The Christmas Pearl
By: Dorothea Benton Frank / Narrated By: Celia Weston
Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
What a wonderful little listen!
I really, really love The Christmas Pearl as an audiobook. Celia Weston narrates the entire thing in such a glorious way! The old matriarch, the genteel Southern 93-year old Theodora, chuckles, chortles, sighs, and even seethes every now and then as she tells us the story of trying to get back to a sense of a real Christmas, filled with love and generosity for family. She tells us that her family, her daughter’s family and their children, have become cold-hearted and petty knuckleheads, people who are more apt to sneer and jeer at each other than to extend even cold, common courtesy.
The book opens with Theodora’s memories of Christmases past, with her family and the servant Pearl, who ran the house with such pride and love, and who was Theodora’s best friend and the person she most wanted to impress… or at least not disappoint. But Pearl is gone, mother, father, brother are gone. All that are left are the rabble she currently resides with, and she’s soooo longing for something more.
A family emergency takes away the new family housekeeper right at Christmas, and a new woman is set to come in to take over for the rest of the festivities, the cooking and such all. And Christmas miracle! It turns out to be Pearl herself, come from the Other Side to guide the family back to true and loving hearts. Theodora is floored and can barely contain herself.
But she’s confounded too, as the road to happiness and the true Christmas spirit is rocky indeed. Theodora has to watch as special punch is served that has her family spewing the venom that’s deep down inside their hearts, and there is much flaying of spirits and souls. This is a family that’s as mean-spirited as they come, and Theodora’s daughter, Barbara, is ill-equipped to handle it all. Pearl and Theodora have to guide the poor rudderless woman to stepping in and becoming the new matriarch.
The Christmas Pearl is chockfull of humor and sweetness even as there are mean words and bitterness. There’s the chance to heal old wounds after the hurtful words fly; there’s the chance to bring in good old-fashioned Christmas after the fake tinsel tree is chucked to the media room and a real tree is zapped in by Pearl and her magic. And yes, there are plenty of wise words, plenty of good ol’ Gullah magic. Truly, the narration brings to life each character, each background perfectly.
If you have some time today, a chunk of time to bake cookies. or wrap gifts, if you’re stuck in lines at the department store, tune into this wonderful little audiobook. Theodora has the best heart out there, and with Pearl leading the charge, maybe there’s hope for even knuckleheads this Christmas!
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