{"product_id":"the-christmas-letters-9781565123762","title":"The Christmas Letters","description":"In \u003ci\u003eThe Christmas Letters\u003c\/i\u003e, three generations of women reveal their stories of love and marriage in the letters they write to family and friends during the holidays. It's a down-home Christmas story about tradition, family, and the shared experiences of women.\u003cp\u003e Here, in a letter of her own, Lee Smith explains how she was inspired to write this celebrated epistolary novel: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Dear Friends, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Like me, you probably get Christmas letters every year. I read every word and save every letter. Because every Christmas letter is the story of a life, and what story can be more interesting than the story of our lives? Often, it is the story of an entire family. But you also have to read between the lines with Christmas letters. Sometimes, what is not said is even more important than what is on the page.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003eThe Christmas Letters\u003c\/i\u003e, I have used this familiar format to illumine the lives, hopes, dreams, and disappointments of three generations of American women. Much of the story of \u003ci\u003eThe Christmas Letters\u003c\/i\u003e is also told through shared recipes. As Mary, my favorite character, says, \"I feel as if I have written out my life story in recipes! The Cool Whip and mushroom soup years, the hibachi and fondue period, then the quiche and crepes phase, and now it's these salsa years.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I wrote this little book for the same reason I write to my friends and relatives every holiday--Christmas letters give us a chance to remember and celebrate who we are.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e With warmest greetings, Lee Smith\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLee Smith \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of fourteen novels, including \u003ci\u003eFair and Tender Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOral History\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSaving Grace\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eGuests on Earth\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as four collections of short stories, including \u003ci\u003eMe and My Baby View the Eclipse\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNews of the Spirit\u003c\/i\u003e. Her novel \u003ci\u003eThe Last Girls\u003c\/i\u003e was a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller as well as a co-winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. A retired professor of English at North Carolina State University, she has received an Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the North Carolina Award for Literature, and the Weatherford Award for Appalachian Literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Algonquin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50662501646610,"sku":"9781565123762","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a99ba0e1-0fcd-4660-998d-a32b7eae9f34.jpg?v=1733526197","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-christmas-letters-9781565123762","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}