The Christmas Pearl audiobook

This is the Christmas story that I have wanting to read this season. I picked the book up at the Womans's Guild Christmas bazaar here expecting a kitchy, cutsey story and while reading the story was thrilled that I found the story that touched my heart...November 26 2018I have to confess--I adore Christmas stories. All kinds. And I can read them throughout the whole year. But I also have a love/hate relationship with Dorothea Benton Franks books. So last year, after looking at this book for a while, I got lucky and found this book second hand...and in hardback! (So lucky as I am not able to read my books on a e-reader). I also have a passion for second hand books, absolutely love it when when people write musings in it. My version has such scribblings in it. I do not know why the person let this wonderful book go, but I am thankful to have it. Last year I swore that I will read it again--and read it in the Christmas season. It has once again working its magic on me! Who knows, maybe this Christmas story will be one that I read every year...

While this is not a very long book I thought it was just perfect to get the message across. The message is be kind and understanding towards your family.

** spoiler alert ** I love hearing about Christmas in 1912 seems so simple and then reality hits you like a ton of bricks and it's cell phones and rude people.Anyways I loved Ms. Theodora we might have been best friends

I loved this book, but I will tell you right up front that it is not for everyone. It is, obviously, a holiday themed book but it is also very sentimental. While the characters do go through personal struggles, they work through them with the help of Pearl, the all knowing angel of a maid. This material reminds me of the kind of movies Hallmark would make back in the 80's.....when they only made 2 or 3 a year not 2 or 3 a week. It is just a good sweet story of a family conquering their worst enemies...themselves and coming out better for it.

Great book to get you in the Christmas spirit.Wonderful, so detailed in descriptions I could smell and taste and see all the Christmas preparations and meals. The story was fun and something that I would like to see happen in a lot of families. I especially liked the idea that our loved ones that shaved died are only a thought away. Great book.

A wealthy family waiting to celebrate Christmas, a tree trimmed with modern ornaments, a bratty child, a 93 year old who remembers Christmas during her childhood and a beloved housekeeper of her long gone parents ; put all together and you have a story you will not want to stop reading.

Short and sweet book to get you in a Christmas mood!

I really want to give it 3.5 stars. I liked it. So it’s not quite 3 because i wasn’t indifferent about it. But I feel like I needed to like it a little bit more for it to make 4 stars. But I thought the book was a good Christmas story and would probably make a good Christmas movie. It wasn’t your typical Christmas romance which is what I really liked about it. The main character is an old woman named Theodora who has since had kids, become a grandma and a widow. She lives in Charleston, SC and it’s Christmas time. She’s sad when she realizes how much Christmas celebration has changed throughout her life and it makes her miss her mother and her house keeper, Pearl, dearly. She’s sad that her children didn’t turn out as happy as they could be and that their families have some issues. One night Theodora has a dream that Pearl came back and was yelling at her, but in little girl form, about how much she messed up her daughter. When she wakes up she’s discombobulated. Then, her daughter answers the door for their new hires help “Jewel.” Only in walks Pearl. It’s amazing but frightening at the same tome. Pearl is dead! But she’s back to help the family see what Christmas can be, get over their issues, and bring them together again. She does it in an entertaining way and the family members reveal a lot of skeletons in their closets. The ending of the book is very heartwarming which solidifies by opinion that it should be a movie. I would not discourage anyone from reading this, and I think I the story is great. It just needed a little more of something to give it that spark that it had the potential to have. To make it feel that much more heartwarming and magical.

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator. The story was of a genteel southern family who had gone off the rails with each suceeding generation until their big house was shabby and they lived solitary separate lives. The 93 year old matriarch yearned for Christmases of long ago when the family was united under the firm but loving hand of the black servant Pearl. Here’s where I had a little problem with the storyline. Pearl has been dead 80 years and still hasn’t earned her wings so she is sent from heaven to serve this family once more. Dispensing wise advice and a little gullah magic, Pearl pulls the family together and gets them back on track. It was a sterotypical southern story of a white family held together by a black servant. I cringed a few times as I read this and checked the copyright date (2008). If you can suspend realism, and read superficially, The Christmas Pearl is a quick, Christmas read. I like to think we’ve come farther in our awareness since 2008. I downloaded this from Hoopla.

This is an easy read if you’re trying to meet your Good Reads goal. I love the Christmas spirit and the idea of how our loved ones who aren’t with us are all around us.Some people were critical of the black/white relationship. Look at the time period and place of the book. I think it makes sense.

Truly delightful Christmas story about a seriously dysfunctional family who get some supernatural help for their holiday celebration. Thanks to my Goodreads friend Jeanne for recommending this enjoyable little book!