George Bailey has been coasting through life. The third George Bailey to join the “Bailey and Sons” family business of selling Christmas ornaments all year long in New York City, he married his first love and joined the family business after college. For 43 years, everything seems to have fallen together for him – he married young and moved into the loft his parents bought the couple as a wedding present, had two kids – a boy and a girl, and he works for the family business. The fact that none of these things make him particularly happy seems to only be a slight nuisance to him until the fateful Thanksgiving when we first meet George and his life changes in ways beyond his control.
To say that George Bailey is down on his luck would be an understatement. At times he is a sympathetic character, at other times it’s difficult to sympathize with him. At no time is he dull or boring. This is a very engaging read that had me turning off Netflix until I finished the book. My only gripe with George was that we have very different opinions on his namesake and movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. I am among the many indoctrinated fans of the movie who have been watching it as a family tradition every year. I felt a bit defensive to hear George talk bad about the movie, but I kept reminding myself that if my name was George Bailey and I worked in a Christmas store 365 days a year, I might feel a little differently about it.
This is a difficult book to rate because I didn’t have warm feelings throughout the entire book, but in the end, it left me with that same nostalgic feeling I have after watching It’s a Wonderful Life for the hundredth time. I watched the film a few weeks ago with my father, although he was in a hospital bed and did not seem able to recognize or comprehend the film due to a neurological disease. At a time of heightened personal emotion, when it’s often difficult to enjoy stories or movies where a character loses their father, this was a surprisingly uplifting read for me. I don’t read a lot of five-star books, and I don’t know if this is a five-star read for everyone. I don’t want to raise anyone’s expectations and set them up to be disappointed if they are not as invested in the Bailey family as I was. I consider a five-star book one that stays with me after I read it and I wouldn’t mind reading again someday. I can see myself reading this again during a difficult holiday season. We all need reminders that tragedy beyond our control should not lead us to lose control of our lives completely. Right now, in my life, the story of George Bailey – both in the book, and his namesake – bring pieces of nostalgia that I’d like to hold on to for a while. If you love the film and are going through a tough time, George Bailey Gets Saved in the End might be worth your time. I’d love to hear how others felt about it.