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Rating: 
Summary: Heartwarming and magical!
Review: Andrew Greeley has written a magical tale of love, keeping in tune with the Christmas spirit. Greeley is one of my all time favorite authors, and I have yet to read one of his books, which has not captivated me and given me food for thought. The reader will find this heartwarming a tale a quick read, as the reader is held in suspense until the very end. Greeley weaves his wit, charm and mystical musings into the romantic tale of Jack, an Irish Catholic lad meeting a beautiful Russian college student at Harvard. Odessa, a bit of a Russian mystic, weaves her own kind of magic with everyone who comes into her presence. Her charming and innocent ways at looking at life incorporate the mystical and spirituality of her culture. Jack decides to bring Odessa home to Chicago to meet his family for Christmas. With her simplicity, innocence, charm, and grace, Odessa manages to mend the uptight Flanigan family and bring them closer together than anyone thought was possible! This is a wonderful tale and helps to bring home the message that people come into our lives for a reason, as God reveals him/her self to us in those that we meet. Another uplifting winner from Farther Andrew Greeley!
Rating: 
Summary: 'Just In Time For Christmas' Is No Excuse
Review: Ever since 'The Christmas Tree' and 'The Christmas Box', authors are striving to collect a Christmas bonus in less thant 130 pages. Andrew Greeley rushed a tale with potential just in time for the holiday, but his star faded in my lap. The first person Irish cynic has been a common narrative style for Fr. Greeley since 'The Cardinal Sins.' Jack is a false narrator in that his discription of characters lacks credibility with their actions. Jack changes in how he feels about Odessa, but he doesn't change his outlook on life or humanity. Our hero remains self-absorbed, even at the end, despite being blessed by a too-perfect heroine. The basic plot is promising. Give the family more blotches in action, rather than Jack's words. Give Odessa more mystery or flaws to enhance her creditbility. Give Jack more problems than a dispute over the country club golf champion. Give a story like this more time, Fr. Greeley. Christmas is eternal. This one could have waited another year.
Rating: 
Summary: A True Little Spiritual Classic
Review: Greeley's Irish Chicago meets sexy lay Russian Orthodox women's Christian mysticism somewhere between Boston College and Harvard Yard. Its improbability viz the Greeley corpus actually helps him compress a short, simple, yet spiritually sublime plot-and-reflections. (No Ryan family-tree to keep straight in your head!) If Odessa/Tatiana doesn't "seduce" you in many different (good!) ways, get your head, heart, spirit, and hormone-levels examined! This book is little, but read it nice and slow, sometimes a page a day when herself is showing boyfriend Jack, his disgruntled family, and us a truer world-next-door spiritually. And read it over and over...maybe every December during the crush of the holidays. (Deeper than that Christmas pageant story they put on TV back in the '80s.) You'll find more than one new gem each time through--'pearls of great price,' for no great price! And it might just improve your life...and that of your significant others! Give it to a friend or two, too. Profound, fun, cross-cultural, sexy but not "steamy" (Darn!), not a murder mystery but that's OK; further developments in Greeley's study and reporting of 'normal' Christians' approach to life. Technically, some typos and words missing, but it's usually clear what it is, so you lose no meaning. And stay with the meaning, because it's overflowing with it! And hardback is OK because it'll get used over and over for years to come. Sounds like he's working on a series of compressed, reflective, theological Christmas-y novels; great idea!
Rating:
Summary: A lovely Christmas gift
Review: I'm a sucker for a Christmas story, and an admirer of Greeley's work. No one makes family dynamics more fascinating, or has a greater appreciation for women. This is an offbeat little love story, with love being the operative word. Tatiana, the Russian student Irish Catholic Jack takes home to meet the folks in Chicago for Christmas, is a magical heroine who brings joy and hope to a dysfunctional family. It leaves you smiling and believing in the wonder of the season.
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