“When we look at [Dickens’] Christmas writings, darker currents glide beneath all the beaming and laughter.”
Category Archives: Fiction
Oh, this is great!
The mighty Andrew Klavan is telling a Christmas ghost story in serial form over at Dirty Harry’s Place. Chapter One is here.
What could be better?
“At Christmas Time” By Anton Chekhov
“WHAT shall I write?” asked Yegor, dipping his pen in the ink.
Vasilissa had not seen her daughter for four years. Efimia had gone away to St. Petersburg with her husband after her wedding, had written two letters, and then had vanished as if the earth had engulfed her, not a word nor a sound had come from her since. So now, whether the aged mother was milking the cow at daybreak, or lighting the stove, or dozing at night, the tenor of her thoughts was always the same: “How is Efimia? Is she alive and well?” She wanted to send her a letter, but the old father could not write, and there was no one whom they could ask to write it for them.
But now Christmas had come, and Vasilissa could endure the silence no longer. She went to the tavern to see Yegor, the innkeeper’s wife’s brother, who had done nothing but sit idly at home in the tavern since he had come back from military service, but of whom people said that he wrote the most beautiful letters, if only one paid him enough. Vasilissa talked with the cook at the tavern, and with the innkeeper’s wife, and finally with Yegor himself, and at last they agreed on a price of fifteen copecks.
So now, on the second day of the Christmas festival, Yegor was sitting at a table in the inn kitchen with a pen in his hand. Vasilissa was standing in front of him, plunged in thought, with a look of care and sorrow on her face. Her husband, Peter, a tall, gaunt old man with a bald, brown head, had accompanied her. He was staring steadily in front of him like a blind man; a pan of pork that was frying on the stove was sizzling and puffing, and seeming to say: “Hush, hush, hush!” The kitchen was hot and close.
“What shall I write?” Yegor asked again.
“What’s that?” asked Vasilissa, looking at him angrily and suspiciously. “Don’t hurry me! You are writing this letter for money, not for love! Now then, begin. To our esteemed son-in-law, Andrei Khrisanfltch, and our only and beloved daughter Efimia, we send greetings and love, and the everlasting blessing of their parents.”
“All right, fire away!”
“We wish them a happy Christmas. We are alive and well, and we wish the same for you in the name of God, our Father in heaven–our Father in heaven–”
Vasilissa stopped to think, and exchanged glances with the old man.
“We wish the same for you in the name of God, our Father in Heaven–” she repeated and burst into tears.
That was all she could say. . . . (read on)
Berger Talks About The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Howard Berger, creature supervisor for the Prince Caspian movie, discusses the plans and complications in making The Voyage of the Dawn Treader into a movie, namely to huge amount of CGI characters involved.
Christmas Contest for Moms of Girls
Let’s balance all of the manliness on this blog (and risk our blog gender analysis) by posting information about a contest the little girls in your family will love.
Pam Davis, creator of Girls ’n Grace, and Authentic Books, the publishing portion of the International Bible Society, have announced a Christmas contest to give away a Girls ‘n Grace doll and book. To enter the contest, submit a story about your “best teachable grace moment with a child” in your life to mystory@girlsngrace.com. You must include that you read about the contest on Brandywine Books or copy a link to this blog. Send in your story by December 17. Author Pam Davis will read the entries and pick a winner.
The winning participant will recieve one of two character dolls in the Girls ‘ Grace line: Sydney Claire or Mesi. When you submit your story, note which doll you prefer to receive.
There are a handful of books and dolls in this series, so if you or your girls are interested, browse the Girls ‘n Grace website.
More details after the jump: Continue reading Christmas Contest for Moms of Girls
Missing the Key To It All
Gene Edward Veith writes on Stephen King’s The Stand, due to the 30th anniversary of its publication (subscription req.) King said the novel was a “long tale of dark Christianity.” Veith notes a few positives amid the horror and ugliness, but there is no Christ figure in The Stand, which makes it difficult to call it “Christian.”
My top 5: Mysteries and thrillers
Late posting tonight. I had to usher for Advent services.
Dale requested in Comments my list of the best mysteries/thrillers written in the past twenty years.
I’m reluctant to produce such a list, for a couple reasons.
One, my knowledge of the field is highly limited. I read authors I like and trust, and there are dozens (at least) I’ve never even tried. The mystery field in particular is dominated by female writers, many of whom have feminist agendas, and I just don’t cruise that side of the street. And there are a number of very popular writers whom I avoid either because I simply haven’t tried them yet, or I’ve tried one book and didn’t care to read any more. There’s a good chance there are several out there whom, once I discover them, I’ll be tugging at your (metaphorical) sleeve and boring you about. It’s also possible that an author I’ve weighed and found wanting in the past may surprise me with his/her growth and win me over (this has already happened with Dean Koontz).
But having said that, I’ll list my favorite books of the last twenty years. They’re all from two authors whom I consider preeminent in the field. They are books that not only entertain, but educate the heart, making the reader want to live more generously and courageously. Continue reading My top 5: Mysteries and thrillers
A couple reviews
I read a couple books over the holiday, but I don’t think they’re really worth separate reviews. I’ll take a few superficial swipes and move along.
Strangers by Dean Koontz appears to me to be a transitional work for the author. First published in 1986, it shows considerable improvement in character development and dialogue from much of his other early work.
It follows the adventures of a group of people, scattered all over the country, who begin to have similar anxiety symptoms (but not identical symptoms—there are interesting variations and contradictions). Most of them are suffering nightmares. Some of them develop obsessions. The moon, in particular, becomes the focus of more than one. Continue reading A couple reviews
Good Books of 2008
Mr. Key highlights a few books from the NY Times Book Review list of notable books in 2008.
The Day the Silent Planet Stood Still
Back in college, I took an interterm course that appeared to be an easy grade. It simply required the students to read a certain number of books chosen from a list of famous novels, and to participate in one discussion on each of them.
I found it more difficult than I expected, mainly because it required me to read rather faster than I generally do (though I’m a fairly fast reader), and because some of the books I chose (like The Brothers Karamazov) were pretty long.
But I recall in particular one book I read that summer. It was Sinclair Lewis’ Main Street. I remember it in part because I found it unusually repellent. It’s a book (in case you haven’t read it, which a lot of people haven’t nowadays, and I’m OK with that) by an intellectual who had the misfortune to grow up in a small Minnesota town (Sauk Centre), and who just had to write this book in order to tell the world how soul-destroying life in such a town was (though why we should be interested in the opinion of an author whose soul has been destroyed is not explained). The book itself centers on a young woman from Minneapolis who marries a man from the town of “Gopher Prairie,” and how she struggles to maintain her intellectual and artistic life in its barren environment. I learned after I’d read the book that it’s supposed to be humorous, and I’m glad someone told me, because I’d have never guessed it.
The one thing I recall most clearly about Main Street was a realization I came to while reading it. I couldn’t understand why this book was supposed to be so important, until I realized that it was a pioneering work. Up until then, American literature had generally celebrated the small town as the source of American strength, goodness and wisdom. Lewis was the first writer to convince Americans that small towns were places where they actually didn’t want to live, spiritual swamps inhabited almost exclusively by rubes, yokels and bigots. It’s hard to get the original impact of Main Street today, because Lewis’ revolutionary manifesto has become our popular prejudice. Continue reading The Day the Silent Planet Stood Still