In The Christmas Letters, three generations of women
reveal their stories of love and marriage in the letters they write to family
and friends during the holidays. It's a down-home Christmas story about
tradition, family, and the shared experiences of women.
Here, in a letter of her own, Lee Smith explains how she was inspired to
write this celebrated epistolary novel:
Dear Friends,
Like me, you probably get Christmas letters every year. I read every word and
save every letter. Because every Christmas letter is the story of a life, and
what story can be more interesting than the story of our lives? Often, it is the
story of an entire family. But you also have to read between the lines with
Christmas letters. Sometimes, what is not said is even more important than what
is on the page.
In The Christmas Letters, I have used this familiar format to illumine
the lives, hopes, dreams, and disappointments of three generations of American
women. Much of the story of The Christmas Letters is also told through
shared recipes. As Mary, my favorite character, says, "I feel as if I have
written out my life story in recipes! The Cool Whip and mushroom soup years, the
hibachi and fondue period, then the quiche and crepes phase, and now it's these
salsa years."
I wrote this little book for the same reason I write to my friends and
relatives every holiday--Christmas letters give us a chance to remember and
celebrate who we are.
With warmest greetings, Lee Smith
This was a cute story and it was fun watching this family grow through the decades through the Christmas letters written by the women of the family.
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