The First Christmas is a story of Hope, of New Beginning and positivity. Loved the story telling by Stephen Mitchell.

Cannot Recommend this perfect book enough.

Ok. This book has officially been added to my "Read Every Year" stack. What can I say! The Nativity story, told via the Gospels of Matthew and Luke but with the eyes of the author. Great book, great work Mr. Mitchell!

A great story to read aloud. Full of rich and poignant moments. Tender story that I really enjoyed.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a nice little read for Advent in which the author imagines the Nativity from the point of view of those who participated. I enjoyed the chapters about Mary and Joseph the most, as one must really give Joseph credit for being so accepting of the fact that his wife was pregnant and he was not the father, and the horror of thinking she had committed adultery. Normally this ended in the woman being stoned to death! Also, thinking about Mary realizing she was going to give birth to an extraordinary child. She had to be thinking what a great responsibility this would be, and also what Joseph would think.

However, I also really enjoyed the other POVs, especially those of the animals!

This was a very interesting book about the Nativity. It focuses on all the figures mentioned in the story and how Christ has influenced them. This book is a must read for fans of theology because it reminds us about the meaning of Christmas.

This was a fabulous interpretation of the Nativity. It is beautifully written and I will read it again. When you finish this book pass it on to your loved ones.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

As someone newer to the Christian faith, I found this book very interesting. It provides a different take on the first Christmas told from the perspective of the characters within the story. It was unique to gain a new perspective, and the history mixed within was very informative. I feel like it made the holiday season come to life in a different way for me this past holiday. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Stephen Mitchell for an advance copy of this unique book.

What an absolute treasure of a book! Stephen Mitchell in The First Christmas tells the Nativity story from the unique point of view as told from an ox, a donkey, the shepherds, the inn keeper, and the wise men. Reading this book every year will be a tradition in my home. I love this book!

This is rather difficult to review. The author takes a different approach to retelling the Christmas story with a separate chapter for each character, from Mary and Joseph, to the shepherds, and even the animals in the stable. The changing perspective to unfolding events - Mary's struggle with the angel's message, Joseph's heartbreak at Mary's seeming betrayal - usually add depth to the known story details, though in the case of the author's new version of the magi seriously "jump the shark." So far so good. These sections are short and well-written, and marginally follow the scriptural story. But after each short chapter is an interlude in which the author explains how and why he wrote the chapter this way, including historical and cultural background, some of which is quite interesting and relevant, BUT. It keeps breaking up the story. And breaking it up. And slowing it down. Sort of like a nice film with too many commercial interruptions. And causing arguments in your head with the author over pesky details in his how and why instead of being able to enjoy the story. There was also a serious note of condescension towards anyone with any literal belief in the Christmas story - a repeated referral to myth; which seems to me to be a slap in the face of a prime audience for the book. By the end I just wanted him to shut up and save it for the Notes at the end (sorry Stephen). Evidently it was also written for an audience completely unfamiliar with Christianity, and as such it might work, the extra explaining might be helpful background.

You don’t need a religious background to be entertained *and* educated by this account of the first Christmas, and most will likely want to suggest this title to a friend for thoughtful discussion.

Wrote review on goodreads I loved the way the author brought insight to the characters of The First Christmas in a different perspective at times. I gave a copy as a gift as I liked it so much.

I was raised around Southern Baptists and am non-religious myself..

This is a quick read,Showing the perspectives of those involved ,with extra information given by the author,leads to unevenness and stalling at points.This is a different kind of book.

I liked it but it wasn't my favorite.

I loved it. I love the story of the first Christmas and this was a beautiful, enchanting story. There isn't much to say except that I loved this one.

The premise of this book intrigued me from the start. The author tells the reader in the Foreword that this is a book about the Nativity that is written for ALL regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof. He admits that the work is not to be considered as fact, but rather his own thoughts of how each of the players in the story would think, act and react to the situation in which they find themselves. It is definitely a novel idea and one that sounds, at least to me, to be very interesting. The book is written from the perspective of various characters. Maryam, Yosef, the donkey, etc. Each story is unique and meshes nicely with the other characters perspectives. However, after each character perspective, the author writes an "Interlude" which seems to me to be his explanation of what has just been read. While there were some interesting facts and tidbits, I found this part of the book to be rather tedious and sometimes boring. There is no doubt that the author is very intelligent. He also draws some interesting parallels and conclusions. However, I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if he had saved his ramblings for the end of the book. As it was, just as I was getting invested in the story, I came to an interlude which completely drew my focus away and I would have to re-engage with the story once again.

An interesting and lovingly researched perspective from several of the main players at the birth of Christ. Bound to appeal to viewers of the widely popular THE CHOSEN, Mitchell's imaginative landscape as mingled with theology may not be for every reader; but his dedication to exploring the magnificent event in human terms is definitely worthy of our respect. To add, in a literal sea of Christmas books, this one is an original!

MAGICAL RETELLING
Stephen Mitchell, revered author, translator, and anthologist, offers a poetic view of the first Christmas. It’s a fictional retelling, with chapters voiced by the Innkeeper, the Ox, the Shepherds, the Donkey. Accessible to all faiths, touching, magical, and highly recommended. Available now. Thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the review copy; opinions are mine.

#StephenMitchellauthor #TheFirstChristmas#StMartinsEssentials

The First Christmas by Stephen Mitchell

Some parts of this book I found interesting because we hear from the characters. Their opinions and how they came to be involved in this important story. Other parts I found to be completely unnecessary to the point of making me want to stop reading. I did read the whole book just because I try to do my job as a reviewer. I was looking forward to reading this book as it was written by an author that was new to me. This is not my type of book for enjoyment.

This e-book was provided by NetGalley and the publishers. The review is my own.

I'm sorry, this was a did not finish for me. I really tried, and a few of the chapters were good. I enjoyed the animals and the shepherds. I thought Mitchell did a pretty good job on Mary, although that inner conversation defies our understanding. I struggled with his Joseph, and he went completely off the rails with the wise men, and by that time I had to give up. There was such a mishmash of Christian, Jewish, and other religious thought that I just couldn't enjoy it. The author addressed this when he talked about writing the book and pulling from a variety of traditions, but the reality just didn't work for me. I will not post a review because I don't feel I can fairly review it. Thanks for the opportunity though.

This lovely and interesting book was based on a different take of the Nativity story.

The writer Stephen Mitchell did a wonderful job of combining biblical history with his own view of how the Nativity may have taken place with emphasis being placed on Mary (Maryam) and Joseph (Yosef) instead of the traditional Christian focus being baby Jesus. While being respectful to Christians the story was more how the Annunciation and the visitation of the angels might have been seen by non-Christians which I found very interesting and the author would also give informative breakdowns of what his views were based upon. The part I enjoyed the most was probably the animals having their own introspective views. This was a well-written book and enjoyable read for any faith so all-in-all it was a good Christmas book that I would recommend to readers.

I want to thank the publisher "St. Martin's Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this story and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given this story a rating of 3 INTROSPECTIVE 🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

I really enjoyed this unique take on the story of the Nativity, particularly from the points of views of the animals. The additional historical context gave an extra layer of understanding. I'll definitely be rereading this one next year.