Many of these tales are dark, otherworldly and (trademark Winterson) wickedly funny. Some of the best — like 'The Glow-Heart,' about a man living through a second lonely Christmas after the death of his beloved — are hard to read, but they honor the inescapable sadness that comes into sharper focus during the holidays. Christmas Days is beautifully packaged, a gift book in more ways than one. You half expect doves to fly out of the pages when you crack the spine ... So many of the stories in Winterson’s book beg to be pulled out on a December night, fireside, and read aloud.
...an odd little collection, perfect for stuffing the stockings of your eccentric relatives ... Fans of her autobiographical work will recognize the singular voice in Christmas Days ... The magical tales are all exuberant and slightly playful, shading toward goodwill, happy endings and lessons learned ... Whimsical and occasionally twee, some are not going to be everyone’s cup of eggnog ... [a] delightful little book.
Winterson’s winter tales unfailingly succeed in their endeavour to leave you aglow ... Perhaps it’s inevitable that even the best Christmas offerings should include a certain amount of stocking-filler, and Winterson liberally recycles her earlier work where necessary ... Would it be too much to read Winterson’s Christmas collection as an attempt, finally, to make peace and come to terms with her past? The evidence is there in the inclusion of the recipe for her father’s favourite trifle.
