The Naughty Donkey The skinny gist is that a disobedient donkey meets the baby Jesus and it changes his perspective on things.
The Water Bus This is a short religious story about a widow named Mrs. Hargreaves who is actually not a bad person. Thing is, she just doesn't quite get other people's emotions. Now, she tries to say and do all the right things, she just really doesn't enjoy being in the company of other people or engaging with them.
In the Cool of the Evening A mother prays for her son to be normal. Don't we all? In this case, her 13 year old son has the mind of a child much younger and she wants God to heal him. Her husband wants her to accept what they can't change.
Promotion in the Highest Christie writes another religious short, this time about a group of saints that ask to come back to earth to help make a difference. It seems to be set in the futuristic year 2000, as they talked about some rule that would allow them to do this at the turn of each millennium. The saints didn't feel they had done enough to earn the glories of Heaven and wanted to do more for humanity.
The Island A short story about a woman named Mary who lived on an island with her son.
And that's it for the short stories.
The rest of this book consists of poems Christie wrote that I forced myself to read. And I can't comment on whether or not Agatha can spit a rhyme because I simply don't enjoy reading poetry. That's not to say the poems are bad, just that I don't like poetry in general and great gobs of poetry specifically. And there were a lot. So this was a massive hurdle for me as a reader and a person. I know. I'm impressed with myself, as well.
Recommended for Christie Completionists like myself.
This was another in my Christmas pile. . . I was surprised to find that Agatha Christie had Christmas / Nativity themed writings out for reading. I am glad I found my way to them.
The book was published in 1965, and consists of six stories and five poems. This is a book I will continue to go back to, because the stories are deep enough to pull meaning out in multiple sessions. My focus, unintended, this year has been on Mary. . .and this book's familiar voice (Agatha C. Mallowan) considers Mary in 3 of the stories. I was particularly caught up in "The Island" and it moved me to tears. The title story is also a very good one, with a Christie twist.
I will revisit this in future meditations, and am grateful when authors step out of their usual writing routines to play in other landscapes and themes as Hercule's Agatha did in this case.
A must for every Christie fan, this facsimile edition was published in 2014. It includes six stories and five stories first published under Star over Bethlehem, illustrated by Elsie Wrigley by Collins in 1965. This special edition also includes A Masque from Italy, Seven ballads and eighteen poems first published in The Roads of Dreams published by Geoffrey Bles in 1924 and 28 poems published under Poems by Collins in 1973. The poems and ballads are not quite enjoyable nor are the short stories. But taken together we get to see a very different aspect of the Queen of mystery. Must read for all Christie fans.
Un libro fascinante para descubrir otro lado de Agatha Christie. Una colección de cuentos y poemas que se leen rápido y que pondrán a cualquier fan de la Reina del Crimen.
نجمة الصباح للأديبة الكبيرة آجاثا كريستى ،وهي مجموعة قصصية بطلها المحقق الأشهر هيركول بوارو ، وهي قصص تتفاوت من حيث الطول والقصر و كذلك من حيث الجودة فمنها الجيد ومنها ما دون ذلك. و على العموم تبقى الكاتبة و كتاباتها رائدة في عالم الروايات البوليسية كما تتفرد بأسلوبها الخاص الجميل و الممتع.
Star Over Bethlehem (1965) by Agatha Christie Mallowan is a collection of short stories and poems by the mistress of mysteries about the mystery of the birth of Christ and what that event meant then and in more modern times. It includes a "what if" story of Mary being offered a vision of her son's future and the chance to change the final outcome. And then there's the one about what would happen if the Saints of all time felt that their works and sacrifices hadn't been enough to merit the reward they had been given. What would happen if they asked to return to Earth and do more? There is also the story of Mrs. Hargreaves who doesn't like people--she doesn't want to not like people, but she just can't seem to help herself. And then she meets a very special fellow passenger on a water bus and has an irresistible urge to touch his unusual coat....
