Christmas novels are extremely popular. In a month I read 12 of them

I was convinced that they all looked more or less the same: Christmas atmosphere, family gatherings, love, joy, happiness, Christmas wonders and of course the scent of gingerbread floating in the air. However, I have found out that Polish Christmas tales have many sub-genres.

I did not find my dream book of Christmas – I was counting on a story in the style of American romantic comedies (but this is my fault, because I did not do research – I was guided primarily by the title and cover). But I found books that are touching, moving, magical and funny – so everyone should find something for themselves in this set.

Christmas books. Some of you will cry …

With “It’s good that you are” by Gabriela Gargas (Fourth Page) you will cry. This is a story about the love and separation of Zoya and Boris. Feeling gives them strength to overcome all difficulties, but it also stifles, depresses and makes them unhappy. It is also a book about the fact that you have to fight for yourself, that it is not worth giving up “I” in the name of love. The history is dominated by sadness and nostalgia, but there is also hope – that if it wasn’t bad, life goes on and if we only give ourselves a chance to move forward (or rather: if we break out of the past and ourselves we will give ourselves permission to be happy), it will all work out.

“Jak Breath” by Agata Czykierda-Grabowska (Fourth Page) is a story about love – not “easy as breathing”, but one that comes out of the blue, surrounds, suffocates and hurts. But also about problems, loneliness, the loss of a loved one, sadness and being lost. This is one of those books that I couldn’t tear myself away from. I was immersed in this story, and although I felt it would get boring at some point (I wasn’t even sure if I would have a happy ending), I couldn’t stop reading it. Despite the weight of the topics discussed, reading this book makes you feel moved (I cried). It is also a story about how much support we are given by our loved ones and that sometimes the only thing we can do for ourselves is to live on and allow ourselves to love.

While the previous books were not typically Christmas, their action lasted a long time and only touched on Christmas, the rest is already taking place around Christmas Eve. This is the case in “A completely different miracle” by Agnieszka Olejnik (Branch), where we move to Leszczyny to the Hall family. Actually, we fall into a holiday confusion, one that I avoid like fire – a large family, which rather meets every day, does not quite like each other and suddenly has to spend three days pretending to be happy and break the wafer and wish for each other. all the best … The heroes hide drama behind their smiles and it is during the holiday season that they will come to light. Will they unite and overcome their problems, will it be the last of the Hall family holidays together? It is definitely a story from which we can learn a lesson. Maybe at the next family reunion, instead of holding grudges and grudges, you will wonder if there is something you want to thank others for (and you will definitely find something like that)? This won’t take care of all family problems, but it can be a good start to clearing up the atmosphere.

… others will give food for thought

“Christmas Eve with an Stranger” by Natasza Socha (Wydawnictwo Literackie) is definitely a book about Christmas – the whole action takes place on Christmas Eve, but there is no holiday atmosphere here. There is no joy, there is no waiting for the first star, there are no festive dishes, but there are many dilemmas, family problems, understatements and decisions that have to be made in the end. Generally, this is a heavy book … The author throws us into the middle of a marriage that has been falling apart for a long time. Marcel and Antonia live in the same house, but next to each other. They both want to start over, but the illness and unexpected request of their younger daughter make them rethink whether the decisions they’ve made are right. A lot is also happening “in the background” of the whole story, the supporting characters were very neatly woven into the main axis of the action.

“Gwiazdka z brokatem” by Anna Szczęsna (Wydawnictwo Kobiece) combines the magic of Christmas and romance, and touches upon important topics. The main character is Basia – young, energetic, creative (she can conjure anything out of paper), selfless and hospitable owner of a stationery shop. She is seemingly a strong and independent woman, but it turns out that there is something missing in her life. Especially the person who would take care of her and whom she could care for. Fate smiles at Basia and meets an old friend – Mrs. Maria, who will stay with her for a while. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned by Basia … How will our heroines cope with the new situation? Read and find out!

Or maybe Christmas-themed stories?

A separate category of Christmas books are short stories. They always end too early for me, but I couldn’t help but read this popular form.

“Winter in the Pensjonat pod Bukami” (Branch) is seven stories written by various authors, thanks to which we learn about the history of the guests of an unusual Bieszczady guesthouse. It is a place arranged in the spirit of Edward Stachura and the Old Good Marriage, where many find love, while others find peace and space to digest their problems and put their lives in order. It is a great merit of the owner – Mrs. Róża, who will welcome everyone with open arms, help and listen. He treats all guests as family, so many return to the guesthouse. This is what I expected from Christmas stories. Lots of warmth, cosiness, love and happy endings. I do not like Stachura, and I have never listened to Stary Dobry Marriage, so I probably did not appreciate this thread properly, but if you are fans, be sure to read this book.

