Holiday Literature Picks
“Year’s End”, Jhumpa Lahiri
I was very moved by Jhumpa Lahiri's Year's End, which was published in the New Yorker in 2007, about a young man's Christmas trip home after his father remarries. The best holiday stories always end up being about families, and the way Lahiri breaks apart and rearranges this particular one is stunning. —Jemimah Wei
The Dead, James Joyce
Who among us hasn’t been super nervous to go a Christmas Party, knowing that you have to say something gracious and that you can’t think of anything to say, and then when you say it you’re embarrassed, and you think your friends hate you, and then you get horny and then your spouse wants to talk about how their ex died at Christmastime and how the song you liked was a reminder of that and then you think about how everyone you know is going to die someday? Snow is general all over Ireland. The movie is also real good. —Nathaniel Berry
“The Gift of the Magi”, O. Henry
Just kidding, let me tell you why “The Gift of the Magi” is a bag of hot garbage. (Spoiler alert for a 100+ year old story) So Jim sells his pocket watch, a family heirloom, to get his wife a set of combs. Della cuts all her hair off to buy him a pocket watch chain. What a coincidence! Except you know what grows back over time? NOT A FUCKING POCKET WATCH. In five years she’s going to be combing her hair with these beautiful combs and he’s just got to sit there and watch while he, I don’t know, fondly caresses this chain? Garbage. —Elliot Alpern
Arthur's Perfect Christmas, Mark Brown
I think I asked my mom to read this to me every night leading up to the holidays in elementary school. Marc Brown's famous aardvark is trying to make sure his family has the best holiday season, but things don't go according to plan. Thankfully, sometimes surprises are even better than whatever you wanted. —Rachel A.G. Gilman
“The Fir Tree”, Hans Christian Andersen
Ah, just the fairy tale for the season! If you’re searching for some perspective this Christmas, look no further. Growing up, the little fir tree was heckled by the storied creatures of the forest. Rabbits jumped over him, women referred to him as the “baby of the forest.” It was all very embarrassing for the fir tree, who soon began to envy the older trees for getting felled and decorated in houses. Finally, one Christmas, the fir tree is cut down for the holiday. Children first pillage the tree for decorations, then presents. To make matters worse, the tree is subjected to some pretty dull storytelling. The fir tree begins to miss his time in the woods. But then, just when he thinks life couldn’t get worse for him, he’s carried into the attic by servants, where he’s trampled on by rats. Without giving away any more of the story, let’s just say Hans Christian Andersen urges the reader to enjoy the present because, um, who knows what the future holds? —Gauraa Shekhar
A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
My first encounter with A Christmas Carol was actually through Mickey Mouse’s A Christmas Carol starring Scrooge McDuck. An adorable, heartwarming movie with memorable imagery; but as I grew older, I evidently learned that it was based off a novella by Charles Dickens. What is most interesting about Dickens's tale is that it was meant as a moral refutation to economist Thomas Malthus, who cautioned against intervening when people were hungry because it would only lead to an untenable population size. (Hence, the vivid imagery of the turkey and mountain of food usually depicted in this tale).
So then was born Mr. Scrooge, a man devoid of sentimentality who lived selfishly among his community’s privations. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens aimed to discuss the issues of Victorian London with the kindred spirit of Christmas and illustrate (in proper holiday fashion) that ultimately, employers are responsible for the well-being of their employees. Merry Christmas! —Giulia Di Stravola
The Elf on the Shelf, Bell Chanda and Carol V. Aebersold
More than just an internet fad, there's actually a book that accompanies Santa's little helpers, explaining their origin. I read it each year when I get mine out and have to remember that I named it after a boy I had a crush on. *sigh* Oh, Ian Garland, I hope you're doing well... –Rachel A.G. Gilman
