Christmas Mystery
3/5
(58 votes)
. As Joachim opens, day by day, the windows in an old Advent calendar, a story emerges about a little girl called Elisabet who, fifty years ago, disappeared from Norway and travelled across Europe and back through time to be present at the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. This beautiful, mysterious story has been a huge success, both for the children it was originally written for, and as an enduring Christmas seller on the adult list.
- First published
- Nov 14, 1997
- Publishers
- Phoenix Books
- Language
- English
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Reviews
Inspiring. Not the typical Christmas story you'd read about!.
Schmaltzy and twee, but a guilty pleasure nonetheless. There's a charm here absent from Gaarder's less successful attempts to blend a kind of pamphletty happy-hands approach to philosophy with a narrative that engages the reader who can stomach the layers of sugary twaddle - not that this book escapes from that overall, but in a more forgiving mode I have decided to allow Gaarder the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.
A heart-warming story-within-a-story about the meaning of Christmas that also explores issues of family and trust. I certainly enjoyed it and felt that it was a story that would appeal not only to children but adults who have the right frame of mind and who are willing to accept the naivete of the narrative.
An interesting and whimsical little story in many ways innocent to the point of naivety but with a certain charm that kept me willing to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants something that is only light and hope-filled with no hint of darkness, especially if they are Christian.