Last Christmas – Greg Wise/Emma Thompson

On the heels of their 2019 film, Last Christmas, Greg Wise and Emma Thompson have curated a collection of essays from a wide variety of contributors.  Contained herein are stories from actors, writers, refugees and soup-kitchen volunteers who all try and get down to the heart of what Christmas means to them.

This is a hard one to review.  There were several good stories here, but after a while, they all begin to mix together like a set of tangled Christmas lights.  There are a few standout ones from the editors (Thompson and Wise) and Caitlin Moran as well as a really touching one by Emily Watson that ties ones love of Christmas to nostalgia.  Stanley Tucci had a great story about growing up in a large Italian family.

There’s lots to enjoy here.  But many of them were forgettable.  It’s probably better suited to be read in small doses rather than trying to consume it in large chunks like I did.