Tinsel

Tinsel: a search for America’s Christmas present
Hank Stuever
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. 331 pgs. Nonfiction

Looking for a book that evokes the warmth of the true Christmas spirit? Well then, shut this one and run--far, far away because A Christmas Carol this book is not. Hank Stuever is a well-known journalist for the Washington Post and his objective was to document the lives of three families on their journey through the Christmas Season. He chose a town called Frisco, Texas where everything is big: the land of big hearts, big houses, big hair, big churches and most of all, B-I-G Christmas-ing. You’ll learn about Tammi and her too-perfect, Christmas decorating frenzy, Jeff and his over the top, synchronized music and light display and Carroll, single mom who just wants to give her kids what they want for Christmas and serve faithfully in her local mega-church.

Hank’s style is that of a surgeon. Carefully cutting open each individual right down the center he stirs a very clever scalpel and removes a brain tendril wrapped around his pen with his left hand and with his right hand holds up their heart for all the world to see. Hank’s writing is full of both suppressed mockery and genuine fondness for his subjects on the table. Subversive and sardonic, thankfully Stuever doesn’t quite reach the cusp of snarkiness. He’s fond of word play and each chapter ends with quite a zinger. It’s a little bit brilliant and might just make you re-think the reasons and ways you spend your own holidaze.

DAP