As with all collections, this is mixture of strong and weak stories. For the most part these are interesting and unique looks at Christie's insights to the Christian faith and stories. It was a nice read for the holiday season.
Also unter dem Namen Agatha Christie habe ich besseres erwartet. Beim nächsten mal dann doch lieber wieder einen guten alten who dunit Krimi. 😄 Da weiß man, woran man ist.
So even though the title is "Star Over Bethlehem," I didn't realize ALL the stories in this collection would be super religious, but they are. This collection didn't interest me or give me what I was looking for in a Christmas book, which is a light and fun holiday read.
I wasn't sure what to expect here. But I was looking for something holiday-ish, and I had read all of Agatha's other holiday stories, and this came up in the list of her standalones, and I am methodically reading all of her books, so here we are.
That said, it had some nice moments. There were a couple of stories that were clearly just her attempt at being very religious, and a couple that were actually quite sweet (I liked the story about the little donkey, and the one about the island). And the poems did rather run the gamut.
I had never thought of her as a poet, but it's not surprising, given that she tried all kinds of other genres. Someone who writers in more than one genre is more likely to write poetry, I think. The poems were split up into groups by subject, and for me, the strongest ones were in the topic of Dreams and Fantasies. I thought a couple of these even had small kernels of what could have been an interesting SFF story. I will definitely be looking at these again. I wish she had tried it out!
That said, the rest of it is just very mediocre. I think if you are interested in learning more about Agatha, and interested in reading her complete catalog of works, then you should read this. If you are more a mystery buff or casual fan, you can give it a pass.
My husband gave this to me today for Christmas --- it's a first edition copy he bought at my favorite book store. Well done! I've read through it today and was touched by each of these stories. I'm really thinking a lot today about upping my compassionate game. I wrote the following for Facebook:
"I came across this poem today by Agatha Christie called, A Wreath for Christmas. It struck me how the mistletoe represented the people who had never heard the gospel of Christ. And then I thought: the people were pagan, and then they were not. When did we stop rejoicing when the pagans came to Christ? When did we decide it was ok to stand with the 99 and shout, "Not good enough! Not good enough! Not good enough!" Acts 15 tells us how we're supposed to do it. We show them a few things and then, as they hear the instructions taught, they learn more. Step by step. But first we have to talk to them."
Este libro se publicó originalmente en 1965 y es una auténtica sorpresa para los que leemos las novelas policiales de Agatha Christie. Yo desconocía su existencia, aunque lleva varios años publicado en español por la editorial Confluencias. Tal y como nos dice la editorial, "en esta obra encontramos una colección de seis cuentos y cinco poemas inspirados en la temática navideña, pero no por ello dejan de ser representativos del gusto de la autora, por la mirada irónica, el humor, la intriga y la sorpresa". Una mirada diferente a la Navidad, narrada en forma de cuentos, que la gran maestra del crimen nos dejó a sus lectores como muestra de que era capaz de contar historias navideñas con su toque personal. Es una obra que se lee enseguida, porque tiene pocas páginas, y además cuenta con ilustraciones. Merece la pena leerla.
