"Philip
Harris’ A Maine Christmas Carol, a modern retelling of the Dickensian
fable of Christmas’ past, present, and future in a middle class New
England setting is a holiday treat for readers of all ages. The
spirit of the original story is cleverly unraveled in a more up to date
but equally grim narration of the experiences of a blighted
contemporary Scrooge named Thomas as he “sees” Christmas with his
spirit guides.
The
classic unfolding of the life of a beleaguered and very ill-spirited
young man faced with the consequences of his own self-serving actions
is cleverly layered with messages aimed at the socially irresponsible
of our own life and times. A Maine Christmas Carol is a powerful
parable of the ills of progressive society left to exist unchecked and
held unaccountable. Through the eyes of the spirit guides, Thomas sees
that while he is not responsible for the happiness of others, his
actions do deeply impact all those who come in contact with him. From
the local shop owners to his eight-year-old sister, his exploits leave
a deep and lasting impression. Even more critical to note is the
tsunami-like wave affect his acts, deeds, and lack of achievement has
on those he will never meet. What he does not do with his life is just
as significant as what he has done so far in his 16 years.
In
Harris’ A Maine Christmas Carol, a new family tradition is born. The
easy conversational writing style, the logical flow of the story, and
the twist to the original story makes this book a new classic that will
go on the shelves right next to Dickens’ original morality tale. Harris
does a marvelous job of weaving Thomas’ profound experience of
redemption with the underlying themes of social justice and poverty. A
Maine Christmas Carol is explicit in demonstrating the relationship of
the privileged class in our country who has failed to address the
social issues facing our society. Philip Harris has clearly and
unequivocally produced a rich allegory that redefines the importance of
Christmas to a new generation of readers."
SHANNON EVANS, CHIEF EDITOR
“I
loved this story. I enjoyed how the author related the events in this
tale to the current times-drug use, disgruntled teenager, the War in
Katrina Stiles, Alternative-Read.com (UK)
A
A
“Mr.
Harris has written a book that has very vivid and realistic characters
that run you through an emotional uplifting of hope. He is the kind of
writer that a person hopes will never stop writing for once you pick up
the book you won’t put it down. It is REALLY a must read!!” TROY HITE
A Maine
Christmas Carol
is a moving replay of the Christmas classic. It comes to life in its
portrayal of the character of TJ, a realistic portrait of a
disenfranchised youth. He struggles to deal with the loss of his father
and fears loving his family in case he loses them also. By becoming
totally self absorbed he only has to think about himself, by putting
down others he maintains his wall of uncaring. The author, Philip
Harris, has managed to create a sympathetic, understandable character
even as TJ scares the elderly and young children alike.
A
strong, thorough and meaningful plot is enveloped within of these
pages. At around 100 pages it is a poignant and timely reminder of the
meaning of caring in today’s world. Its well chosen words enable a full
length novel to inhabit the pages of a novella. In the guise of the
well loved tale it reminds us of the effects of modern life, its drugs,
wars and poverty, on its people. It gives us the hope and optimism that
is much needed in our contemporary world.
This will be
a holiday treat for
Barb Radmore,
Editor,
Reviewed by Annette
Gisby,
http://www.annettegisby.n3.net
At thirteen Thomas Johnson, known as T.J. loses his father in
gone completely off the rails, taking
drugs, hitting his younger brother and having no interest in anything except where
his next fix is coming from. His mother
is a social worker and T.J. is jealous of all the time she spends helping other
people and feels she doesn't care about
her own family at all. He has everything money can buy but money can't
buy what he really wants, his mother's time and
attention. He has no idea how to cope with the mess his life has
become and Christmas is just another horrible day in his
horrible life and he refuses to go with his mother and siblings
to his uncle's house to celebrate.
Staying
in the house on his own, he is visited by the ghost of his father, but
T.J. thinks it's just the drugs he was taking.
Then
his is visited by three other spirits, of his past, present and future
and nothing will be the same after that night.
A
modern retelling of the Dickens' tale, I wasn't sure if I was going to
like this one. I have to say I was pleasantly
surprised
how much I did enjoy it. I'm normally not that keen on modernized
versions of anything and I wasn't sure
how I was going
to relate to a drug addict.
Although short, the book packs a punch and Thomas was more of a sympathetic character than
I had anticipated.
Considering all the terrible things that happened in his short life, you could almost understand why
he turned to drugs
in the first place as a way to cope or to avoid his problems.
Not a word is wasted and you are
drawn into the story fairly quickly. The end of the book is a message of hope
and it leaves you with a warm feeling that
makes you want to hunt out the Christmas tree and curl up with a mug of
hot chocolate, even if I did read it in October.
TJ’s transformation from surly, disenfranchised youth to a more grown
up and responsible young man is deftly handled
and although the book ends just at the beginning of that transformation,
you know that all will be well for the Johnsons
from now on.
A great read.
