Book: Tidings of Comfort & Joy

If you are looking for a heartwarming holiday story and you are the kind of person enjoys needing a couple Kleenex while reading said story, this might be for you. Fans of stories like The Christmas Shoes would like it. Not to say that I didn't like it, but it was sort of what you'd expect from this type of book: light, sentimental... and a bit predictable.

The book falls into the category of Christian fiction. What I like about books in this category is that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for the church library; it's clean entertainment. What I don't like in many Christian books is that the experiences the characters have with their own faith sometimes feel fake and clumsily added to the story. That is, one is reading along, and suddenly there is an interjection of a faith element that isn’t smoothly incorporated into the storyline. It's not surprise that by the end, the characters have repented of their sinful shortcomings, mended relationships, and of course, the life situations they face have neatly resolved themselves as well.

I can't say I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I read this book because I knew it would be light and entertaining. In that regard, it was just the thing to jump-start some warm, fuzzy holiday season feelings.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy: A Tender Story of Love, Loss and Reunion
by T. Davis Bunn