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Revision as of 13:52, 23 August 2020
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Pine Cove is coastal California... where the weather at midwinter is not actually that pleasant: cold, damp, fog rolling in of the waters... but not bad enough to be real Christmassy. None of the sparkling white stuff. Pine Cove is where sad people go for Christmas... those who don't want to be at home, and don't really have anywhere else to be. The kind of place where they can actually get away with calling the party for those kinds of people "Lonesome Christmas". I don't mean sad in the true sense of the word, obviously... not the really desperately unhappy poor and afflicted. You need to be wealthy to get to Pine Cove for Christmas. I mean, like, you know "sad"... complete with ironic inverted commas and SUVs.
It is the joyful kind of a place that Christmas creeps into ''dragging garland, ribbon and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a coldsore cold sore under the mistletoe.''
And that's our welcome... the opening sentence of the book, so you do have to have a little sympathy for Raziel. Poor chap had no idea. (Admittedly, he never does, but on this occasion... )
together with the kind of villagers often seen waving pitchforks at flaming windmills in B-movies. Good decent people... but easily led.
It is in this delightful setting that seven -year -old Joshua Barker witnesses the brutal shovel-murder of Santa Claus.
He was already convinced he'd been listed for a few bad words, and being late home... but if Santa was actually dead... Christmas really was gonna be hosed. (As if that isn't bad enough for any kid, he best friend is Jewish and there's the innate one-upmanship going on that's cute in kids, and leads to world wars in adults.) He can't let Christmas not be. So he does what any child would do. He prays.
Meanwhile, helicopter pilot Tucker Case and his Philipino fruit bat Roberto ride to the rescue of a damsel in distress.
It does carry an Author's warning. Should you be thinking of buying this for your grandma or your kids... read and take note.
This is a Christmas book in every sense. It is about Christmas. It has been released in time for Christmas. It is a silly easy read, and is only 250 pages long, which means that you can sit down in a nicely lit corner after the Queen's speech and have enjoyed the whole frolic before the turkey sandwiches appear. The fact that you'll be giggling and laughing to yourself will be allowed, because it's Christmas.
I'm sure the cynics will talk about 'exploiting the market', so I need to find something to criticise... I thought I had it towards the end as we head into Schmaltz Territory... but...(sorry you'll have to be ready to make sense of the 'but')
Everyone's Christmas stocking should have something utterly pointless in it. If I hadn't read it already, I'd be delighted to find this in mine.
If you haven't discovered Christopher Moore yet...check out Raziel's previous escapade in [[Lamb]], which will get my vote for the funniest book of the year. This book features in our [[December 2008 Newsletter]].
{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Books With A Christmas Theme}}
