The Christmas Shoppe

1.5 stars. I'm being generous.

This was one of the most depressing stories I've read all year. The only reason I finished is because it was short and I kept thinking that surely a Christmas story would turn around and get happier.

So a strange woman comes to town in November with a car full of junk and a hippie sense of style. She pays cash for a building up for auction and refuses to tell anyone what she's going to do. Understandably, the townsfolk get suspicious. Anything could be going on. She snubs the locals and does what she good and well pleases to do, which causes the town to erupt into arguments... Some want to kick her out, but others are willing to give her another chance. Not that she wants it. She goes about her business almost as though the town and the people don't exist at all, other than to make an effort to avoid them and any questions they might have.

And then comes the inspirational stuff. She opens the shop, but she is selling only broken things. The townsfolk are scandalized...until they go in, and she tells them to look around and see what's there. When they see something that reminds them of their past, she points out certain cryptic, metaphysical riddles on the wall, and each one is magically reminded of something that needs to be done in their soul: forgiveness, avarice, etc. Somehow these people's lives are miraculously changed overnight because of one strange encounter.

First, that's just bad storytelling. Things aren't supposed to happen without explanation, whether material or magical. If Matilda is magical, then it needs to be more clear. Because she gave them something from their past that was broken, they're suddenly sorry and become great people afterward. Except Matilda is gone.

Second, the theology is scrambled. A perfunctory “Jesus is the reason for the season” thing is tossed in, yet the reason given is that “He was born and died so we can all go to heaven.” No salvation. No sin. No repentance. It leaves a Unitarian-universalist type interpretation of the story, with the magical hippie to come change everyone's life. I am disappointed to see theology of this sort coming from a purportedly main-stream Christian publisher....I'd expect a story like this from Guideposts.