false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175185061m/488889.jpg 488889 3 In The Christmas Letters, three generations of women reveal their stories of love and marriage in the letters they write to family and friends during the holidays. It's a down-home Christmas story about tradition, family, and the shared experiences of women.<P> Here, in a letter of her own, Lee Smith explains how she was inspired to write this celebrated epistolary novel:<P> Dear Friends,<P> Like me, you probably get Christmas letters every year. I read every word and save every letter. Because every Christmas letter is the story of a life, and what story can be more interesting than the story of our lives? Often, it is the story of an entire family. But you also have to read between the lines with Christmas letters. Sometimes, what is not said is even more important than what is on the page.<P> In The Christmas Letters, I have used this familiar format to illumine the lives, hopes, dreams, and disappointments of three generations of American women. Much of the story of The Christmas Letters is also told through shared recipes. As Mary, my favorite character, says, "I feel as if I have written out my life story in recipes! The Cool Whip and mushroom soup years, the hibachi and fondue period, then the quiche and crOpes phase, and now it's these salsa years."<P> I wrote this little book for the same reason I write to my friends and relatives every holiday--Christmas letters give us a chance to remember and celebrate who we are.<P> With warmest greetings, Lee Smith 2376979 1996 The Christmas Letters total:117|5:18|4:40|3:42|2:15|1:2| 117 408 162 16 2 0 false false Fri Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Wed Oct 14 09:49:20 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 22 12:47:51 -0800 2009 Another book club selection, one that I read many years ago, but each reading brings new insights. This is a Christmas rendering by three generations of women, starting with Birdie in the 1940's, and ending with Birdie's gran...more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 19:31:29 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 19:32:08 -0800 2009
This is a short but heartwarming story of three generations of women, starting with Mary in 1942 during WW II, and ending sometime in the 1990’s. Here, three generations...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 27 09:20:34 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 09:21:20 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 11:57:41 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 11:58:34 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Dec 08 10:34:27 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 08:11:20 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 14:50:14 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 12 14:53:56 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sat Oct 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 13:32:55 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 17 13:33:52 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 20:05:37 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 20:07:44 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 06:22:58 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 17 05:18:38 -0800 2008 Description from jacket: "With her typical easy wit and down-home charm, Smith fashions a novella from th...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 13:25:51 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 27 07:42:57 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Oct 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 18:15:08 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 07 12:12:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 16 09:03:58 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 16 09:05:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Mar 23 14:31:46 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 14:33:29 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Apr 27 04:54:32 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 04:55:31 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Tue Mar 04 13:59:19 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 04 13:59:41 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 21 19:55:59 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 12:05:23 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 19:41:11 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 19:41:11 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 10:26:31 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 10:26:31 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Nov 14 14:59:15 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 14:59:15 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 10:52:41 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 10:52:41 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=488889