The Christmas Pearl by Dorthea Benton Frank

It is customary for our book club to read a light Christmas themed book for our December meeting. It is usually one on which we can have a short discussion, have lunch, and then decide our books for the coming year. 

The Christmas Pearl, was a unique novel in that it required the suspension of all belief as the reader was transported into a fairy tale world that was a cross between Cinderella and Mary Poppins. Theodora is a nonagenarian matriarch of a seemingly dysfunctional family who have all come to Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate Christmas. As she bemuses the fact that Christmas doesn't seem like what it was in her younger days, she doesn't have the wherewithal to undertake all those tasks of decorating, shopping, cooking. She remembers her mother's housekeeper who seemed to pull it all together for the family. With that in Fairy Godmother fashion Pearl, who was the Gullah housekeeper,  appears at Theodora's house. Pearl has come back from the dead to make Christmas seem like the old days. She cooks, decorated the house with the ease of having a magic wand. 

As the family members arrive they add a bit of chaos to the scene, bickering, complaining, and just plain acting rude. The reader has a tough time liking any of them. But the scenes between Theodora and Pearl are the calming portions of the book as they settle in to having a bit of Christmas "cheer." The continual fracas and griping of the family sets Pearl to step in and try to save Merry Christmas. A spot of eggnog helps.

It was a quick read, not literary, but perfect for the reader who does not care about reality and and can appreciate the imaginary. 
 

Paper Girl by Beth Macy

 Paper Girl is a reflection on life in a small town and the current state of affairs of the United States by journalist and Congressional hopeful Beth Macy. She relates life growing up in a small town to poverty stricken parents, her father called the town drunk in Urbana, Ohio. She weaves this growing up into comments about the political divide that has darkened the history of the United States. 

In recounting her formative years she draws comparisons and contrasts to the works of JD Vance's Hillbilly Elegy  and Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperfield. She has no issue in presenting herself as a liberally minded democrat as she revisits some of her hometown acquaintances and relative who do not share her views or ideals. She is thankful for being able to attend college because of Pell grants, that have been so diminished at the present. She relates this to a recent graduate of Urbana High School, Silas James, a trans, is trying to go to college, get his welding certificate and provide care for his siblings after their father's death. Silas is woven in this memoir and it creates a moving thread with how unforgiving the attitude of so many are in this day of nonacceptance.  

She advocates kindness, forgiveness, and grace as she witnesses the results of the 2024 election. As a journalist she is a truth teller who is an acute observer and listener. As such she regrets that true journalism is floundering today with so few getting information from factual sources and relying on social media for their information.

 The book was a real eye-opener into the life of rural poverty and a meaningful read. I marked many statements as I was reading. Beth Macy spoke on 8 December 2025 for the Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures series. She was impassioned and hopeful that our citizenry will find their way in the near future. She has announced her candidacy for Representative for the 6th District of Virginia. May she win!

Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures

My copy of Paper Girl  signed