The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

 

"And to this day, the Christmas Box remains a source of great joy to me. For though it appears empty, to me it contains all that Christmas is made of, the root of all wonder in a child's eyes, and the source of magic of Christmases for centuries to come."

             -from the Epilogue

Why did I choose this book? It is December so I was in the mood for a nice holiday story plus I have gotten into The Walk series by this author. I feel The Christmas Box is a memoir and one of Evans's earlier writings. It was very short---less than 150 pages, inspirational but perhaps too sentimental for my taste. I would say his writing is vastly improved from 1995. I am generously rating it a 3.

Evans tells the story of moving his young family into a mansion to be of help to the elderly owner, Mrs. Mary Anne Parkin. In storing some of their things in the attic, he comes across the Christmas Box of the title which is part of a collection of Mrs. Parkin's late husband. Evans and his wife, Keri, discover that the box has a poignant secret and one that leads to an important life lesson for Richard. (I could never find a preferred first name for him.)

One humorous part of the book is when Mary Parkin tells the others about a collector's item called the "wicked Bible" because in Exodus the seventh commandment reads "Thou shalt commit adultery." A pretty shocking misprint! Coincidentally, I had just seen a "Jeopardy!" episode on TV where that Bible was the subject of a clue.