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  <id>397539</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]></description>
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  <original_publication_year type="integer">1976</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Christmas Holiday</original_title>
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  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.69]]></average_rating>
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    <id>6794</id>
        <name><![CDATA[W. Somerset Maugham]]></name>
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    <average_rating>3.97</average_rating>
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    <name><![CDATA[Andrew]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.73</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>95</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Nov 20 05:49:29 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 20 08:56:34 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Although I don't remember the details of this book as well as others, I do remember that it left an impression on me.  The funny thing is I didn't even mean to read it.  The book itself was sitting next to a treadmill in a gym I used to frequent in San Francisco.  After remaining in the same place n...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9345970">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9345970]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>63581510</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Robert]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 15 08:19:26 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 16 08:34:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[	Written just before the outbreak of World War II, this story warns the British middle class about the hazards of being compacent and naïve in a dangerous world.  The story is simple: a young Cambridge-educated Englishman, Charles, is rewarded for entering the family business (initially he had want...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63581510">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63581510]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>44289373</id>
    <user>
    <id>804942</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ali]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384m/397539.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 25 10:33:01 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 25 10:33:39 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was a must to take away with me given its title. And very glad I am too that I did! This is the story of Charley Mason who at 23 is treated to a Christmas trip to Paris by his father. Charley of course dreams of adventure. What he gets is a sort of education. There he is a the son of an upper m...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44289373">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44289373]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44289373]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2147799</id>
    <user>
    <id>117377</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Frederick]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Huntington, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/117377-frederick]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[People who aren't upset at a lack of plot.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 1983</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jun 19 22:31:54 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 22:03:18 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a short novel about time spent between a man who's life will go well and a woman who's life will not. The last sentence is the best last sentence I've ever read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2147799]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2147799]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39640961</id>
    <user>
    <id>172859</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Suzy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Dripping Springs, TX]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Dec 07 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 08 17:23:57 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 08 17:35:52 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[If you're looking for sentimental holiday fare, this isn't it.  Charley's world is turned upside-down when he meets a woman pining for her rightly imprisoned lover--but you know when he is &quot;capsized by compassion,&quot; as the back copy amusingly puts it, that this is all for the good.  The mos...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39640961">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39640961]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39640961]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>43726847</id>
    <user>
    <id>887727</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Allie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[St. George, Ontario, Canada]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">1823968</id>
  <isbn>0749304340</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780749304348</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1823968.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>2.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jan 20 13:59:35 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 20 14:05:11 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The copy of the book I have is an ancient battered one, published in 1949 as &quot;Stranger in Paris [Christmas Holiday:]&quot;. Despite my deep fondness for Maugham's works, this novel is one of the most execrable I have ever read. The story of Charley, the London boy who goes to Paris for his wint...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43726847">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43726847]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43726847]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41290415</id>
    <user>
    <id>938311</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tommy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Takoma Park, MD]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 30 09:44:41 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 30 09:44:41 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Not one of the more common Maugham books, but a great read. It's about a privileged guy who goes to Paris for a holiday expecting a lark with drinking, culture and brothels - or all of the standard young wealthy experiences. What he gets instead opens his mind a bit, causes him to think and perhaps ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41290415">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41290415]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41290415]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Mark B.]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[South Orange, NJ]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">1077367</id>
  <isbn>0099286858</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780099286851</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180793272m/1077367.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180793272s/1077367.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1077367.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>4.50</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>2</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Published before the outbreak of war in 1939, a warning to the complacent, British middle-class of the upheavals taking place on the Continent.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="paris" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 11 12:15:43 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 11 12:18:13 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[On my to re-read list. I went through a phase where I ravished everything by Maugham I could get my hands on. He's still my favorite author and though I may not get back to this book for some time, I know that I will eventually...]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52310137]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52310137]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>10440272</id>
    <user>
    <id>234637</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Derek]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/234637-derek-baker]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">397539</id>
  <isbn>0375724613</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780375724619</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384m/397539.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 14 16:01:21 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 14 16:03:49 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Missing the figgy pudding and holly, it's not the sort of book to put you into the Christmas spirit -- unless your idea of Christmas is a few chaste days spent in a seedy Paris hotel room with a Russian prostitute who's married to a lout imprisoned for murder. Throw in a sociopath who worships the f...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10440272">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10440272]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10440272]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75987182</id>
    <user>
    <id>2569242</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kathrina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[North Liberty, IA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2569242-kathrina-litchfield]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">225419</id>
  <isbn>0405078099</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780405078095</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/225419.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.38</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>8</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Published before the outbreak of war in 1939, a warning to the complacent, British middle-class of the upheavals taking place on the Continent.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 28 05:43:28 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 19 16:51:54 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So I happened to read this during the Christmas season, but don't think for a minute this is a Christmas-related read. Nope, in fact it might strip all your benevolent Christmas spirit away, as this is the story of coming-of-age. Well, a twenty-something coming-of-age. Sheltered, good-natured upper-...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75987182">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75987182]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75987182]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>41538823</id>
