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Order your Christmas and Birthday gifts now for friends and relatives. Meg's Solo, a collection of short fiction with a holiday theme, is sure to please all the readers on your list.
The author, Margo Little, turns her compassionate vision on the lives of people caught up in difficult circumstances, grappling with the realities of the present and the tug of the past. Always a keen observer of the human condition, Ms. Little offers an uplifting collection of short stories that gently reveal the often conflicted yearnings of the human heart.
Ms. Little does not shy away from all the difficult feelings associated with the Christmas season. Instead she honestly embraces the mixed emotions and offers transformation, acceptance, forgiveness and redemption.
In tales that shift between rural landscapes and urban environments, between desolation and jubilation, she explores the meaning of home, the nature of family and the enduring significance of Christmas symbols.
There is the unforgettable sensation of cold prison bars on Christmas Eve, the silent anguish of a boy wrongly accused, the despair of a mother after a fall, the frustration of a teacher at tether's end. Readers will readily admire and identify with these remarkable people.
In the company of these characters, readers will embark on a journey of hope and renewal. These are stories to treasure and savour and pass on to the next generation.
In the title story we witness a young girl's quest for romance and recognition. Faced with the harshness of country life and burdened by adult worries, she learns that not all Christmas wishes are granted. Sometimes gifts are delivered in unexpected ways.
The author deftly evokes the adolescent turmoil endured by a youngster who must sacrifice a girlish crush in order to honour the wishes of her absentee parents. Meg's Solo pulls the reader into unpredictable emotional terrain as we observe the painful collision of youthful fantasy with stark rural necessity.
The other touching stories in this anthology take place in schools, jails, churches and family homes. These are settings the author knows intimately from growing up on a dairy farm, teaching in rural and city educational institutions and serving as a reporter in Canadian prisons.
The Christmas tales contain yuletide adventures told from a variety of points of view, from a lovelorn schoolgirl to an imprisoned father. The characters in these stories, ranging from a rebellious youth to a grieving widow, are sympathetically drawn and very human. Through their struggles we redefine the essence of family as well as the meaning of Christmas.
Because the characters wrestle with personal dilemmas against the backdrop of the Christmas season, the emotions are extremely intense. The author illustrates the close bonds and impassable chasms that lie between parents and offspring, between husbands and wives, between teacher and student, between prisoner and guardian.
Meet Adam, an abandoned youth who learns that faith really can move mountains. Incarcerated at Christmas, he relies on the power of prayer to deliver him from adversity. The reader will root for Adam as he journeys towards his own personal epiphany.
Meet Mrs. Elson, an elderly widow who takes pride in her role as guardian of the hearth and home. What will she do when a sudden accident sends her carefully crafted world spinning out of control?
In these diverse stories Ms. Little charts with tenderness the contradictions, dreams, shortcomings and fears of her characters. They are all vivid, moving tales whether reflecting the angst of adolescents or the frustration of thwarted adults. Each story unveils protagonists who search for connection, for reunion, for peace and harmony with loved ones. Through the eyes of both the mature and the naive we are reminded of the enduring importance of Christmas traditions to family unity.
Above all these Christmas stories celebrate the continuity of the generations through abiding family traditions. All contain life affirming and humane sentiments to sustain us in troubled times.
Share these uplifting tales with loved ones this Christmas. And don't forget to put one in your own stocking.
Christie Best Pearson accepts a signed copy of Meg's Solo from author Margo Little.
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