Christmas at Fontaine's

by William Kotzwinkle

This sad and funny novel, which deals with poverty as well as joy, was based on Kotzwinkle's job as a New York City department store Santa Claus.

Genres: Fiction, Christmas, Novels

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

William Kotzwinkle is a two-time recipient of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Prix Litteraire des Bouquinistes des Quais de Paris, the PETA Award for Children's Books, and a Book Critics Circle award nominee. His work has been translated into dozens of languages.

Reviews

[🐴 🍖]

it's vexing me a lil bit that i can't figure out why this didn't 100% click for me. nyc grit; anti-capitalist bent; whimsical w/o being treacly; deeply weird; & yet kind of a trudge cover to cover whereas fan man, despite some glaring flaws, i blew thru (not a fan joke). maybe the fault lies w/ this reviewer for trying to read an xmas book when it's may and 75 degrees out. consider this review a placeholder for a 2nd closer reading

[Jason Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fontaine's is an old-school department store in Manhattan, home to a rag-bag of exaggerated characters. Dan Sardos is the window designer, so obsessed with creating the perfect animatronic animal village in time for Christmas that he is losing his sanity. Herb Muhlstock is the twitchy, ill-chosen manager of the toy department, more tightly wound than any of his clockwork products. Winifred is the weary coffee waitress, with her eye on Herb as an attainable partner. Chester Locke is the over-zealous security guard:

His own watch was self-winding, receiving the necessary motion each day when he shook a child and flung him into the gutter.

There's also a wino Santa, a mysterious stranger in the store, Mad Aggie the bag-lady walking the streets outside, and, presiding over it all, the cigar-munching Louis Fontaine, firing anybody in sight if the sales dip.

This is a very funny, good-hearted book, but the carefully-imperfect ending it builds to is bittersweet: its Christmas miracles are small and ephemeral. It's beautifully wrapped, but when you look inside there's a humane sadness, a sympathy for our festive hopes, rather than a fulfilment of them.

[Doc Bullfrog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and funny story with quirky characters working in a department store during Christmas. The illustrations by Joe Servello throughout the book made it all the better. I feel I should like to read this every year during the holiday season.

[Patrick Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the Bear Went Over the Mountain, but this one evaded me. Humor can be tricky and this one did not find my funny bone.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mix of depressing cynicism with pretty darn heartwarming holiday cheer doesn't always mix well, but I can't beat Kotzwinkle for trying. This features some genuinely funny dialogue.

3.5 stars.

[Adinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herlezen, maar minder goed dan ik me herinnerde. Aan het eind komen weliswaar alle losse verhaallijnen samen, maar van 'de auteur van E.T.' had ik een iets minder anticlimactisch einde verwacht. Daarnaast zijn de personages eigenlijk wel erg zielig, waardoor wat mogelijk grappig is bedoeld eerder verdrietig overkomt. Een vreemd boek, maar zeker niet slecht geschreven.

[Deana David Lissenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books was SO well-written. The amount of misfits would normally have brought me down, but in this case the characters were totally lovable, if hopeless, and it was so consistently funny and thoughtful - I really loved it. The setting, the illustrations were really magical. It's set in a department store, so I had to read it, and although very little of it related to the store, it was addictive and totally unique.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Begin the three-days-'til-Christmas countdown at Fontaine's Department Store in Manhattan and enter into the lives of a raggle-taggle assortment of characters whose paths collide/stumble/come together as one on Christmas Eve. Discover the ensemble for yourself then sit back and enjoy as author William Kotzwinkle spins the tale marvelously.

It's always nice to have happy "God bless us everyone," endings to Christmas stories; when considering this story, fellow goodreads reviewer Jason Mills succinctly states it best, if I may quote: "This is a very funny, good-hearted book, but the carefully-imperfect ending it builds to is bittersweet: its Christmas miracles are small and ephemeral...." How much more so in hindsight in realizing that in the 30+ years since the book was written, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

[Mary Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Kotzwinkle the author also, wrote "E.T., the Extraterrestrial". This novel fits in the category of: Will sell well during the Holidays. Its is a fantasy tale of Christmas season at a famous large department store. Everyone is an exaggerated character with the exception of the coffee filter demonstration lady. She is just lonely. Lonely enough to look past the foibles of a fellow worker, so she won't have to be alone on the holiday.The conclusion was weak. I found the illustrations interspersed throughout the novel to be the best summary of events and characters.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

On the back cover: "Not since Miracle on Thirty-fourth Street...a story of such enchanting inspiration, whimsy and delight that it must be considered an instant classic." I can't believe that that was written about this book. Full of unpleasant and/or sad folk, who are having a truly depressing and miserable Christmas season. The 'miracle' at the end isn't a miracle at all and doesn't solve anyone's problems. What a waste of my time.

[Mary! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually called Christmas at Fontaine's, this is a fantastical story set in the every day drudgery of retail at Christmas. I first read it when I worked at the mall in college, and it rings true, sometimes quite painfully so, of the whole "retail experience."

[J Scotland · Rating 5 out of 5]

annual favourite: re-read every year in December.

[Mark Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Christmas books. The art by Joe Servello is worth the price of the book, and the book is great.