A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
by Jean Shepherd
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jean ShepherdEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-10-28
ISBN: 0767916220
Number of pages: 144
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
Book Review: Ralphie Revisited
Summary: 5 Stars
Jean Shepherd shared many a humorous account about his childhood during the Great Depression. Some of those stories served as the basis for the holiday film "A Christmas Story." However, the stories were never collected in one book until "A Christmas Story" was released in 2003. The five stories in this book were originally published in Playboy magazine from 1964-66. These stories, however, seldom involved specific ties to the Yuletide. Shepherd protagonist Ralph Parker draws some nostalgic inspiration by the events from his life in mid-sixties New York. For example, when Ralph visits a pop art exhibit, he's reminded of the winter when his father proudly owned a woman's leg lamp. His Red Ryder tale is inspired by a woman who wore a button demanding "DISARM THE TOY INDUSTRY!"
The other stories go directly to the childhood memories. Shepherd tells about Ralphie's devotion to the Little Orphan Annie radio show and his membership in her Secret Circle. Another talks of the day he'd had enough of neighborhood bully Grover Dill. The book ends with the entire saga of the months Ralphie and his family had to deal with the Bumpus family as neighbors. Those not familiar with the writings of Shepherd will not only notice the lack of seasonal ties, but they'll also see how other things changed, such as Grover being the main bully. One of the stories even refers to Ralphie's family as the Shepherds instead of the Parkers. Still, these stories have the essence of what made the movie so successful. Shepherd waxes nostalgic in great detail, but the nostalgia never gets too warm or fuzzy. Ralphie learns that life has at least one hard lesson for every wish that comes true. Even Santa joined in on the chorus of "You'll shoot your eye out" when Ralphie openly wished for a BB gun.
In his writing, Shepherd found ways to make his childhood relate to the general experiences of American childhood. He may have listened to the radio, but kids have the shows they won't miss, whether they're on radio or TV, complete with sponsors who look for a way to get paid. Many adults survived childhood by somehow surviving the Grover Dills in their lives. Even worse than the smell of the steel mills were the sights and smells that emanated from the Bumpus residence, which included outhouses and tired hounds sleeping with the tired rats they chased. Yet, Ralphie uses his young mind to use Red Ryder ads on his parents in the same way Ovaltine used product placement in Little Orphan Annie. Ralphie's lack of subtlety, though, is absolutely hilarious. The leg lamp story shows even adults have their favorite toys, too. Hohman, Indiana, could have been any American city, and Ralphie Parker could have been any kid. Most readers didn't grow up with Ralphie, but it's not hard to laugh with him and to find common bonds as well.
Jean Shepherd wrote four collections of short stories about Ralphie Parker. Five of the best tales became the basis for both the film and the book versions of "A Christmas Story." The works of Jean Shepherd were among the reasons I decided to try my hand at fiction writing (Three of my stories are a part of my Epinions output). Even though I have all four original titles, I was happy to revisit the world Shepherd created in his fiction. Through his humor and his imagery, Jean Shepherd took people to the sort of place they knew in childhood. Dreams get dashed and egos get deflated, but a nice hot supper awaits at the end of the day's travails. No good day ends without savoring some little victory, and Ralphie Parker had plenty of those to savor.
Originally published on Epinions.com.
Summary of A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana?the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film.The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family?s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It?s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street.
This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker?s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father?s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie?s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie?s unstoppable campaign to get Santa?or anyone else?to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, ?You?ll shoot your eye out, kid??
The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey?s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.
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