A Stranger for Christmas: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Carol Lynn Pearson (Author)
Key Phrases: Idaho Falls, Santa Claus, Danish Christmas Cookies

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Two old ladies living in a Southern California nursing home decide to test the premise that any good family with Christmas spirit would invite a stranger into their home for the holiday. Myrna and Florence invent an elderly woman they call Genevieve, who is purportedly living in a convalescent home in Idaho, and phone Myrna's five adult children to ask them to invite the fictional Genevieve to celebrate with them. But each of Myrna's offspring, in turn, has a plausible excuse to turn down their mother's request. Just as Myrna is about to lose faith in the family she has raised, a surprise occurs, designed to warm the heart and activate the tear glands. In a letter explaining the genesis of this holiday story, Pearson (Goodbye, I Love You) says that she conceived of the plot in just three hours. On reading the novella, one may think that no more than three hours were devoted to writing it. How else to explain egregiously bad prose such as the following: "It felt good to laugh. Myrna had not laughed in quite a while, and it felt good. Her home had always been filled with laughter. And caring." But there's no gainsaying the emotional impact of the ending and its message of Christian charity and love, so perhaps one can extend charitable feelings toward the author and hope that she has more time to labor over her next creation.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Spending Christmas alone in a nursing home, two elderly women, Florence and Myrna, share their longing for the love of a traditional family Christmas. In order to prove to a doubting Florence that the joy of Christmas still exists, Myrna bets that someone will make room in their hearts and home for a stranger.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 72 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Press (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829417621
• ISBN-13: 978-0829417623
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,100,685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb Stocking Stuffer, December 14, 2000

By	Steven Fantina (Phillipsburg, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Stranger for Christmas (Hardcover)

Mother Teresa coined the term "the leprosy of the West" to describe the selfish trend of dumping the elderly in nursing homes where they can conveniently be forgotten or periodically described a receiving the best of care. Carol Lynn Pearson examines this disease in her delightful Yuletide story "A Stranger for Christmas."

The short tale may be somewhat predictable, lightly sugar-coated, and in certain cases a little less than plausible, but none of those debatable deficiencies is a crime. This allegory of two neglected little old ladies trying to prove that good people still exist among the modern day Christmas hustle and bustle leaves the reader with a very satisfied feeling.

In fact, I preferred `Stranger' to the enjoyable, but in my view overrated modern classic "The Christmas Box." Amidst all the holiday habiliments, sneak an hour to read it, and you may completely re-prioritize your Christmas to do list.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Stranger for Christmas, January 7, 2008

By	Anonymous (Philadelphia, Pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Stranger for Christmas (Hardcover)

My request was for the original book and that is what I thought I would get. I had this book before with great pictures and used this story for Sunday School classes around Christmas time. The book I received had the same words but was a much smaller copy and as such would not be useful in the way the original book would be. Since there was not way to know this before the book was bought, it appears it would have been much better if I had bought this book at a bookstore, so there would be a way to know this was not the original book from that artist/author.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably touching, August 19, 2006

By	Ashley Gunn "pleasantone" (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't quite remember how I came across this book, but I try to read it every year around the holidays. It's an unbelievably heartwearking tale, and I cry every single time I read it. Also, contrary to the editorial reviewer who apparently has a chip on their shoulder, I find it well written... to me it is written as you would expect elderly women in their situation to speak and think. And it certainly had no flaws that caught my attention, but then I'm not the type that is looking for something wrong all the time.

It is a relatively short, easy, and most pleasurable read. I'd recommend the book for anyone you know who likes to read, like's touching tales, or has a heart for the elderly. Also, I think anyone can enjoy this book... Christian or not. To me, it's a beautiful tale about how simple it is to touch and transform the life of another person.