The Christmas Mystery

This is an odd one to review, because... well, nothing Gaarder writes is ever simple, is it? It's a story within a story, an advent calendar within an advent calendar. A little boy called Joachim finds a handmade advent calendar in an old bookshop and takes it home. Every day when he opens the next door a folded piece of paper falls out, slowly telling the story of a little girl called Elisabet who runs away from a department store in the late 40s and ends up on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem. Each day the pilgrims, including shepherds, angels, sheep and the three Kings of Orient, run across countries - and across time - adding new figures to their ranks as they go, with the aim of reaching Bethlehem at the time of Jesus's birth. At the same show more time, there's an ongoing mystery about a grown-up Elisabet who's ALSO missing... Suffice to say that in classic Gaarder style, all is sort-of cleared up by the end, with a whopping side helping of BUT MAYBE...??

As you may know, I'm not remotely religious, but my Decembers at school as a kid were filled with nativity scenes and carols and colouring in pictures of the Three Wise Men, just like every other child, so I was mostly able to overlook the occasional heavy-handed religious moment and focus on the themes of peace and goodwill and general festivity. The arrival of an exuberant and rather unorthodox cherub called Impuriel definitely helped, as well as the fact that the chapters are short - about 7-11 pages - so it never got overwhelming. It became a lovely morning ritual throughout December, reading that day's chapter over breakfast, opening my own advent calendar at the same time as Joachim opened his! show less

While shopping for an Advent calendar in a Norwegian town, a young boy and his father discover a one-of-a-kind calendar in a bookshop. Joachim looks forward to opening each day's door to learn more about a little girl, Elisabet, and her companions who are on a journey across Europe and backwards through time to be present at Christ's birth in Bethlehem.

I easily read this book in a single day, but I think it would be more pleasurable to read a chapter a day throughout December leading up to Christmas. Some of the chapters become repetitive, a useful feature if you're reading the book over a 3 ½ week period but a flaw if you're reading it in a short period of time. Besides its obvious use for religious instruction during Advent, this show more book could also be used to introduce children to some of the events and key figures in European history. show less

Told in 24 short chapters which are each assigned a date from 1st – 24th December, this book was apparently designed to be read like an advent calendar, with the appropriate chapter being read on the specific date.

On 1st December, a young boy named Joachim is given an unusual advent calendar, and behind each door contains a chapter of a story. As the story unfolds, Joachim (and his parents) learn about a young girl named Elisabet who disappeared from Norway years earlier, and a pilgrimage of angels, shepherds and wise men who travel across land and time, to be present when Jesus was born.

Unfortunately, I did not particularly enjoy this book. Although I am not religious, I can enjoy reading books about religion, but I felt that this show more particular story was preachy and sanctimonious. Also, while it might be considered a magical tale of a pilgrimage, it could equally be seen as the story of a young girl who was tempted away from her mother by a cute animal, and led away with an angel who promised to look after her, but instead took her away from her home, and left her mother wondering for years about what had happened to her daughter. (Which to me anyway, sounds a bit sinister.)

I do think the idea was quite a good one, because it could be a useful tool for learning about the history of certain places, but I just couldn’t connect with it at all. There was no characterisation – I didn’t know Joachim or his parents any better by the last page than I did on the first page, and I felt the same way about Elisabet. The writing just seemed too simplistic, and the story was also somewhat repetitive, and the ending was – possibly deliberately – a bit unclear.

I should add that I have only read one other book by this author, and I didn’t enjoy that either. Plenty of reviewers have loved this book, so it may just be that I am not the right reader for Jostein Gaarder. I wanted to enjoy this, particularly reading it at Christmas time, but sadly, was just not able to. show less

This is an annual re-read for me - an Advent rather than a Christmas story - and I seem to find something new each time.

The Christmas Mystery begins in Norway on 30th November when a boy named Joachim discovers a hand-made Advent calendar in a book shop. The next day, when Joachim opens the first door, he finds a tiny piece of paper telling the story of a little girl called Elisabet who spots a lamb in a department store. The lamb begins to run away, but Elisabet is determined to stroke it and chases after it. The lamb leads her outside and into the woods where she meets the angel Ephiriel, who explains to her that she is now part of a very special pilgrimage to Bethlehem - not only will they be travelling across land, they will also be travelling back through time to the day when Jesus was born.

As Elisabet, Ephiriel and the lamb move closer to Bethlehem show more and further back in time, they are joined by an assortment of other Biblical characters including shepherds and Wise Men. A little more of their story is revealed every day through the pieces of paper hidden in Joachim's advent calendar, but as the tale of Elisabet's journey unfolds, Joachim and his parents become involved in another mystery: the mystery of John, the mysterious flower-seller who made the magic Advent calendar and the real-life Elisabet who disappeared on Christmas Eve in 1948.

The book is divided into 24 chapters, with each chapter representing one door on the Advent calendar. If you have children, the structure of the book would make it perfect for reading aloud, one chapter per day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is not really a 'children's book' though - it's one of those books that can be enjoyed on different levels by people of all ages. As with all of Jostein Gaarder's books the story introduces us to a large number of philosophical ideas. We also learn some interesting historical and geographical facts about the countries Elisabet passes through on her way to Bethlehem.

Although this is not as good as some of Gaarder's other books such as Sophie's World or The Solitaire Mystery, it has to be one of the most unusual and imaginative Christmas stories I've ever read. show less

This is a book translated from Norwegian -- a story that travels through space and time from modern times to Norway in 1948 to Bethlehem in the year zero, the year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. While relating the story of a "magic" advent calendar, found in a dusty bookshop in modern times, the book is also an advent calendar of its own with twenty-four short chapters. It tells of angels and shepherds and a journey of destiny and celebration.

Though I was raised in a Christian religion, I no longer subscribe to any particular faith. Still, I found this book to be thought-provoking and reverent and a perfect companion to the holiday. It travels to the heart of the season with a message of love and tolerance. I am very happy to have show more received this gift and to have saved it to read at this time.

http://webereading.com/2012/12/the-christmas-mystery-by-jostein-gaarder.html show less

I love this book. The story is based on the Advent Calendar but involves real angels. It appears to be written by a believer or at least someone very sympathetic. When one talks of the Christmas feeling this is the sort of book that does it. Certainly for me.