A modern-day Christmas tale in 24 chapters
Things are tumultuous in the narrator’s home in the weeks leading up to Christmas: His two daughters are slowly reaching the age when Christmas wishes start getting expensive and the power of family rituals is beginning to wane. Yet the Advent calendar that an old man gives their mother grabs the entire family’s attention. In twenty-four images, it tells a fascinating story from the postwar era: Three men steal a painting from Worpswede to pay for heating materials and food. A snowstorm forces them to take shelter in an isolated farmhouse where a woman lies in labor.
Klaus Modick masterfully juxtaposes today’s world of abundance with a Christmas tale, told at once gently and movingly, about love, hope and a crime.
