December book club novella

September 26, 2021 12:41 PM

A Child's Christmas in Wales and what else? For last book club meeting of the year please suggest a short novel or collected short stories themed to year's end.

This is for a Los Angeles-based library monthly book club (meeting virtually), possibly reading A Child's Christmas in Wales, seeking additional short fiction(s). Please help with seasonally appropriate titles for discussion by adult readers at challenging time of year. Themed to solstice, seasonal holidays (prob not Christmas), New Years, winter.

posted by xaryts to Media & Arts (9 answers total)

Half-Spent Was the Night: A Witches’ Yuletide, by Ami McKay. It’s very short, about 90 pages, and (just a heads up) is very much in the tradition of the Victorian Yuletide ghost story, so contains some gruesomeness. Not too much though—I’m a scaredy cat and I was fine with it.

Set in Gilded Age New York, it is a sort of sequel to McKay’s full length novel Witches of New York. You don’t need to have read that one first, though it’s an excellent book in its own right and I do recommend it as a longer read.

During the nights between Christmas and New Year's, the witches of New York — Adelaide Thom, Eleanor St. Clair and the youngest, Beatrice Dunn — gather before the fire to tell ghost stories and perform traditional Yuletide divinations. (Did you know that roasting chestnuts was once used to foretell one's fate?)

As the witches roast chestnuts and melt lead to see their fate, a series of odd messengers land on their doorstep bearing invitations for a New Year's Eve masquerade hosted by a woman they've never met. Gossip, dreams and portents follow, leading the witches to question the woman's motives. Is she as benevolent as she seems or is she laying a trap? And so, as Gilded-Age New York prepares to ring in the new year, the witches don their finery and head for the ball, on the hunt for answers that might well be the end of them.

posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:50 PM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: The Dead, James Joyce. The last story from book of short stories Dubliners, it is novella-length. It’s set partly at a Christmas party, but doesn’t focus on that and I really think of it as an end-of-year story. It’s just the most beautiful story ever written.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 1:58 PM on September 26, 2021 [12 favorites]

Wholeheartedly agreeing with The Dead. It is the best thing ever.
posted by feste at 2:34 PM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

To Every Thing There Is A Season, by Alistair MacLeod. A sweet, slightly sad Christmas story that's beautifully written and has the kind of gentle but unblinking social commentary that MacLeod does better than anyone. Would line up beautifully with A Child's Christmas in Wales, I think.
posted by ZaphodB at 3:25 PM on September 26, 2021 [2 favorites]

Like It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol is way darker than popular opinion gives it credit for.
posted by praemunire at 3:57 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]

High Spirits is a collection of solstice-themed ghost stories meant to read by a fireside on Xmas Eve.
posted by ovvl at 6:33 PM on September 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

"Home for Christmas" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman is a wonderful fantasy novelette. It is set at Christmas but not overtly religious. It's available in various anthologies, including the anthology Season of Wonder.

SF author Connie Willis writes Christmas stories; check them out in her collection called A Lot Like Christmas. A few involve religion but plenty don't, like the alien first contact story called "All Seated on the Ground", or the story of a mysterious snowfall called "Just Like the Ones We Used to Know". Also maybe check out Jeanette Winterson's anthology of her stories called Christmas Days.
posted by gudrun at 6:00 AM on September 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

Matt Haig - A Boy Called Christmas. This was my Book Group's Christmas read last year, and we all loved it.
posted by essexjan at 11:39 AM on September 27, 2021 [2 favorites]

I really enjoyed Jeanette Winterson's Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days .

I know you said probably not Christmas, but iirc this is only Xmas-related in that it's structured for 12 days and is aesthetically, like, snowy and old-timey, which I think of as Victorian (?) Christmas-y. It's not a Bethlehem story, anyway.

Description from publisher:
For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales, along with twelve delicious recipes for the Twelve Days of Christmas. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. From jovial spirits to a donkey with a golden nose, a haunted house to a SnowMama, Winterson’s innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Perfect for reading 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.


also: what a great question!!! I had no idea there was so much great stuff in this vein; I'm favoriting everything here.
posted by Signed Sealed Delivered at 12:13 PM on September 27, 2021 [2 favorites]