was on the cover??????

I thought after the disappointing WEDDING STORY (everyone is entitled to a "mistake" in judgement now and then) Karon's next tale would be on the caliber of BACK HOME IN MITFORD. This only goes to prove that even a good author and a very distinguished publishing house does not equal a good book.

Shame, shame on all those involved in the biggest sham this holiday season! Surely many of their Christmas "stockings" will be full of coal this year. Coal and slush!

Terry, a very disappointed reader

Actually, what's the point? Where's the inspiration, or the punch line? Why bother? The best part of this book was the anticipation.

I rated this as one star only because a 0-star rating was not available. I have not been able to decide whether:
1) This is intended as a (very expensive) Christmas card that you buy for yourself, or
2) Is a rejected fragment of a chapter from books 1, 2, 3, or 4, or
3) Was written for "Highlights for Children" but erroneously printed as a book for adults, or
4) Is a crass money-making ploy by the publisher, or
5) Was actually written by Miss Rose, who put Jan Karon's name on the cover.

Don't get me wrong, I have read, listened to, and loved all of the Mitford series (though was somewhat disappointed by the "...Wedding Story"). This one hardly merits mention, compared to the others, and belongs on the cardrack at Hallmark with the Snoopy books.

OK - here's the deal. This is a cute little book that tells about a nice little snowman-building contest in Mitford. The moral of the story - don't be too busy during the holiday season that you can't stop everything to be spontaneous and have a little fun. That's it. A nice moral. The illustrations are cute and the book will look nice standing up on a shelf, surrounded by the cute little resin Mitford snowmen that a well known card store is selling. (Which, is the other reason for this book. If you are going to sell snowmen to go along with the current snowman craze, why not write an explanation about why you are selling "Mitford" snowmen when, in fact, snowmen have not been mentioned in the Mitford books before. I don't think.) So enjoy the book for a little fluff. Put it out on a shelf during the holidays to remind yourself to be spontaneous and have fun. And don't try to compare it to a regular Mitford novel. It wasn't meant to be one.

What happened here? Jan is usually (Always) very on the up and up. The plot is the problem, there is none. It just goes to show even the best have bad days. The character is also very weak here, I wonder if someone else really did not write this? Hmmmm...

Recommend reading SB 1 or God by KARL MARK MADDOX

23 pages. Two-thirds of the pages a dozen lines of text. A handfull of cartoonish illustrations. No charm. No grace. No wit.

Plot Summary, Spoiler Alert!
Three snowmen get made. The mayor hands out donuts. The End.

When Karon and her publisher/co-conspirators gather together in some dingy back room in the bowels of Manhattan to chortle over their ill-gotten gains, they might find some entertainment in the knowledge that I feel like a complete idiot for buying this "book". As good as the five novels are, I don't know if I will ever be able to reread them with any pleasure with the stench of this product in my memory.

While Christmas shopping, I saw this little Christmas story and decided to purchase a copy. I didn't buy it for an indepth novel drawing me for hours and days into Mitford. Anyone who browsed this book could see that it is just a feel good Christmas story taking you in a moment at Christmas time to Mitford with some of the characters we have gotten to know and love.

I am really perplexed by all these bad reviews and and 1 stars. If one buys this Christmas story for what it is....a short story and to put in the Mitford collection, then I think the reader will be happy with their purchase. If you buy this knowing it is a small leaf through booklet and a short story but expect to be treated to Mitford in the fashion of a 200+ page novel, you will be disappointed. There are some Jan Karon fans/readers who followed some of her short stories as she published them in "Victoria" magazine. To me this is one of those kind of short stories only with a cover and in a booklet form to keep with the Mitford collection.

I personally chose to see it as a short story and a nice little book to display on my coffee table during the holiday season amongst the Christmas decor.

The reading of the short story will only take the reader a few minutes. Although the story isn't weighty in writing literature, it has the potential of taking you away to a place to reduce the stress of the Christmas hustle bustle and give the reader a break from the wrapping chores. What such a nice little place to steal away to just for a few minutes...maybe even help in the creating of snowmen with some of the townfolk of Mitford.

If you like little coffee table books, if you like short stories and if you just want a little Jan Karon piece to go along with your Mitford collection...pick up a copy of "The Mitford Snowman". It costs little and it can add Christmas fuzzies to your holiday.

If you are looking for the next Mitford novel installment, maybe you should think about whether this short story is for you.

DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, WASTE your hard-earned dollars on this bit of nothingness! I rarely find a book unworthy of my time, but this one earned that distinction. There is no moral, there is no plot, it does not qualify as anything more than an advertisement for the series of Mitford Snowmen collectibles!

I am probably the biggest Mitford fan in the world. I love all of the books in the series, but The Mitford Snowmen was a huge disappointment. The plot was very loose-ended. A snowman building contest starts, but Karon doesn't tell us HOW it got started. The characters are totally undeveloped, so we lose that "down-home" sense that has made Mitford so popular. Even the illustrations are disappointing. The only illustration worth looking at was the one of the snowmen--which is the only page worth the one star I gave this book. Very disappointing.

I can't believe that Jan Karon would publish a works that wouldn't even qualify as a "short story." This book has 14 1/2 pages of text, pages being the size of a greeting card. I read it in less than 10 minutes. The story itself was not up to the Karon quality. It sounded more like an unenthusiastic 8th grader doing an assignment. I am so disappointed in this book. I have read her first book "At Home in Mitford" seven times. Every time I finish books on hand, I pick up this book and enjoy it as much as I did the first time. I love these books because I was raised in a Mitford, and the rector of my church is a "Father Tim." I have read all of her Father Tim books and love all. I am waiting for another "real" book.