Hall takes the time to fill us in on the details of his favorite family members’ personalities, and the ways of life at Eagle Pond. We experience, along with Donnie, the way his grandparents seamlessly welcome guests into their day-to-day routines (“everything on the farm was ‘we’ and ‘our’,” Hall writes); the bustle of preparations for the church Christmas party, and a feeling of family that’s warm and familiar as a Christmas quilt.
Donald Hall was U.S. poet laureate in 2006, and his gift shines through his observations. The engine of a train on which Donnie rides reminds him of a “bullet wearing skirts”, trees turn “bright with snow as the rising sun caught the mountain”, and family stories, told after Christmas dinner, have the authentic ring of loved ones relaxing with their favorite people on a special day.
A particular favorite section of mine, is the grandmother’s writing of postcards. I won’t ruin it for you here–you’ll just have to read it, and may wind up smiling at the paradoxes of love and family.
Definitely a book to read aloud to those you love, in the glow of the Christmas lights.