Rating: 
Summary: SF in everyday life
Review: What can I say about Connie Willis? She's simply one of the best science fiction writers today. But not for her the galaxy-spanning epic or heroic battles. No, she focuses on the day-to-day struggle of getting by, using her powers of observation and remarkable ear for dialogue to depict the small triumphs and tragedies of everyday life, usually leavened with a little science-fictional or fantasy quirk. The story "Inn" might be the best example. Sharon is supporting a Christmas pageant rehearsal in her church when a middle-Eastern couple show up on the doorstep: young, lost, speaking no English, the woman heavily pregnant, neither familiar with modern inventions like coffee cups or steps, and looking for a town called Bethlehem. It is a mixture of the miraculous and the prosaic as Sharon tries to figure out what to do with the couple while hiding them from the authorities and trying to maintain her part in the rehearsal so as not to draw attention to herself. "Miracle" focuses on another woman whose life and officemates are confused by the "Spirit of Christmas Present"-not the Dickens one, but one who sees that everyone gets the present they secretly want most. "In Coppelius's Toyshop" tells the story of an uncaring man who deservedly is unable to escape from the (thinly disguised) main store of F.A.O. Schwartz no matter how hard he tries. In "Adaptation," a bookstore clerk's life is enhanced with the assistance of the (truly Dickensian this time) Spirits of Christmas Present and Yet to Come. "Cat's Paw" is a science-fictional pastiche of every detective story with an all-knowing sleuth and a bumbling assistant. In "Newsletter," a woman and a coworker battle a different sort of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," in which the possessed actually become nicer, more considerate, more sensible people. She wonders if she should try to save humanity. Surrounding the stories like bookends are an introduction and a final word in which Willis shares her thoughts on Christmas as well as listing her favorite movies and stories about Christmas. Her favorite Christmas movie, incidentally, is not the ubiquitous-in-December It's a Wonderful Life, but rather Miracle on 34th Street, followed closely by A Christmas Story.
Rating: 
Summary: Willis is one of the most underrated authors out there
Review: While I've only just received up my copy of MIRACLE, I've read many of the stories in it, in Willis' yearly Asimov's stories. Let me just say this: Connie Willis deserves much more fame than she currently recieves, and the Christmas tales she has produced over the past few years are proof of why. The woman is a master of character, a great humorist, and a wonderful writer. Read this book, then go on and read her spectacular BELLWETHER.
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