Janet
25th November 2006, 19:44
The ‘Blurb’
A young boy finds a faded, home-made Advent calendar in a bookshop. A piece of paper falls out of the first window on which is written the first part of an extraordinary story about a small girl who travels back in time to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ... Meanwhile, the intertwining story of the present unfolds, and the boy finds out about the strange man who made the calendar and about a girl who disappeared on Christmas Eve 40 years ago... compelling reading.
The story opens with Joachim and his father going to buy an Advent calendar. To his father’s amusement, Joachim chooses not a brand-new calendar, but a tatty, handmade one.
On 1st December, he opens the first door and a piece of paper falls out. On the paper is the first part of a story of a little girl called Elizabet who disappeared from her home fifty years earlier. Each day, another piece of paper falls from the calendar to continue the story of how Elisabet travels across Europe and back through time to witness the birth of Christ. On her journey she is joined by assorted people, animals and angels!
I'm not really a religious person - I guess you’d call me agnostic. However, if you take this novel as a good read, rather than a sermon, then it's enjoyable, even if it's not very fast moving!
I enjoyed the story. I think it’s probably written for children, but it’s a simple tale which is very engaging, and is a good, appropriate read for the run up to Christmas. I felt that the ‘mystery’ bit of the book was rather rushed at the end, but then, if it’s aimed at children, then that’s probably why.
This is our Bookworms December read.
The paperback is 247 pages long and is published by Phoenix. The ISBN number is 0753808668.
7½/10
(Read November 2006)
A young boy finds a faded, home-made Advent calendar in a bookshop. A piece of paper falls out of the first window on which is written the first part of an extraordinary story about a small girl who travels back in time to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ... Meanwhile, the intertwining story of the present unfolds, and the boy finds out about the strange man who made the calendar and about a girl who disappeared on Christmas Eve 40 years ago... compelling reading.
The story opens with Joachim and his father going to buy an Advent calendar. To his father’s amusement, Joachim chooses not a brand-new calendar, but a tatty, handmade one.
On 1st December, he opens the first door and a piece of paper falls out. On the paper is the first part of a story of a little girl called Elizabet who disappeared from her home fifty years earlier. Each day, another piece of paper falls from the calendar to continue the story of how Elisabet travels across Europe and back through time to witness the birth of Christ. On her journey she is joined by assorted people, animals and angels!
I'm not really a religious person - I guess you’d call me agnostic. However, if you take this novel as a good read, rather than a sermon, then it's enjoyable, even if it's not very fast moving!
I enjoyed the story. I think it’s probably written for children, but it’s a simple tale which is very engaging, and is a good, appropriate read for the run up to Christmas. I felt that the ‘mystery’ bit of the book was rather rushed at the end, but then, if it’s aimed at children, then that’s probably why.
This is our Bookworms December read.
The paperback is 247 pages long and is published by Phoenix. The ISBN number is 0753808668.
7½/10
(Read November 2006)