Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Gaarder's best works
Review: Jostein Gaarder ranks right up there on my list of favorite authors, but I did not feel that this was his best effort. It is very much in the same vein of "The Solitaire Mystery" (my all-time favorite book) and "Sophie's World" (the book that inspired me to get a philosophy minor in college), but covers the same principles talked about in "Solitaire Mystery". Read that one to get your socks blown off, read "The Christmas Mystery" around December to get in the spirit of the holidays!
Rating:
Summary: Not one of Gaarder's best works
Review: Jostein Gaarder ranks right up there on my list of favorite authors, but I did not feel that this was his best effort. It is very much in the same vein of "The Solitaire Mystery" (my all-time favorite book) and "Sophie's World" (the book that inspired me to get a philosophy minor in college), but covers the same principles talked about in "Solitaire Mystery". Read that one to get your socks blown off, read "The Christmas Mystery" around December to get in the spirit of the holidays!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Holiday Reading!
Review: Our family read this book aloud last Christmas and everyone (including 2 adolescent boys!)loved it. They have already asked if we can read it again in a year or two. Friends who have borrowed it have gone on to order their own copy. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new Christmas tradition.
Rating:
Summary: The mystery that I have never thought of
Review: This book really surprised me because of the creative thought the author have. It can carry out a series of stories which linked with each chapter and the main theme. Besides, the author uses a very simple idea to tell people about the stories of Christmas. Funny and warm. I like it.
Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: this book was my favourite i have ever read. every year it is a tradition that i start reading this book on the first of december and every night read a chapter leading to the last night december 24.everone should read this book, and make it apart of their collection today
Rating:
Summary: A delight for all ages
Review: This is a lovely book that I've given to children and adults the past 2 Christmases.While not as intellectually rigorous as Sophie's World and not quite as captivating as The Solitaire Mystery (which you must, must read), The Christmas Mystery is more addictive than a bag of peanuts. Rarely have I found a book that appeals to children and adults alike -- but this one does. Even if you have no background or real interest in Advent and Christmas, this book's fresh perspective will still delight.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: This tape was really neat! As soon as it starts playing, everybody hushes up. The story captures adults' attention, and children's too. It tells the story of Joachaim, a boy who finds an Advent calendar with a special story in it. Mysterious things happen, until the end when the truth comes out. The end isn't completely satisfying, but the rest is wonderful! Completely recommended! Although children may ask lots of questions whern the author refers to places in Scandinavia. Great if you love mysteries without blood and guts!
Rating: 
Summary: One of the great seasonal novels
Review: We have grown to expect striking and intelligent philosophy and thought from Gaarder's books. The Christmas Mystery is, like The Solitaire Mystery, a deceptively simple and yet richly complex story. The only flaw, as far as I'm concerned, is a faint cloying sweetness to the story, but even this can easily be overlooked by the sheer cleverness and spirit of the narrative. It is a potted history of Christmas through the ages, its evolution - or rather, devolution, handled adeptly and intelligently. It is a true book for all the family, and should become compulsory seasonal reading along with A Night Before Christmas and The Christmas Carol. The nice thing about Gaarder is that his mysteries only open up yet more mysteries - he solves his mysteries and leaves us looking at the world through new eyes, trying to explain our own personal mysteries that we have only just noticed....
Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking
Review: What was so nice about my experience with this book, was that
I read it during the Christmas season, and it really made things
special for me. The way a story was crafted within an equally
enticing story was superb and I commend Jostein Gaarder for her
work. It's magnificent.
Rating:
Summary: A trip back in time to the birth of Christ,
Review: yet it's surrounded by a mystery which is imparted by a unique, handmade Advent calender. Joachim begins his trip back in time alone, but by the time he finishes the whole family is in on the adventure. Each day starts with the opening of another door and a small slip of paper that tells the story. The adventure begins to unfold in a most mysterious way when we find out it is tied to a little girl who has been missing from their Norwegian town for many years. I was lucky enough to listen to the book on tape, and was surprised and happy to find it was narrated by John McDonough who also narrated the Mitford series by Jan Karon. He is most memorable to me as the voice of Father Tim. Kelsana 12/05/01
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