Trolling the shelves for last minute Christmas gifts, I ran across Jean Sheperd's A Christmas Story, which was the inspiration for the movie that is ran back-to-back on TBS every holiday season. I rest the pulse buy, but I could not get the little gem out of my mind. A couple of days after Christmas with gift card in hand, I went back to the story to purchase the book.
Summary
The little collection of short stories contains the Red Ryder BB Gun story, the Little Orphan Annie decoder ring story, the leg lamp story, Grover Dill (Scut Farkas in the movie), and the Bumpuses.
My Criticisms
The book is a little more edgy than the movie. The character talks of picking up girls in the beginning of one of his stories at the Musuem of Modern Art. The Leg Lamp poured fourth electric sex, etc. Not one that you could read to the kiddies without some editting.
Overall
I loved this little collection. I found myself laughing out loud several times at the Old Man finghting the furnace, Old Man with his Major Award and The Bumpuses (a much longer story than in the movie).
It is well worth the two hours I spent reading it, but a note of caution, I have always said that you have to be of a certain age to appreciate the nostaglia of the movie. I think the same is true of the book. I remember hating the movie when I was a kid. Now that I am a little older, I love the movie, and I enjoyed the book.
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