Christmas is a time for storytelling. And if you're a book lover like me, these Christmasy novels might be just the place to start.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus – Frank Baum
I’ll be honest. I thought I was going to hate this. The title sounded incredibly intriguing, and the fact that it was written by the same guy who wrote “The Wizard of Oz” made it seem like a sure classic, but then I heard about how Santa was apparently raised by fairies under the rule of some weirdo father figure named Ak. My initial impression was that this was going to be thoroughly weird – and at first, it definitely was. The story begins in a strange and enchanted place called the Forest of Burzee (again, such a weird name), where Santa is found lying helplessly about to be eaten by a wild animal. He’s just a baby. We get no back story on how this baby got here. We’re just expected to roll with it. For me, it was a bit of a rough start.
That said, once Santa grew up and headed out into the world of mortals, I was firmly on board. Santa is every bit the man you’d hope he’d be, and though he occasionally finds himself being meddled with by weird goblin-like villains, most of this story is filled with explanations for how Santa came to be the man we know and love. We see the first toy, the introduction of reindeer, the first chimney, and a whole bunch of other “firsts” – and it’s fairly delightful.
This book was shorter than I had anticipated. If anything, it serves more or less as an origin story than as a complete narrative in and of itself. There’s no central antagonist that Santa sets out to defeat, and no primary goal that is achieved by the end of the story. But even so, this was fun to read at Christmastime. What’s more, we briefly get to see some more reindeer that are rarely talked about: Flossie and Glossie, Racer and Pacer, Reckless and Speckless, Fearless and Peerless, and lastly, Ready and Steady. Santa may be immortal, but I always wonder about the reindeer. Frank Baum seems to argue that they don’t last forever.
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
This is a great book. First of all, it’s a short and easy read. It’s no great commitment to decide to read the book during the Christmas season. Secondly, it’s a lovely story and it makes no difference whether you’ve never heard of Scrooge or if you know the story inside and out like I did when I first read this. The dialogue is charming and witty, and Scrooge is a lovably hateable character. I think it speaks volumes that even in modern retellings of the Scrooge story (in film, on stage, etc.), producers will often stick closely to the original dialogue. Thirdly, I think it’s so cool that many historians agree that this book is what really reinvigorated Christmas itself and helped make it the holiday that it is today. If you like Christmas, just give this book a try. You don’t stand to lose much but what you stand to gain is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
The Autobiography of Santa Claus – Jeff Guinn
On and off for many Christmases, I’ve fantasized about the idea of writing a book that chronicled the origins and rise of the legendary Santa Claus, beginning with the birth of Saint Nicholas and progressing all the way to the modern era where elves find themselves constructing iPads instead of rocking horses. I even went to the library once to borrow some historical books compiling the development of the Santa mythos over the years. Then one day I found this book, and realized with the horror that the book I wanted to write had already been written. Both disappointed and excited, I grabbed a copy and began to read.
I’m not sure if it is a fortunate or unfortunate thing that I was disappointed. This read like more of a textbook than a narrative. The author weaves the same character through major moments in the history of Christmas without ever moving toward a definitive end goal. Santa becomes Santa pretty quickly, becomes immortal shortly after that, and then moves around the world giving presents to little boys and girls. There is nothing wrong with what the author did, but there also just wasn’t anything exciting about it. There was no narrative crescendo, and I feel that it sorely needed one. I liked that the author tried to respect the ‘historical Santa’, but there was too much historicity and not enough magic.
Maybe someday I’ll write that book, or maybe I’ll find that the book I’m dreaming has already been written on another shelf I haven’t crossed yet. Whichever comes first, I hope it comes soon.
Letters From Father Christmas – J.R.R. Tolkien
This is an adorable book. And I can’t ever seem to finish it.
J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of one of the most popular mythologies of the last century, wrote letters to his children every year from Santa Claus - or ‘Father Christmas’ as he’s known across the pond. That statement alone was more than enough for me to pick up this book. Who wouldn’t want to hear Tolkien’s take on Saint Nick? And as I got into it, there was a lovable heart to each letter. Santa’s brief remarks in his letters about how certain Tolkien kids have stopped writing him are very charming. In true Tolkien fashion, there are also transcriptions of the written language of the North Pole. Not even at Christmastime could he restrain himself with coming up with a new language. Then there’s the bits with goblin wars and things of that sort, which don’t really mesh with a modern understanding of Kris Kringle, but hey, this guy wrote Lord of the Rings.
What makes this hard to read from start to finish is a mix of a lack of narrative and a certain emptiness to Tolkien’s North Pole. In many descriptions of Santa’s workshop, Tolkien tells us that it’s very cold, desolate, and under-staffed. For the most part, it’s just Santa and his sidekick polar bear. The North Pole is practically lifeless, which isn’t that interesting to read about. On top of that, there isn’t really any ongoing story. The world develops a little bit as the letters continue, but the story doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. To his credit, it didn’t need to. He never meant for this to get published - it was just a fun thing to do with his kids. And I think that’s what we have to judge it on. This is very cute and a bit interesting, but if you’re looking for a good STORY, this isn’t really that. Maybe try “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus” by Frank Baum, the guy who wrote “The Wizard Of Oz”.