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.
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