نجمة الصباح للرائعة أجاثا كريستى مجموعة قصصية من المغامرات البوليسية يتولى فك غموضها المخبر السري البلجيكي هيركول بوارو
تتكون من 7 قصص غامضة
الخدعة: تعرضت فتاة للسرقة فى اثناء ذهابها لبيع تحف فنية لرجل ثري ترى من يكون اللص؟ وكيف سرقت التحف و هى فى حوزتها؟
الغزال الجريح: يبحث عن فتاة لا يعرف عنها سوى اسمها فهل سيمكنه إيجادها ؟
مغامرة جونى ويفرلى: رجل يتلقى تهديدا بخطف ابنه فى يوم و ساعة محددين اذا لم يدفع له مبلغا ضخما فهل سيمكنه إحباط عملية الخطف و الكشف عن المختطفين قبل فوات الأوان؟
الثالوث الخالد: مغامرة على 3 فصول ثالوث ينحصر فيه المجرم ثم نكشف انه خارجه و انه استطاع ببراعة ارتكاب جريمته
الجلسة الأخيرة: كانت "الوسيط" تشعر فى داخلها بخوف مبهم أحست منه انها ستكون جلستها الأخيرة
استغاثة: ترى من كتب عبارة SOS للرجل لينبهه لخطر داهم؟ وما هو هذا الخطر؟
نجمة الصباح: خدعة ذكية لسرقة الماسة الثمينة على مرأى و مسمع من الجميع
أخر مغامرة جريمة قتل محيرة يسجن القاتل و تتهم زوجة القتيل شخص اخر بالقتل اعتمادا على غريزتها كامرأة فهل تقودها غريزتها نحو القاتل الحقيقي أم انها محض أوهام؟
المجموعة القصصية جيدة لكن كان فيها بعض الجرائم ممكن اكتشافها بسهولة و البعض الاخر اكثر غموضا كعادة بوارو
فى المجمل جيدة أحلاهم من وجهة نظرى كانت نجمة الصباح و التى تليها و الخدعة و الغزال الجريح و الثالوث الخالد
God's timing is unbelievable; I found this book while reorganizing my bookshelves today and remembered how I'd pledged this summer to read it during the holiday season, so I sat and read it in a single afternoon. What an incredible selection of deeply moving, thought-provoking Advent short stories by Agatha Christie. The first half of the book was a delight; I would recommend to others to skip the second half as her poetry is not nearly as dazzling or compelling as her prose. Still, this was a much-needed read and theological reminder for me in the midst of thinking about grief, Mary's complete surrender, and how difficult it can be to truly love neighbors well.
Me parece que es un nuevo acercamiento a un aspecto no muy conocido -al menos por mi, hasta ahora- de Agatha Christie.
Por supuesto, ya con el nombre del libro uno puede suponer fácilmente que se encuentra ante uno cargado de elementos religiosos, y con eso en mente lo empecé.
Siendo honesta, aunque ya esperaba un libro un tanto religioso, también esperaba los toques que siempre han distinguido a Christie. Esperaba algo que lo hiciera brillar, pero en esta ocasión no me sentí verdaderamente conmovida :(
This collection of Christmas themed short stories and poems, yes written by *that* Agatha Christie, could even increase the size of the small hearts belonging to Scrooge or the Grinch. Beautiful and most heartwarming. True Christmas too! No mention of eggnog, presents or Santa. Gorgeous.
This was definitely case of false advertising since the cover implied a book of Christmas stories. In fact, this book shows that the queen of mystery writing also wrote a lot of mediocre to bad poetry. Hardly any of it was related to the holidays.
Esta recopilación de cuentos y poemas me ha parecido muy curiosa, porque desconocía por completo otras novelas más allá de los asesinatos tan bien planteados de Agatha Christie, y leerla en otro registro me ha gustado. Es un libro corto, con letra grande e ilustraciones originales, coloridas y bonitas. Incluye cinco cuentos ambientados en Navidad y religiosos. En todos ellos aparece la figura de Jesús, como personaje físico, palpable o bien como personaje en espíritu, sólo capaz de mostrarse ante los personajes devotos, necesitados, amorosos y bondadosos que pueblan los cuentos. Saber esto es importante porque he leído críticas negativas de otros lectores que esperaban encontrarse el estilo de siempre de Christie. Pero estamos ante un cambio de registro: aquí no hay asesinatos cruentos, ni detectives avispados ni sospechas. Hay historias de personas perdidas, de personas buenas, de personas desesperadas que encuentran en la fe y en Cristo su salvoconducto para una vida feliz y en paz. La pluma es sencilla y se lee en un suspiro, quizás sea buena opción para los niños. Mis cuentos favoritos han sido: “El autobús acuático”, “La isla” y “Un fresco atardecer”. Obviamente no es el libro más destacado de la autora, pero en general me ha gustado y me ha sorprendido esa faceta católica que no conocía. Lo recomiendo para los curiosos y los devotos de la tía Agatha. Lo incluyo en el #retomujeresautoras como libro de cuentos y poesía.
