Five star⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Review! Another great read from the author of "The Water at the End of the World".
October 9, 2018
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Delightful and inspirational short stories. It is hard to pick my favorite(s), so I'll just say I enjoyed all of them!
https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Easterling/e/B0752PRJ7R
4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful little collection of inspirational Christmas stories!
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2021
I was casually cruising Amazon the other day looking for holiday books. This one with its incredibly beautiful cover caught my eye. When I saw it was a book of Christmas short stories, I immediately downloaded it. I am surprised that it has barely been read (perhaps because its price is just a tad high) because it’s a gem of a set of wonderful stories.
There are 7 stories in all. Each one is sweet and inspirational. I also liked that most of them are set in the past. All the stories are very different from each other. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but perhaps the first one (the title story) set during the mid 1800’s that features an older man intimidated by a group of “slave catchers.” One I liked just as much, “The Three Dowries,” is focused on a wealthy yet miserly fellow who discovers the gift of giving. I also really liked the last story, “Ike the Hermit,” where an old man down on his luck is blessed after offering a selfless favor to a stranger. In between are lovely stories about a hard-working Amish woman, a troubled Black 10-year-old boy, a couple of handymen who fashioned a 1959 Chevy pipe organ out of worthless old plumbing pipes, and Jacob Marley himself in another effort to save a disturbed soul.
The collection in total is novella length and can easily be read in a day or two. Overall, I found the tales to be heart-warming and inspiring. It’s a perfect anthology to pick up and read in front of a warm fire with a hot cup of your favorite beverage this holiday season.
WLucky number seven — that’s the number of stories in Michael Easterling’s new book, “Christmas Eve on the Underground Railroad and Other Christmas Stories.” Each gem of a story has some connection with Christmas, but they aren’t the typical reindeer and elves stories. They occur in different parts of the world, in different periods of history and with unexpected characters — like the innovative handymen in “The ’59 Chevy Apache Pipe Organ” or the Dutch sailor in “The Three Dowries.”
What each story has in common is the theme that Christmas is a magical time when anything can happen —the supercilious ghost of Jacob Marley might find his soul or an emotionally disturbed child could find peace after the bombing death of his parents. Redemption, peace, the finding of what was lost in life and miracles fill the pages of “Christmas Eve on the Underground Railroad and Other Christmas Stories.”
Wendy Schultz, Placerville Mountain Democrat
