Thomas Kinkade, Katherine Spencer, Christmas to Remember

Christmas to Remember

Thomas Kinkade, Katherine Spencer

Berkley, October 2006, $23.95

ISBN: 0425211843

Just a few days past Thanksgiving in Cape Light, Sara comes to see her grandmother, who fails to respond to her knock or her entrance. She finds Lillian unconscious on the floor of her bedroom. Sara quickly calls 911. Lillian has pneumonia.

While lying on the floor, Lillian was dreaming back to 1955 when she was an assistant curator at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. That summer she was visiting her cousin Charlotte in Newburyport when she met Oliver Warwick at a yacht club gala. He courted her, as he thought she was beautiful, strong, and filled with an lan for life. Oliver loved her, and though at first she rejected his advances, she soon loved him too. She continues her muses thinking about the mistakes she has made, how much she loves her daughters, and Sara who returned into their lives just a few years ago having been given up for adoption. Lily wonders when did she turn from a spirited happy person into a matronly scrooge, and she ponders whether it is too late to regain what she once was emotionally, starting with this yuletide season, as she begins to realize how much joy her life has been surrounded by loved ones.

The latest Christmas Cape Light inspirational tale (see CHRISTMAS ANGEL and A CHRISTMAS PROMISE) is a fine character driven story starring an elderly angry miserable person, who upon becoming ill reflects on her life to her loved ones. Lily is an interesting character, as she knows how ugly she has become, especially when she thinks back to the salad days with her beloved Oliver. Though her transformation seems too simplistic, fans of the series will enjoy her reflections on her life.