    <user>
    <id>197936</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Aaron]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Louisville, KY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/197936-aaron]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1207020427p3/197936.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">397539</id>
  <isbn>0375724613</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780375724619</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384m/397539.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 01 17:32:51 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 12 07:24:04 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I had intended to read this over Christmas...HA!  I thought it was a very interesting book that tends to discuss class issues with regards to poverty and affluence.  It also had some intriguing views on the different ways to view art, from still life to Mona Lisa.  <br/><br/>The story of Charley a...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41538823">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41538823]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41538823]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>28761603</id>
    <user>
    <id>547376</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Matt]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Buffalo, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/547376-matt-brant]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1192544173p3/547376.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">2880769</id>
  <isbn>0140026460</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780140026467</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2880769.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Published before the outbreak of war in 1939, a warning to the complacent, British middle-class of the upheavals taking place on the Continent.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 30 11:15:38 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 30 11:16:08 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Young Englishman Charley was raised in a comfy middle-class household, the kind of place where nothing bad ever happens. On a Christmas trip to Paris, his eyes are opened to the trouble that finds ordinary people. He gets an inkling of the profound depths in everybody and the difficulty in really kn...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28761603">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28761603]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28761603]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>78579176</id>
    <user>
    <id>2968290</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Robin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Perth, WA, Australia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2968290-robin]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1259548996p3/2968290.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">1077367</id>
  <isbn>0099286858</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780099286851</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180793272m/1077367.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180793272s/1077367.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1077367.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Published before the outbreak of war in 1939, a warning to the complacent, British middle-class of the upheavals taking place on the Continent.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Nov 21 17:36:33 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Nov 23 03:52:09 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Unexpectedly drew me in. Loved it. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78579176]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78579176]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>32564206</id>
    <user>
    <id>80467</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lisbeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Whittier, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/80467-lisbeth-solberg]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1180669288p3/80467.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">397539</id>
  <isbn>0375724613</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780375724619</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384m/397539.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 10 18:02:45 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 10 19:46:56 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My copy, a crumbling, yellowed paperback with a lurid cover, is called <em>Stranger in Paris</em>, a title I like better; bought used, it took me some twenty years to get around to reading. Some improbable philosophical dialogue and awkward exposition mar the story slightly, and it is self-consciously existe...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32564206">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32564206]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32564206]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14816147</id>
    <user>
    <id>317365</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Caroline]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/317365-caroline]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1202545319p3/317365.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">397539</id>
  <isbn>0375724613</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780375724619</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384m/397539.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174424384s/397539.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/397539.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[the public at large]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 07 08:34:45 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 07 09:19:00 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Mr.  Maugham was wildly prolific and, as I love his work, I keep a eye out for anything I haven't read. In a musty upstairs nook of a tired old antique store, with yellow cracking pages  - I found this! It's similar in voice to his better know works, though the content is more pulpy. Very good. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14816147]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14816147]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>143187</id>
    <user>
    <id>15631</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mickey]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Philadelphia, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/15631-mickey]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1172890762p3/15631.jpg]]></image_url>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">225419</id>
  <isbn>0405078099</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780405078095</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/225419.Christmas_Holiday</link>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>108</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Published before the outbreak of war in 1939, a warning to the complacent, British middle-class of the upheavals taking place on the Continent.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1976</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="wsomersetmaugham" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 02 13:17:13 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:16:19 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[More art, more bourgeois longing for the Boho life. The scene describing the woman while she was sleeping made me cry. (Somerset Maugham)]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/143187]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/143187]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>16615658</id>
    <user>
    <id>930708</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/930708-tara]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204227830p3/930708.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">397539</id>
  <isbn>0375724613</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780375724619</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
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    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[I love the main character in this book!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16615658]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
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    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[maugham, hero. another masterpiece.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10627527]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[Christmas Holiday]]>
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    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
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  <read_at>Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[To say this is an unusual coming of an age tale would be an understatement. <br/><br/>A thoroughly British young man travels to Paris where he encounters an underworld of non-Britishness, so to speak. Brothels, Russian intellectuals down on their luck, and seedy cafes populated by criminals consti...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46482071">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[For Christmas, Charley Mason's father granted him a trip to Paris, all expenses paid. It should have been a lark, but on his first night Charley meets a woman whose story will forever change his life. <br/><br/>For Lydia has seen tragedy. The Russian Revolution displaced her family, left her homeless, fatherless. And for reasons that elude Charley, Lydia pines for a man half a world away--a dope dealer and murderer whose sins Lydia seeks to absolve through her own self- destruction. Haunting, erotic, deeply effecting, <strong>Christmas Holiday</strong> explores two souls capsized by compassion--and the confusion that engulfed a generation in the days between the Great Wars.]]>
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