The Christmas List, by Richard Paul Evans

There’s something about the prospects of offering praise for a local author that’s a bit unsettling—almost like it’s not PC or something. I keep thinking of the biblical observation that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Perhaps because I’ve met and talked with Richard Paul Evans a few times, I consider him more an ordinary guy than a best selling author. Whatever the case, I must cast bias aside and unabashedly recommend his latest book, The Christmas List.

Years ago, I established a personal tradition of buying and reading a Christmas book each year to kick off the holiday season. This year, after seeing an ad for The Christmas List (and remembering how much I enjoyed Evans’ first novel, The Christmas Box) I bought the book and am glad that I did. Imagine reading your own obituary prior to your demise and being able to react to it! This is the premise of The Christmas List and reading it led to considerable introspection on my part—precisely what I had hoped for.

I suppose if I were reviewing The Christmas List from a critical point of view, it would be tempting to describe the story as predictable, clichéd, and sappy. Truth be said, after the first few chapters I began to suspect this book was nothing more than a modern day version of Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol. But since A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite Christmas stories anyway, I read on with little concern. The more pages I turned in The Christmas List however, the more absorbed I became with the characters—so much so in fact that the better I got to know the protagonist, James Kier (who like Scrooge was truly antagonizing at first) the harder it became for me to believe this person could ever be redeemed. Talk about a despicable character!

It is after Jim Kier discovers the error of his ways and begins to go about making amends that the story really gets interesting. The predicament Kier finds himself in is portrayed so skillfully and realistically by Mr. Evans that I found my angst rising on Kier’s behalf—I felt his pain and the depths of his hopelessness. I continued to wonder if redemption was possible, even in a work of fiction.

Set in Salt Lake City and vicinity, The Christmas List contains numerous references to familiar places and I smiled several times when references were made (some subtle and some not so subtle) to the cultural peculiarities of the area and its inhabitants. There are a couple of inside jokes that are classic and its amusing to see Rick Evans taking a few pot shots at his own. Keep an eye out for the health juice mogul!

To preserve the integrity of the story, I’ll not elaborate on the conflict resolution other than to say I found it satisfying. Lewis Carroll said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Reading The Christmas List reminded me that all roads lead to somewhere and perhaps to places we will later regret going. This story reminds us it is wise to make course corrections early—before it’s too late to turn back. Or better yet: to stay on the right roads in the first place.