A Mother and Son Rediscover Each Other in An Irish Christmas

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me how much I love Ireland. My Swedish grandma sometimes teases me about this, but when she happened upon Melody Carlson’s An Irish Christmas, she snatched it up for me, as she figured it was definitely my kind of book. I read it over Christmas vacation, and I would generally have to agree.

This novel, written by prolific Christian author Melody Carlson, focuses on Colleen, a middle-aged widow, and her son Jamie. A rift has grown between her and her free-spirited son, who, feeling stifled by the expectation that he would take over the family shoe business, has been pursuing music in secret. Colleen has a secret of her own, and she wants to share it with Jamie on a Christmas trip to Ireland. Each has been hurt by the other’s lack of consideration in the past but is afraid of hurting the other with the information that has been held back for so long.

The majority of the book takes place in various tiny towns in Ireland, so the setting appealed to me very much. My appreciation for it was increased by the fact that it is the early 1960s, which has always been a time period of particular interest for me. One of the defining events of the book is the Kennedy assassination, and the looming Vietnam War makes Colleen very fearful of Jamie’s professed intention to join the armed forces. The 60s, along with the 70s, are my favorite period in popular music, and there is some mention of a couple favorite groups, but for the most part, the focus is on a style rather than particular individuals.

Carlson uses alternating chapters to tell her story, with Jamie narrating half and Colleen the other half. Colleen’s chapters feel more natural, perhaps because her perspective is closer to the author’s. Carlson does have a tendency to overuse certain words, such as “groovy,” and phrases, like “it seems to be the case,” and this can give her writing a bit of a clunky feel at times. The prose is generally more utilitarian than artful, but there are times when she seems to get caught up in the beauty of the Irish surroundings and the words on the page reflect that loveliness very well.

This is an uplifting story that relies a little heavily on coincidence, with some people very conveniently being in the right place at the right time, but then she seems to be going for a slightly magical feel here and I think it works. Jamie’s tumultuous feelings about the path he would like his life to take and Colleen’s guilt and regret about decisions in her past ring true and set the stage for reconciliation and self-discovery. If you wish you could spend a couple weeks on an Irish getaway, An Irish Christmas makes for a nice holiday in your head.