Reading Under the Influence

My recovery from knee replacement is going well, but for the first two weeks I was on some pain drugs – which I found made some reading quite difficult. I was close to the end of the latest Louis Penny novel, but the complex plot and clues became a jumble – as I say – under the influence.

Putting it aside for now, I read three very effortless Christmas books.

Perhaps you too, while not on drugs, are a bit scattered this time of year and want something easy to read right before bed ~~ try these, I enjoyed them all.

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Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishoi

Brightly Shining is a Norwegian Christmas tale that has been critically acclaimed across Europe. I was drawn in by the sparkly cover.

This story is reminiscent of the fairy tale, ‘The Little Match Girl’ – so fair warning – not a happy Christmas story. Take two young girls, an alcoholic father, and all of them barely surviving on a cold Norwegian Christmas.

The little girls’ father gets a job selling Christmas trees, but it’s not long before he falls back into poor choices. The girls survive by helping out at the Christmas tree kiosk and make enough money to buy food and fuel. They survive on their dreams. Dreams of warm cabins, food, better times, and hope. But it’s hard to keep dreams alive when they, too, lose their gigs selling trees and the father is no where to be found.

While certainly sad, I found Brightly Shining compelling – the magic of dreams, the beautiful writing (it doesn’t read like a translation), and the girls endurance kept me turning the pages. In the end, no one saves the day which is very Norwegian realistic — and I will let you decide what you think of the ending.

A digital review copy was kindly provided by Grove Atlantic via Netgalley.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb

Ms. Gaynor/Webb’s previous Christmas book – Last Christmas in Paris was one of my favorite holiday reads so I was very (very) pleased when the publisher sent me her newest – Christmas with the Queen.

This delightful novel opens with the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign and her trepidation over her first Christmas Day Speech from Sandringham.

The dual story line opens in London when BBC typist Olive Carter, her best friend Rosie, and another girl Andrea meet Jack Devereux, a Seabee cook trained by his Louisiana grandfather, and pilot Peter Hall. The newly bonded young friends meet weekly at a pub to share their lives, hopes and dreams, flirting and settling into their new jobs and lives.

Seven years later Olive, now a single mom, is a junior reporter with the BBC and is sent as a replacement for her ill and stogy boss to cover the new Queen’s Christmas day speech at Sandringham. Once there she re-encounters Jack, who has lost his wife Andrea in an accident and has been recruited to help out in the royal kitchen for the holidays. Old sparks reignite, but their lives go in separate ways.

Christmas with the Queen goes on to follow the young Queen’s early Christmas broadcasts and Jack and Olive’s involvement with the royal household from 1952-1957. Times were changing in those post war years and the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth was facing a changing world. There is a special highlight on her actual Christmas Day speeches, and while the events that lead Olive to become her personal speech advisor may strain credibility, the interaction between these two mothers of young children, doing their duties in previously male held posts was insightful and heartwarming.

Jack becomes more than a valuable helper cook for Sandringham at Christmas, he becomes a permanent chef at Buckingham Palace, and joins the royal family on the royal yacht Britannia during the Queen’s commonwealth tour. I found the descriptions of the operation of the various royal kitchens fascinating and Jack, being an open and friendly American, develops a good matured and chummy relationship with Prince Philip.

As with their previous Christmas book, these two authors’ writing style drew me in and I fell headfirst into the story. (Again under the influence). It didn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for books about the royals. And, unlike the bleak Norwegian novel above – Christmas with the Queen has a heartwarming and magical ending — perfect for the holiday season.

A digital review copy was kindly provided by William Morrow via Netgalley.

Two minor quibbles: The authors obviously wanted to extend Jack and Olive’s romance over the years in the story line and so they loaded their relationship with miscommunications, set backs, and misunderstandings — which felt a little strained towards the end of the novel.

As I read, my teeth grated over the authors’ use of the grammatically incorrect ‘between Philip and I’ and ‘carefree days with Philip and I’. Arghh it should be between Philip and me and with Philip and me. Correct me if I’m wrong?

Christmas Crumble by M. C. Beaton

The more intellectual followers of this little blog, are most likely aghast at my fondness for the Agatha Raisin series, but there it is – I love these often silly, always funny mysteries.

Here’s what Goodreads said:

At home alone for the holidays, Agatha Raisin decides to host a dinner party for the elder residents in her Cotswold village . Agatha’s never been able to cook, but she’s dead-set on making this the perfect holiday for local “crumblies”. She’s decorated a tree while fending off her cats Hodge and Boswell, and even made a (lumpy) Christmas pudding in between swigs of rum.

When Agatha dumps the pudding on the head of the local self-proclaimed lothario—an eighty-five year old with a beer belly and fingers like sausages—his death by dessert proves more than a trifle as mysteries mount higher than the season’s snowfall. So much for trying to do good by her neighbors. Now Agatha needs no less than a Christmas miracle to get herself out of this one...

This little 36 page novel packs in a lot, and, as always, Agatha provides much merriment as she struggles to gain acceptance and love, fails miserably, but always pulls herself back up. And that, folks, is why I enjoy this character.

I’m now off the pain killers, just Tylenol – so I feel equipped to get back to Three Pines and the wonderful world of Louise Penny. But wait, look over there – more Christmas books to consider.