In the Bookcase A Literary Christmas Challenge 2017 Part III

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini-- Historical Fiction/Contemporary Fiction/Contemporary Romance

In 1860, Henry Wordsworth Longfellow is more successful than ever. His poem about Paul Revere is about to be published and he delights in the comfort of his lovely home and family. His wife Fanny is the love of his life and his children, especially the little girls, are a delight. However, with the growing tensions over slavery and President Buchanan's inaction, the country may soon be headed to war. Henry fervently prays and hopes it will never come to that. Though he is an abolitionist, he is also a dedicated pacifist. As the world heads towards war, Henry's life will be shattered in more ways than one. As he plunges into depression, it seems nothing can bring him out-that is-until he hears the bells ringing on Christmas Day. In present day Massachusetts, Sophia is a public school music teacher in an underprivileged school. She is passionate about music and about helping children discover their own passion. Unfortunately budget cuts are looming and Sophia is about to be out of a job. She still has a position as choir director for St. Margaret's Catholic Church, which she loves. Lucas, the accompanist, is passionate about urban renewal and architectural design. His love brought him to St. Margaret's. He loves working with the kids, but mostly he loves being with Sophia. His love for her has endured years of friendship and relationship drama on both ends. His timing is always bad. He's worried she can never feel for him what he feels for her. Should he declare his feelings at last? Choirboy Alex Moran is thrilled to have a solo in the upcoming Christmas concert. If only his dad could see him sing. Mr. Moran is in Afghanistan and Alex misses his dad like crazy. The internet has been broken for a month and Alex hasn't spoken with his dad since before Thanksgiving. Alex's sister Charlotte, a brilliant straight-A student has her own worries. She worries about school and worries her mom is keeping secrets from her. Is the Army's internet really broken or did something happen to her dad? Laurie, Mrs. Moran, doesn't know what has happened to her husband. She fears the worst and can't bring herself to ruin the holiday season for the kids. Camille Barrett, wife of the late senator Paul Barrett knows how it feels to grieve a lost loved one. She was as devoted to her husband as her and they shared a passion for helping the people of Boston. Their shared passion for philanthropy and music led them to donate Paul's piano to the church. She loves to hear the children's choir singing and the piano playing. If only Paul were beside her still. Father Ryan is praying for his parishioners having a tough time this holiday season, especially Jason Moran. Jason is not just a parishioner, but Ryan's best friend from college. Will this holiday season be a happy one? Only Sister Winifred, who hears directly from God, believes it will be.

I have mixed feelings for this novel. The multiple points of view is a unique style that I haven't seen before, however, it bogs down the story and prevents the central plot from really shining. I didn't need to read backstories for the modern characters or know too many details about their problems. I wanted the story to focus on Sophia and Lucas and parallel Henry and Fanny's love story. I get that the story of the Morans loosely parallels the Longfellows as does the Barretts (more closely) and that's nice but unnecessary. There's just too much going on. The multiple points-of-view also make the story repetitive. We already know what happened so why repeat it? Why not pick up where the story left off? I expected the story to alternate between what drove Henry to write Christmas Bells and the modern love story. The conclusion to Sophia and Lucas' story and to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's story were both unsatisfactory because it took so long to get there.

This author also has a problem with "telling". She starts off great in 1860, sharing lovely details about the Longfellow home in Cambridge and their lives there. There are moments of greatness in the beginning and middle but I skimmed a lot of the war news because that was too much telling. I did want to know what happened to the soldiers in the story and stayed up too late reading to find out. I ended up skipping to the end to try to find out.

I really like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I loved his poetry when I was growing up-(what New England kid doesn't know "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"?) -but didn't know a lot about him until I read Forever and Forever: The Courtship of Henry Longfellow and Fanny Appleton. Authors can draw on his journals and letters to make Henry come alive. He seemed to have been a kind and sensitive man who loved deeply and felt sorrow keenly. His love story is a true romance and a true tragedy. However, I felt Henry was a little overly sensitive and overprotective of his son. Having been a wannabe rebellious teen, I know how Charley felt and what he was going to do, even without consulting the historical record. Charley made some very valid points. I'm sure I would feel the same way as Henry though if I were a parent during the Civil War. The war was so horrendous I can't even imagine living through it.

The Longfellow family seemed like a charming, lively bunch. Fanny is portrayed as sensible but sweet and loving. I wonder how much time she actually spent with the children? Henry seems to have spent a lot of time with them but the story mentions the girls' governess frequently. My heart broke for Alice but I enjoyed learning more about what happened to her as an adult and I need to look her up. Annie's confession broke my heart and who knows what actually happened? I wonder if she had PTSD for the rest of her life?

The modern characters are hit or miss. There's only one chapter from Sophia's POV in the beginning. She seems like a modern day Fanny Longfellow-intelligent, kind and caring. Her feelings for Lucas seemed fairly obvious and since it's the 21st century, I don't know why she didn't talk to him about his feelings! He is a modern day Henry-sensitive, deeply caring and unsure of himself. I liked him a lot but again, I felt like he was ignoring the obvious and wringing his hands too much.

The story spends more time with the Morans. Alex is such a typical 10 year old boy. He has to be modeled after someone because he reminded me so much of my downstairs neighbor-also 10 with ADHD! The novelist never says Alex has ADHD but I'm betting he would be diagnosed with it in real life. Charlotte reminded me a lot of myself. I liked the siblings rivalry. It felt real to me. The lengthy backstory of Laurie and Jason is sweet but not at all necessary. He's a lot of fun and she's down-to-earth. I liked them but I didn't need to spend so much time with them to be eager to find out what happens to Jason!

I love Father Ryan! I never thought I'd say that about a priest, being a historian and feeling the same way as Liam. He's fun and lively and I get the sense he was a ladies' man in college. He is devoted to the community and helping the people. I did not need to read the theological debate about sports-boring and unnecessary to the overall plot! Who cares if God wants the Bruins or Penguins to win? (Go Bruins, obviously!) Also not necessary was his family drama.

Camille and Paul's story is all telling and no showing aside from the scenes where she is going through his office. Stop right there! Call an archivist! Those papers belong in the state archive! The details were wonderful and I felt Camille's grief. She serves as a catalyst for the final action but is otherwise not important to the plot. Paul, while a wonderful man and a uniquely caring politician, was also not needed. The piano was donated by a local son made good is enough.

I don't regret reading this novel but it was long and rambling. Tightened up and without the obvious deus ex machina, it would be a better story.

I wish I had an audio of this story. The Madison Children's Choir that inspired the novel doesn't have a video of them singing this song online. I found some but they weren't quite as described in the novel.