Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini
Series: Stand Alone Novel
Publisher: Dutton Publishing, an imprint of Penguin Books, (October 21, 2016)

REVIEW BY KELLY GOSHORN

Christmas Bells is a dual timeline story following the life of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the Civil War and various people affiliated with present-day St. Margaret’s church children’s choir preparing for their Christmas Eve service.

The story begins in present day as volunteer choir director Sophia, a music teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, learns her position will be cut at the end of the school year. From here, Chiaverini alternates back and forth between the two timelines, returning to the same day in the present. Each time, showcasing the day’s events from the point of view of a different person affiliated with the choir—the lovelorn accompanist, a young soloist with a penchant for mischievousness, the soloist’s perfectionist older sister, their mother who is worried about her husband deployed in Afghanistan, the parish priest with a broken sibling relationship, a wise elderly nun, and a recent widow whose husband donated his piano to St. Margaret’s.

The historical timeline opens on the eve of America’s Civil War and Longfellow’s internal struggle to see the scourge of slavery end and the carnage of war it will take to make it happen. Despite his best efforts, Longfellow, a pacifist, is unable to persuade his eldest son, Charlie, not to enlist. In early December, 1863, Longfellow receives word that Charlie has been seriously wounded and his recovery will be long and difficult.

On Christmas day of the same year, Longfellow takes a walk to clear his head. The sound of church bells ringing the good news of the Christ child’s birth seems at odds to Henry, with so much death and despair hanging over the country with no end to the war in sight. He questions where God is and how he could allow such an atrocity to happen. Then, a still, small voice speaks to his spirit, reminding him, “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.”

Chiaverini revisits her present-day characters, now on Christmas Eve, as the conflict and turmoil of their private lives leave each either questioning God’s choices or seeking His consolation. Sophia’s choice to have the choir sing, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” a song putting Longfellow’s now famous poem “Christmas Bells” to music, brings the novel full circle, and the interconnectedness of their stories is slowly unveiled to the reader.

“Pluribus Unum. In my view that does not refer only to states, but also to our varied people. Whatever brought these strangers together in this place—chance, fate, or divine intervention—their lives will be forever transformed, forever bound together even if only by the slenderest of threads, because they shared stories.”

Christmas Bells, by Jennifer Chiaverini

It was so easy to get caught up in this book, and as it moved back and forth from the present to the past, you find yourself completely involved in both story lines. As a lover of history, and not at all familiar with Longfellow’s history, I found those chapters to be very interesting. Chiaverini masterfully weaves rich historical details from her impeccable research into the story without slowing its pace.

Christmas Bells isn’t Christian fiction, per se, however, Chiaverini weaves subtle yet blatantly Christian themes throughout the story such as overcoming tragedy through faith, forgiveness, and trusting that God is working behind the scenes for our good despite what our circumstances may look like at the moment. The novel is clean, with no sex, language, or gratuitous violence.

I give this heartfelt tale of Christmases past and present a strong 4.5 fish.

I listened to Christmas Bells on Audible. The narrator, Christina Moore, did an excellent job.