CHRISTMAS LETTERS

A collection of Christmas letters showcases the writer’s thoughts during the holiday season.

“Humanity seems ephemeral as summer grasses,” Zacny writes in one of his many philosophical digressions. “And what does all this have to do with Christmas?” he asks rhetorically before circling back to the major theme of his collection. “We should savor the passing moment because it all passes so quickly.” Particular moments drive all his letters, which he sends to friends and family every Christmas. Each one offers a small snapshot of his current life or a memory. There are plenty of bittersweet or funny incidents—an old friend finally admitting he needs help around the holidays, the vision of his father shooting ornaments off the tree to the family’s amusement, and even a “Yule Haiku.” Zacny dances nimbly from musings about animal rights and the ramifications of quantum computing to “the way the miraculous comes alive around Christmas.” He cleverly blends questions nagging him with heartwarming images, like his son’s eyes when biting into home-baked cookies or the spiritual feeling the season evokes (despite his being, admittedly, “Not Grade A top-notch, dyed in the wool Christian”). Zacny presents the letters with little context apart from a few brief introductions. He offers glimpses of his divorce, his retirement, and his childhood but never the whole of his autobiography. His openness allows us to glean much through context, but the letters remain written for family and friends—some stories, like Zacny’s growing out his hair, won’t hold much interest for the general reader. At the same time, however, the writing is often charming, intimate, and inviting. It keeps his most far-out tangents grounded and his most emotional memories from becoming saccharine. “Dear friends,” he writes, “and what the heck, enemies too, after all it’s Christmas.” If only all Christmas cards had his humor.

A wide-ranging set of entertaining holiday ramblings for the author’s circle.