Quiz time! Instead of reading Christmas stories, Jessica would rather
1. Vacuum
2. Get measles
3. Jump off a bridge
Answer: It was a trick question! All of the above answers are correct!
…you think I’m joking, don’t you. I’m not, believe me, I’m not. Christmas stories are wholesome, and heartwarming, and warm and fuzzy and I believe I’d rather die than suffer through another lesson about the true meaning of Christmas.
It is therefore a testament to how much I love Connie Willis that I read her collection of Christmas short stories. Since Willis is my favorite science fiction writer (her novel The Doomsday Book is the best science fiction novel ever, and her novel Passage has the best plot twist ever), I decided that just maybe I could attempt her Christmas stories, given the very good chance that time travel might play a role.
Yeah, well, I was right. Each story involves some sort of science fictiony twist, and there is indeed some time travel involved; witness, for instance, my favorite piece in the collection, “Inn”: two young people, a male and a female, who speak some sort of unidentifiable foreign language, come seeking shelter at a modern-day American church on Christmas Eve. And the female is pregnant and– well, you probably see where Willis is going with this.
Miracle is a great read for people who steadfastly refuse to read Christmas stories, AND for people who steadfastly refuse to read science fiction.
Check the WRL catalog for Miracle, and Other Christmas Stories
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