A Stubborn Sweetness and Other Stories for the Christmas Season

This book is a collection of 15 Christmas stories to whet our literary appetite over the Christmas season. Although the title is based on the last story of the book, each story is designed to stand on its own merit. There is the story of a strange visitor selling Christmas greens, who was invited in for a cup of coffee, and asked for Mozart to be played. There is the interaction between a 65-year old grandmother with a little boy on a door to door mission for a Church project. There is even a story from Communist China, where a passage from Isaiah provides consolation amid a Cultural Revolution. Over and over, stories abound with strangers meeting strangers; family touching family; and friends; and stories of believers in other parts of the world struggling even with the most basic things like food and shelter. The story of a Japanese pastor meeting a young Korean child is a mixture of hardship living, evangelism, and letting Scriptures guide away one's fear and turn it to faith.The author, Katherine Paterson is an award winning book, The Bridge to Terabithia, shares these stories that were written by her but read aloud by her husband, Rev Dr John Paterson at Christmas Eve services over the years. Written over a period of 40 years, the stories have been published at various places and is now conveniently packed in one book.In contrast to the familiar Christmas daze, the shopping craze, and the traffic maze we encounter in a busy December holiday month, this book of Christmas stories shows us that Christmas is way more than Santa Claus, reindeers, caroling, or Church activities. It is about expectation, peace, hope, joy, faith, and the power of simple human love. We see how mercy is extended. We note how generosity if offered without being asked. We see how churches remain key places of gathering, even when retailers try to attract people to shop until they drop. Some stories looks back at the nativity scene while other stories look at the nature of human relationships and their interactions. Most significant of all, is the fact that stories come alive not because of gifts but because of the giving and receiving; the human element above the materialism and consumerism; the place of faith amid a climate of fear. More importantly, the stories reflect ordinary lives in such a way that readers can jump in and say: "Hey! I can identify with that."When this happens, one knows that the book is already a worthwhile read.Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.conradeThis book is provided to me courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Short, but sweet Christmas stories reflecting real life situations. Small, unexpected miracles seem happen more often during the Christmas season, if we are paying close attention.

Had me hooked from the very first real-life tale "Exultate Jubilate" about a modern-day husband/father tired of the usual Christmas trappings only to be given a gentle reminder about what Christmas is all about. Also includes new twists on tales as old as "Why the Chimes Almost Rang" (which reminded me of a play in one act I had read by Elizabeth Apthorp McFadden if you care to give my review a look) and "On the Night of His Birth" which relates the birth of Christ from Mary's perspective. All were exceptionally good (no surprise since this was penned by an accomplished author) and book has handy links from the table of contents so you may read what you want when you want very easily. Suitable any time of year but most especially at Christmastime and going to be adding it to my favorites as a result!

Katherine Paterson was one of my favorite authors growing up, so when I saw this short story collection being offered for free on Kindle, I grabbed it immediately. I love Christmas-themed short stories because they just feel perfect for this time of year.I admit, I was pleasantly surprised by these stories. These are no cookie-cutter stories, but rather offer a variety of settings and diverse characters. Mary tells the story of her child's birth; a prisoner in Communist China dares to defy her captors by reading the Bible; a wealthy woman, poor in spirit, is befriended by a young boy. Some of the stories are more lighthearted, while others are very poignant and moving. There is a great mix in this collection. Often I would sit down to read only one story, and end up reading two or three. They were short, but so well-written. Like any collection, I preferred some over others, but overall, this was a wonderful set of stories.

There is a depth to each of these stories that caused me to pause after reading each one to allow myself to feel the full impact. These aren't your standard happily-ever-after, Christmas romance stories, nor are they stories in which the orphan gets adopted or the reader comes away with a warm, fuzzy holiday feeling. The stories hold up the raw realities of life against the backdrop of the good news of the Christmas story. Most of the characters find joy, or at least meaning, in spite of their circumstances. The author deftly moves among many narrative voices and seems to feel at home in all of them. You may not "like" every story, but every story will make you think. This book is well worth adding to your Christmas reading list.

I was pleasantly surprised with this. It was free at the time, so I purchased it to read to my 92 year old grandmother who loves everything Christmas.While every one is CHRISTmas themed in some way (the author is a minister's wife), I was pleased to learn each story had a different lesson or inspiration to share whether it was bravery, faith, generosity, or compassion. It was also refreshing to have different cultures and walks of life in the stories. Obviously some stories were better liked than others as is typical of a collection, but all in all very good.

As a pastor the whole Christmas Eve Sermon can be a lot of pressure and so when I saw this volume and the inspiration for it I talked to several people at the church I serve, and asked them, "Would you rather hear a Christmas Sermon or a Christmas Story on Christmas Eve?" And to a person they all liked the idea of hearing a story and I can't wait to share one of these gems with them!

I enjoyed the short stories but wish they hadn't ended so abruptly. They were good stories that had great characters and meaningful messages and I would have given them 5 stars except that there was no closure only a sense of " well what happened". This author is good and I would like to read a complete story of hers.