After struggling through the first few pages, I was overjoyed to discover the little glossary tucked into the back of the book...but the glossary was equally opaque on the subject of Quality Street. 'The only really Christmassy chocolates (except Terry’s Chocolate Orange), more Christmassy than say, Heroes.' Stibbe’s holidays are filled with a vast array of people and objects that are complete mysteries to me. I’d be willing to bet that you’re in the same boat.
English humorist, novelist, and author of the delightful epistolary memoir, Love, Nina, Stibbe has a few words for people who love and hate Christmas in this little collection ... Funny, smart, sweet, and tender, this is greater than a gift book and readable any time of year.
I opened An Almost Perfect Christmas preparing to be underwhelmed, only to find myself chuckling at every other page. By the end – or, actually, not long after the beginning – I was a convert. This book is the seasonal garnish we all need. There is no subject upon which Stibbe could not entertain.
This work is a light-hearted and lightweight collection of articles and stories about Christmas ... a highly amusing little bagatelle of a thing, ideal for a Christmas stocking, especially if your family is doing books this year. Better than a single mince pie – although possibly not as safe a bet as whiskey. It will definitely get you, or your granny, through the day as far as Urbi et Orbi – or the Queen’s speech, if that’s your poison.