A diferencia de los truculentos relatos y novelas sobre crímenes excelentemente maquinados por la reina del crimen, Estrella sobre Belén y otros cuentos de Navidad es una compilación de relatos, cuanto menos, tiernos. Aunque si sabía de su existencia, no conocía de primera mano la obra de la autora que se alejaba del whodunit; aunque si se siente el dinamismo con el que Agatha te cuenta el cuento, no estuvo como ese tono al que estaba acostumbrado. Eso no está mal, de ninguna forma. Principalmente porque es una antología muy bella. De pronto no supe apreciar bien los poemas navideños (pero si me gustó que tenían una tonadilla a villancico), pero los cuentos rebosaron ternura. Todos son relatos religiosos, prueba de la devoción que tenía la autora, pero no se siente que ella quiera adoctrinarte ni nada, solo como ella ve que Dios provee amor a la gente actual (o de la actualidad de hace setenta años). Me pareció curioso como ella le dio una vuelta de tuerca a ciertos relatos bíblicos, como había cierto toque moderno y humorístico en los órdenes celestiales, o, mucho más curioso, ciertos toques de ciencia ficción en dos cuentos, Un fresco atardecer (mi favorito) y Promoción aprobada en las alturas, que es muy divertido. Le doy 4,3 de 5 estrellas, y quedo contento porque fue mi lectura navideña.
As with most short story collections, this one had some hits and misses for me, but overall I enjoyed reading something different than what I'm used to reading from Agatha Christie.
I'd say only about 1/3 of the material here specifically revolves around Christmas, but the rest is at least religious. From what I can find out, Christie was a member of the Church of England, and her perspective is more "high church" than mine, but I still found it interesting. Although, there were a few instances of religious fiction that I didn't really care for, such as in "The Island" which seems to imply that Mary was rather ignorant about who her own son Jesus really was, which makes no sense to me (still a neat idea for a story though).
"Promotion in the Highest" at times vaguely reminded me of That Hideous Strength with "returned saints" walking around earth much like C.S. Lewis's version of Merlin (though the effects and reasons were very different).
What a surprise! After the first couple short stories in this collection I was ready to give this 5 stars and buy a copy to keep. However, alas, after the short stories -- which were spectacular -- the last two thirds of this was some of the most excruciating poetry I have ever, ever read. Good heavens, Agatha. But still, the short stories! What a delight. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Simon Vance and particularly recommend it for the accents.
Okay, so this book was essentially all about religion, and seeing as I’m not a Christian, that meant that I didn’t really care too much about the stories that were told here. The second half of the book is also literally just Poems, her poetry collection, and I’ve read that before.
Still, as a general rule, I’d still recommend this one to people who want to learn a little bit more about Agatha Christie, and I can also see why it’s published under her third surname (Christie was her second, but she later remarried).
So I’d probably recommend this one, even with the caveat that it’s definitely not for everyone. I think it’s mostly going to be of interest to her long-term fans, but I’m one of those so I enjoyed it.
Sechs christlich weihnachtliche Geschichten verbergen sich hinter Wunderbare Weihnachten oder Es begab sich aber … . Die Geschichten sind intelligent, tragen an manchen Stellen einen versteckten britischen Humor in sich und zeigen einen weiteren Aspekt von Agatha Christies schriftstellerischen Können.
This was a fun little collection of Christmas stories (and some not Christmas themed, as well) by our beloved Agatha Christie. I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but I actually enjoyed the poems in this collection. I think my favorite stories were those about Harlequin and Columbine.