A Junky's Christmas: And Other Stories - Softcover

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76 ratings by Goodreads

9781852423445: A Junky's Christmas: And Other Stories

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1852423447 ISBN 13: 9781852423445

Publisher: Serpent's Tail, 1994

Eighteen stories by William S. Burroughs, William Trevor, and others deal with the stress, disappointment, and darker aspects of the holiday

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From Kirkus Reviews:

This collection offers mostly innocuous tales of holiday festivities with a smattering of laughs, quite a few yawns, and very little genuine wisdom. In her introduction, London journalist Segrave asserts that Christmas tends to ``highlight human failure,'' and each of these 18 stories deals with this theme. The stories--some new and others that have appeared previously; by newcomers and writers as well-known as William S. Burroughs--explore our capacity for forgiveness in light of the expectations the holiday tends to invoke. Debut author Omar Sattaur looks at a peace offering to a jilted lover through the eyes of two young boys more concerned with whether a battery-operated Porsche and toy air rifle will appear under the tree than the with the loneliness of their Aunty Pearly, abandoned years ago by her husband (``A Neck Like Yours''). Mandla Langa's protagonist recalls the tragic death of a friend, when they were young boys working the docks in South Africa, and stops blaming himself (``Zizi''). But sometimes, forgiveness does not come easily. In A.L. Kennedy's sad tale of regret and spite, a father tries not to let his gentle daughters see how angry he is with the mother who failed them (``The Snowbird''). William Trevor provides a somber portrait of an Irish wife living in England who tries to reconcile her Irish husband with a longtime British family friend who won't show up for Christmas dinner because her hard-headed husband inadvertently suggested they approve of the bombings of innocent bystanders and now refuses to amend his statement (``Another Christmas''). And other times, forgiveness never comes. Mary Broke Freeman's wife finally leaves her cheating husband (``A Date with Santa''), and Andrew O'Hagan's rejected student exposes his teacher as a junkie (``Glass Cheques''). Christmas may represent hope and rebirth for many, but these slices of life, for the most part, fail to live up to such potentially powerful themes. More fun than fruitcake but less exciting than a Sear's wish book. -- Copyright �1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

For Christmas, 18 authors present short stories (including the title story by William S. Burroughs) that are tenuously related to the celebration of the holiday but dispense little yuletide cheer. Most are jewels shining with irony and illuminating the darker facets of family discord and alienated humanity. They relate the concerns of outsiders, immigrants, the poor, the old, the corrupt, and the occasional uncherubic child. Some offer glimmers of hope; others reek of futility. Unabashed romantics may be startled by such unconventional Christmas subjects as betrayal, disappointment, divorce, and death. Realists who bristle at the seasonal facade of peace or those whose own celebrations pale in the face of the holiday's ideal depiction will relish the originality of these stories. Recommended for fiction collections.
Sheila Riley, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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