In “The Deal of a Lifetime” by Fredrik Backman, a father and son reunite on Christmas Eve after many years spent apart. He has returned to tell his son about a little girl in the hospital who is fighting against cancer, and that he has a chance to save her and change the outcome of her life.
But first, he must take responsibility for the father he was to his own son, and his whole family, before he can go on. He has sacrificed the value of his own life, focused on success and neglected the people in his own life up to this moment. His son, on this cold late night, reveals to him the true value of his life that he had been ignoring all along.
Humorous and tenderhearted, Backman has compacted in this short novel the lesson that, while life is a fleeting gift, it is a gift still to be shared with the people you love.
‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott
One of the great classics of fiction, “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott follows the lives of four sisters and their devotion to each other during the Civil War in New England.
Starting during the Christmas season, Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg find themselves all dreaming of the lives they deem perfect, while also growing older and changing, learning that there will come times when they will all be different from each other, with different life paths and goals.
Together, they face hardships, beautiful moments, love, death, heartbreak and the conflict of familial responsibility, all wrapped up in this wonderful composition by Alcott. It is a book that, no matter how many times I reread it, will never cease to make me tear up throughout.
‘Signal Fires’ by Dani Shapiro
This national best-selling novel by Dani Shapiro tells the story of two families, and how their entire lives were changed in a single night.
On Division Street sits a large oak tree. Beneath it sits 10-year-old Waldo Shenkman, who points out his favorite constellations to Ben Wilf, a retired physician who joins him beneath the branches. Unknown to Waldo, the two have met before and are connected by a history as complex as the constellations they watch in the dark winter sky.
The Wilfs and the Shenkmans both have their own secrets to keep. “Signal Fires” spans across 50 years between the two families, their intertwined pasts and what becomes of their futures.
Crucial and gentle all at once, Shapiro has crafted a narrative that meditates on memories, family ties and the power of being interlinked.
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‘Small Things Like These’ by Claire Keegan
It's the winter of 1985 in New Ross, Ireland. As the weeks lead up to Christmas, “Small Things Like These” tells the story of the Furlongs and a discovery that changes their lives forever.
Bill Furlong is a coal and timber merchant facing the busiest season of the year, as the months get colder and snow layers on New Ross in blankets. One day, while making a delivery to a local convent in town, he discovers that it houses and mistreats girls who have fallen pregnant out of wedlock.
While this conflict arises, Bill must also manage the complications of his own life at home with his wife and kids. It is a tale of humble justice, hope and warmth amidst the frigid frost of Ireland.
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