Christmas Days

12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days

By: Jeanette Winterson

Narrated by: Jeanette Winterson, Imogen Church

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmastime, and here she brings together 12 of her brilliantly imaginative, funny, and bold tales. For the Twelve Days of Christmas - a time of celebration, sharing, and giving - she offers these 12 plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories.

These tales open a portal into the spirit of the season, when time slows down and magic starts to happen. From trees with mysterious powers to a tinsel baby that talks, philosophical fairies to flying dogs, a haunted house to a disappearing train, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas, perfect for listening to by the fire with loved ones or while traveling home for the holidays.

Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.

©2016 Jeanette Winterson (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Christmas stories

I like some of the recipes as it relates to the story and people who made them. I thought the number of ghost stories or haunted houses was a bit much. But I liked the orphan story-revenge on bad people. Overall it wasn't a romance and it was about the holidays.

Silly and Boring

I skipped many of these stories, especially the recipes! The stories are silly, boring or very good...all at different times and nothing I expected. Enter at your own risk!

Spirited Christmas Listen

This was an interestingly odd, off beat and at times charmingly engaging collection of stories. The book starts with the author's fascinating overview of the history of Christmas--something I really enjoyed. Then, the collection alternates between a short story narrated beautifully by Church and a short feast chapter read by the author. Winterson uses a very conversational style with the stories and recipes that make up the feast portions of the book. I loved her chatty advice about cooking and all her wonderful back stories about UK Christmas celebrations that went with the feasts.

My favorite of the short stories was the first in the collection, titled the Spirit of Christmas. This was magic filled and was so well written that it made me want to read more of Winterson's non-Christmas writing. For me, this chapter also made the whole audiobook worth the price of admission when grouped with the feast chapters.

Now we get to the odd part, the part that caused several friends to quit the book with a shudder. I hate spoilers but I do have to warn you that the author included a fair number of very scary, creepy ghost stories in the collection. At first, I thought she was following along with a Dickensian theme of ghosts at Christmas time with a Christmas message. In reality, the ghost stories were set at Christmas time, but often were not really about Christmas. It's hard to explain, and I'm still unsure about some of the stories.

I'll be honest, I skipped through several chapters and occasionally just listened to the feast sections. This was definitely not a book that I would suggest for family listening during the holidays--a bit too strange. I think in the end the theme may have been about putting things right at Christmas time, but that's just a guess.

I plan on listening again next year and maybe then I'll get through every story. Recommended if you like ghost stories or if you are willing to take a chance on something unusual. Just keep in mind that you might have to skip a few parts here and there.

Delight and surprise - and a new favorite

I tried this title on a whim because it was a Daily Deal. I didn’t expect it to become one of my very favorite books.

Jeanette Winterson has spun a remarkable set of stories in this collection, each better than the one before it. She begins the book with a brief overview of Christmas history, from pagan to religious, and ends it with her own holiday reflections. In between are twelve stories and twelve “feasts” - distinctly British recipes for the season, with personal stories behind each. The short stories themselves are fantastic, and I especially love that she embraces what used to be a popular trope at Christmas - the ghost story. There are several here, and you’ll want to leave a light on.

The rest of the tales range from the poignant to the whimsical, and every one left me breathless. Imogen Church is a brilliant narrator and brought these stories to such vibrant life that I can’t imagine the print version would have managed quite the same effect (though I have ordered a copy to find out).

If you like all the feels that come with the holidays - suspense, sentimentality, and magic - this book will delight and surprise you.

Christmas and food!

Jeanette Winterson has joined these holiday elements with stories that are fun, spooky, sentimental and real.
Thank you! I just wish there was a .pdf for the recipes.
Mo

I’m loving it.

I am not even finished and I am loving it. Keep up the good work!

Thoughtful, wry, warm. Pitch perfect Winterson

Loved everything about this festive little book! Nice to have something to listen to in the weeks leading up to Xmas to remind us to dig deeper. Personal stories and recipes were excellent palate cleansers between chapters and as a long time fan of Winterson, a nice slice of her personality served up without the frosting of her (albeit delicious) prose. If you want something "holiday" that isn't just shinny wrapping and sweetness this is for you.

I Listen Every Christmas

I cherish this book of stories every year. I love hearing the author's own voice for her recipes and the narration of the fiction is done well too. Steep here for history of Christmas, heart of Christmas and spirit of the season. Meet the Snow Mama, the silver frogs and the donkey of Christmas day. Always a treasure, enjoy!

Second time listening

I listened to this anthology last December and I enjoyed it. I just listened again and l enjoyed it even more. There is a depth of thought and feeling in these holiday stories. I especially enjoyed the personal ones from the authors life. Thank you for this touching and entertaining collection.

I Wish I Could Give this Book Twelve Stars

This book is at turns touching and traditional, scary or sad, funny, fantastical and wonderful. I've never read a book like it but I loved the reflections and recipes read by the author and the stories read by Imogen Church. Between the narrator's lovely rendering and author's empathetic treatment of all subjects and magical words, I found this to be a lovely holiday treat. If only I could have made it last twelve whole days.