Review: Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart. . .
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 8, 2012
I've recently come to the conclusion that I am just not a holiday sort of guy.I have nothing against both the implicit and obvious meanings inherent within Christmas (or even Chanukah, for that matter). The message conveyed oozes selflessness and a catholic (universal) love to be shared with all whom I encounter---it is the Golden Rule on steroids. It is the smile given to another human being whom we encounter by chance while riding the bus, or a simple "Please" and "Thank you" proffered to someone when they give us our change after pumping ten dollars' worth of gas at the local convenience mart. It's all about doing the right thing.So what is wrong with what I have presented?What I find objectionable is the utter lack of sincerity behind the majority of such tete-a-tetes that I observe on a daily basis. This can be extrapolated to include a veritable cornucopia of what Holden Caulfield termed "phoniness." Are we truly interested in how someone actually is doing when we inquire with the ubiquitous "Hi; how're ya doing?" Do we truly wish to know the health status of others when we query "What's up?"Highly unlikely.As a culture, Americans tend to be like a water-filled kiddie pool---shallow and transparent. We are driven to value time, money, status, technology, and other stuff. We love expediency and hate having to wait in lines. We want everything yesterday and lack the self-control needed to let relationships develop, mature, and thrive. And when bonds of communication and trust are broken, long-avoided emotions burst forth at warp-speed that only highlight the extent of our real rootlessness in society.This is the basis upon which Sandra Ross introduces the character of Anna in her story "Naked on Christmas: Sexy Xmas Goodies." The protagonist despises the Christmas holidays---her ex-fiance, Joe, broke up with her on Christmas Eve, and then proceeded to court and eventually marry her best ex-friend, Carla. So it's not a stretch to say that she doesn't leave milk and cookies out for Kris Kringle.Anna is emotionally fragile. She reacts in understandable fashion to her situation in a manner familiar to those who have endured the end of a relationship: anger; bewilderment; sadness; fear of being alone. This is exemplified in Chapter 1 when "(s)he started cursing a little when she felt the heat of tears on her cheeks. ...(it had been) a year since their break up,how could it still affect her?" (1) She makes a decent effort to try to forge a new life by physically removing herself from the source of all her sorrow, and everything seems promising despite the omnipresent emotional and psychological pain she is experiencing.When Ian, a total stranger who also happened to be traveling with her, sensed her agony and offered her his handkerchief, the stage had been set for a new chapter in her life---one that would lead to a greater sense of love and acceptance than she had ever before felt. (It also didn't hurt that Ian stirred strong sexual and emotional feelings within her that would eventually salve over her emotional wounds, while allowing herself to gradually heal from her mental anguish.)"Christmas" not only provides the reader with a lively, sensuous erotic adventure between two vulnerable individuals seeking emotional and sexual solace, but also reaffirms faith in the goodness of humanity via empathy and understanding given by both individuals to each other. The resulting experience(s) last longer and prove to be far more durable than any iPod or box of chocolate truffles.It would have been better for the story if Anna and Ian had had a chance to allow an intial stronger emotional connection to develop as opposed to emphasizing just looks; nevertheless, Ross reasserts her characters as the dialogue progresses.The author writes a lively-paced story that helps at least one of her characters rediscover her faith in her fellow man, and in so doing indirectly influences skeptics of the holiday season to celebrate the present---literally and figuratively.