The Christmas Mystery

I really enjoyed reading this book to my grandchildren. I gave the older siblings a copy so they could read it the next year to their younger siblings. My granddaughter (who was nine at the time of the first reading) and I found quite a few typos, but they didn't hamper our understanding and enjoyment of the story. The book is meant to be read as an Advent calendar (one chapter each day beginning Dec. 1 and finishing Dec. 24). The story begins in northern Europe in this century, travels back in time through Europe to the Middle East, and ends in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus. My grandchildren loved it.

I read Jostein Gaarder's Solitaire Mystery and Sophie's world, so I knew anything by him will be interesting. I was not disappointed. My husband and I read the kindle version aloud, one calendar day chapter each morning, just checking it out for our grandchildren. But soon we got interested and intrigued by the clever and well researched and documented stories underlying the main story. An 8-year-old girl runs after a little lamb and ends up traveling back in history from Norway in 2000 to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. On the way, each day is joined by another figure (shepherd, wise man, angel, more sheep) and learns from them about geography and history in those places at that time, for example the pied piper of Hamlin at the time of black plague. Eventually we had to open the atlas to follow her journey! It was all sweetly informative. A perfect advent book for a family to read together. The ending was a little let down, like always when a mystery is solved. My husband did not like the ending, would have preferred, if it ended with a question mark. I liked it. As soon as we finished I ordered a paper edition to be sent to our grandchildren for next Christmas advent. They are 6 and 8.

This book surprised me. I read it 2 years ago and still love it. I'm not much of a geographer or religious person, but this book made me see the Christmas journey in a very different light. I find myself thinking about the book's contents on a regular basis and go back frequently to compare geography and historical descriptions of the characters. I don't do that with any other books. I just find this story really fun and I wish I could find my own advent calendar like the one in this book- if not for me, for my kids.

I love how Gaarder, creatively and fantastically weaves together tales, of both history and whimsy, into delightful novel. The Christmas Mystery is no exception, its brings back all the anticipation, waiting to read the next days story, as a child waiting to open the next days door on the advent calendar, only this one seem leap off the page and come to life.

The Christmas Mystery hinges on an unusual Advent calendar, the story it tells, and what that story means for the "real" world. It's a change from the usual Advent fare, and the calendar's story takes us on a delightful run through geography and history. In the end, though, the author leaves the magical tale and replaces it with an unbelievable mundane explanation driven by the author's political biases. If you skip over that part, the magic of the story will still delight. Parents should be aware that for several chapters the young protagonist hides the mystery from his parents through deception and outright lies, until the parents discover the secret. The parents are blamed for their snooping but the boy is never chastised for his lying. This particular edition (blue paperback) has many typesetting errors.

Thank you for having this book. My family read this every December for years as a Christmas tradition and now I get to share it with my children. Christmas is going to be awesome this year!!

The story is worth 10/10: it is rich, imaginative and engaging. The characters, some of whom are funny, and some are wise and intriguing, are very appealing. BUT, the author's theology is plainly wrong, as another reviewer already highlighted. It is just a paragraph in Day 18 that suggests the main reason Jesus came to earth was to teach people to be nice to each other. No. He. Did. Not. He came to bring salvation. It's fairly easy to skip that paragraph, and I think there's another repeat of that in the last chapter. Also, in Day 21, there is another paragraph with a strongly socialist message in it, about money redistribution that some might want to skip. Other than those 2 issues, and a small dose of left politics, the story is fantastic! If you are a conservative Christian like me, you don't need to dismiss this book because of those 2 or 3 paragraphs, or you will miss a truly wonderful story!

The Christmas Mystery has been a family tradition for us for over a decade. This book is well suited to read together or alone, one chapter per day in December. It's a story on many levels, that can be understood by children and yet complex enough to propel adults along. Many essential truths contained within the story as well. I recommend it to all of my friends. Exceptional!

Had to buy second hand because I wanted the hard back version. This has been advent reading now for some time, we have worn out two paper back copies! Meta fiction on several interesting levels, not uncommon in Gaarder's writing, but ideal for a short read each day through the season.

It’s a wonderful book traveling through Europe and Middle East and at the same through the time. Fantastic for all ages.

Ich habe das Buch gekauft um es meinem englischsprachigen Freund im Advent vorzulesen. Ich selber habe es in der deutschen Ausgabe. Auch das Hörbuch habe ich schon verschenkt, weil die Geschichte einfach so schön ist. Wirklich nur zu empfehlen. Gehört in der Adventszeit einfach dazu.

je me rejous de relire ce livre avec des amies cette annee, great books are such a pleasure its a great story

I first read this book in hardback from the library and thought it was excellent. The paperback version is a bit disappointing as there are fewer colour pictures and no map. The story is great and the prose is excellent and I bought this version for my grandchildren.