Miracle on 34th Street in Retro Chapter Chicks

Dec 29, 2018 Candi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-shelf, christmas-holiday, novella, recommendations

"Can’t you let yourself believe in people like Kris—in fun and joy and love and all the other intangibles?"

Kris Kringle may seem like just another resident at the nursing home, but what is so special about him is that he looks uncannily like our image of Santa Claus… not only that, he believes himself to actually be Santa Claus! Sounds a bit batty, right? Well, that’s what many think. Only a few supporters truly believe him to be the real Santa Claus. And Doris and her little daughter, Susan, a "Can’t you let yourself believe in people like Kris—in fun and joy and love and all the other intangibles?"

Kris Kringle may seem like just another resident at the nursing home, but what is so special about him is that he looks uncannily like our image of Santa Claus… not only that, he believes himself to actually be Santa Claus! Sounds a bit batty, right? Well, that’s what many think. Only a few supporters truly believe him to be the real Santa Claus. And Doris and her little daughter, Susan, are skeptics as well. He may be a nice, little old man, but there is no such thing as Santa… right? Kris’s goal is to win these two over, and in the process he gets himself into a bit of trouble that lands him in court. With a little help from believer and lawyer Fred Gayley, Kris will need to prove his identity in order to disprove a case of insanity.

"If bringing back the true Christmas spirit is a form of insanity, then these are very strange times, indeed!"

Most everyone is familiar with the movie of the same title. What I didn’t realize before picking up this little novella was that the screenplay came in existence first. According to the historical note at the end of the book, Valentine Davies had the idea for the story which he took to screenwriter and director George Seaton, who then turned it into a screenplay which was released in 1947. Davies then wrote a novelization of the story which was published in conjunction with the movie. For the most part, I find that I prefer a book over a movie. Not so here. While I don’t remember every detail of the movie, I have fond memories of watching it years ago. I hoped the book would bring back some of that magic. Unfortunately, it failed to do so. The prose was rather simple and the characters were flat. While I felt sympathetic towards Kris Kringle, he didn’t really stir up any emotion in me. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Santa Claus! There were a few special quotes, but not enough to make the story highly engaging. I wanted to ‘believe’, but nothing here was evocative enough to draw me in and feel much of anything. It pains me to say I just wanted to rush through this and check it off my list. I feel like the Grinch! But really, Christmas is a magical time of year, full of wonder, and I enjoy it as much as the next person. If I want to stir up any nostalgia and feel my heart beat with excitement for the season, I’ll have to stick with A Christmas Carol to get the job done. I can’t recommend this one which I’m rating a mere 2 stars. I’d say watch the movie, and hopefully that will add a bit of sparkle that the written word in this case just didn’t achieve. Perhaps I’m just not a fan of novelizations.

"Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind." ...more

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Dec 28, 2018 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc-netgalley, fiction, reissue, christmas

MIRACLE ON 34th Street
Written by Valentine Davies
1947 (reissue: 2018); Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (136 pages)
Genre: holiday, Christmas, classic

(Review Not on Blog)

RATING: 4.5 stars

I wasn't expecting to like this book, as the movie is not one of my favourites, but I really enjoyed it! I liked the characters, plot and writing. It is a quick read that I will definitely read again.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY*** ...more

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Nov 05, 2023 Theresa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: new-york, z-pop-sugar-2023-reading-challenge, classics-and-classic-redos, christmas, thanksgiving

Everyone knows the story as this is in fact a book version written based on the the author's screenplay idea for one of the most famous holiday movies ever made. Not only is it a Christmas story, it's also a Thanksgiving one, opening at the famous Macy's Day Parade in NYC. It's also about faith, belief and the importance of imagination to open the heart and mind to faith and belief. I was gifted the lovely little facsimile edition of the original hardcover published in 1947, the same time as the Everyone knows the story as this is in fact a book version written based on the the author's screenplay idea for one of the most famous holiday movies ever made. Not only is it a Christmas story, it's also a Thanksgiving one, opening at the famous Macy's Day Parade in NYC. It's also about faith, belief and the importance of imagination to open the heart and mind to faith and belief. I was gifted the lovely little facsimile edition of the original hardcover published in 1947, the same time as the film was released. Everything is there, including the trial and perhaps my most favorite part, the USPS and its bags of mail addressed to Santa Claus.

From the Historical Note at the end: The story has withstood the test of time. More than fifty years after the publication of Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s still hosts its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade and the U.S. Postal Service continues to receive thousands of letters to Santa Claus each holiday season. In Kris Kringle’s words: “Underneath all the hurry and bustle people still believe in Santa Claus and all Christmas stands for.” Valentine Davies had become a “firm believer” while in the process of creating what he considered his best work. As Robert Giroux wrote to Davies after first reading the story: “We editors simply think that this is the best Christmas story since Charles Dickens’A Christmas Carol'.” Families nation wide echo his opinion by gathering each holiday season to watch the film, reaffirming their faith in miracles and the power of goodwill.

Count my family as one of them. Ever since the film became available to watch on tv, my family has made it an annual tradition to watch it at Thanksgiving, usually followed by Alistair Sims as Scrooge. Some families watch football; we go with classic holiday movies. Even if we are not together, we all watch and chat about it during those family holiday calls. I think a reading of this lovely little book will become a tradition too - but maybe a bit later in the season. ...more

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Nov 02, 2016 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu marked it as to-read

Shelves: holiday

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