In “The Unannounced Guest” (Muse) you also get seven very festive and extremely magical stories. We have a lot of love here, a lot of random meetings and you can feel the Christmas atmosphere from everywhere. There were a few stories that I smiled at, there were the heroes I was rooting for. With one of the stories I was deeply moved. Although each story was written by a different author, the whole is surprisingly coherent. These are the stories after which we start to believe in festive miracles. I will also reveal to you my “top 3” stories from this book (in no particular order). The first is “Silver Wings” – here it was more unreal / magical, but also very, very touching. For me, it’s a story that would work well as a movie. And the next ones are: “You have a message” and “Snow blizzard and poppy seed cake” – a chance meeting and a mistakenly sent message give rise to love stories. There are no great dramas here, but a lot of warmth and good emotions.

Do you like Christmas movies? Then check out these books

“When the snow falls” by Agata Przybyłek (Fourth Page) is a truly winter book (we start with Christmas, but the main action takes place between Christmas and New Year). We have snow-covered Polish mountains, a nice guesthouse, a crazy grandmother and granddaughter, for whom work is the most important. As you can imagine, the heroines create an explosive mixture. Their joint trip was full of compromises, there was a bit of anger and irritation, and later also tears intertwined with the love that was born before our eyes. If you like Christmas movies, you should like this book.

On the other hand, Magdalena Kordel’s book “And I Wait for You” (Znak) is full of Christmas magic, miracles and secrets, and the action takes place in three places – somewhere in the world, in Warsaw and Krakow. We spend the most time in Warsaw with Anastasia – a girl with many troubles. And I must admit that I liked this heroine – I cheered a lot so that everything in her life would turn out as if she wanted it. In the background we have many secrets of other heroes, but all of them are to be explained on Christmas Eve. Generally, the action is slow and slow. As for magic and miracles, there were so many of them here that one could give them a few more books. I really liked the greetings theme that Anastasia sent to the clients. This book has the vibe of Christmas in it. While reading, I felt like gingerbread and hot chocolate a few times.

If you want to laugh, check out the light and pleasant “Tree of Happiness” by Magdalena Witkiewicz (Branch). It’s a story that focuses on family relationships. We start with Christmas, when the doyen of the family – 93-year-old Kornelia Trzpiot – tells her family that she is to find a family coat of arms for her so that she can leave this world in peace. In order to mobilize relatives to search, it makes a reservation that finding the coat of arms depends on how it will distribute its inheritance. But it’s not really about the coat of arms, but about the family reunification, because Cornelia feels that when she dies, nothing will connect them anymore. As you might guess, at the beginning the family is somewhat reserved about the grandma’s idea, but eventually it delves into the family tree. How the story ended, of course, I will not tell you.

In “Romance pod Christmasinkę” by Katarzyna Bester (Wydawnictwo Kobiece) we get what we expect from such a reading: a romantic story with a great deal of humor. This is not a typical Christmas book, but Christmas is a nice buckle here – we start with it and finish it after a year. The experiences and emotions of the characters are in the foreground, the rest takes place somewhere in the background. The love story itself is such a classic: we have Ray, who as a rule does not fall in love and has no relationships in his head, and Everly, who has already been through a lot and has somewhat lost hope that she will find love. They meet by chance in New York and decide to have a month-long romance, then Everly is to return to London, and Ray will again be able to look for women in bars for one night. As you can imagine, the situation gets a bit more complicated along the way … Even though everything seems to indicate that there will be no relationship with it, I was still cheering for this love until the very end. This is one of those stories that I felt deeply into and I am very glad that we got a little continuation of their story. As a would-be historian, I also appreciate interesting facts about New York.

And finally, a novel more winter than festive

“Miracles of everyday life” by Maria Paszyńska (Książnica) – oh, how nice and pleasant this book is. Seemingly a story like a lot, about the everyday life of people in the countryside and in the city at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. We get to know the history of the Ciszak family (and mainly Maciej), at first we are with them in a village in the Lublin region, and then, together with Maciej and his wife, we move to Warsaw. The first part of the novel is full of folk beliefs, customs, superstitions, I would say magical – although the times are not so distant, they seem completely alien. The author has done a lot of work and we really feel like we’ve moved back in time.

The second part differs from the first as much as city life differs from that of the countryside. One thing is true: reading is still a lot of fun. The whole history, although it takes place in troubled times (partitions, uprisings, revolts, World War I), is full of peace and warmth. The action is slow, but we get the impression that everything happens in its own time. Maciej is also full of confidence – he immediately knew that Stasia was “his”, he was sure that his place was in Warsaw and he would find happiness there, and he was full of faith that if he followed his intuition, everything would turn out to be fine for him . And the author was sure of the story she wanted to describe, she stuck to it, believed what she wrote and gave us an ordinary, unusual moral and historical novel.

The great advantage of all these books is the fact that they are read quickly – usually in one or two evenings. This is why, after reading four, I rashly declared that I would read 24 Christmas stories next year. After the end of the marathon I am afraid that 12 o’clock will be the maximum of my possibilities. Well, unless I choose my readings more carefully.

Even if I now feel a subtle excess of moral literature, I find it a nice springboard from serial killers and other criminals. And I have a reading New Year’s resolution: read at least one women’s book a month.