Angelika I am very late with my Christmas newsletter this year. But first, several holiday parties had to be attended, then the handwritten cards needed to be sent out, the Christmas collage had to be created, and, of course, I had to decorate the tree myself on December 24th, as is tradition. This time, it is all in white. However, it took a while to get it into the stand because Michael started extensive sawing until the trunk was perfect. Activating the various saws in our apartment is always a bit like a jigsaw puzzle since they are stored everywhere due to our limited space and lack of a basement. But in the end, we managed it.

The Christmas season is always particularly beautiful for me at the German School. The highlight is the Christmas market. That's where I really get my money's worth. In the school system, many things are cyclical: before the holidays, there's a lot to be done, and it often gets hectic until everyone heads off with shining eyes into the well-deserved break. A turbulent year is behind us, with an enormous pace, and we could hardly believe it was already time to buy a Christmas tree again. Also, the year was exhausting, partly because of the many loudmouths in this world. That seems to be almost socially acceptable by now--the louder, the better. I always say, those who shout are usually in the wrong.

Sometimes you have to tune out the noise, and I have always used the strategy of reading books when I want to escape into other worlds. Reading delights, comforts, broadens the horizon, and is simply fun. For me, Christmas has always been closely linked with reading stories. As children, we were read to during Advent, and even later, there was nothing more wonderful for me than receiving books as Christmas gifts and burying my nose in various tomes during the holidays.

Therefore, today I would like to particularly recommend a book to you that I read this year and consider one of the best reads of the last ten years. I have already gifted it several times. It is by the American author Barbara Kingsolver, who received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for it in 2023. The title is "Demon Copperhead," both in the original and in the German translation, inspired by Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield." The story is set in one of the poorest regions of the USA, the Appalachians, which have been heavily affected by economic upheavals and are severely suffering from the opioid epidemic that has completely destroyed many families.

The book is told from the perspective of Demon, the son of a very young single mother who has herself experienced a lot of violence. It addresses themes such as poverty, drug addiction, violence, youth homes, child labor, and systemic failure, and tells about them with brutal honesty. At the same time, Demon repeatedly experiences friendship and humanity and shows remarkable resilience over a long period. You learn a lot about the USA and about people who feel abandoned and betrayed by everyone. The book is a hefty tome, typical of Barbara Kingsolver, but I was really sad when I had finished reading it, it drew me in so much.

In this spirit, I wish you all more time for reading in the new year and, of course, Merry Christmas!

Angelika und Michael

P.S.: By the way, my collage this year is titled "Things Seem Different Underwater".