Product Description

Dylan Thomas' reading on this recording elevated A Child's Christmas in Wales from casually dismissed prose, written by a poet to keep the wolf from the door, to new genre, of literature to be performed. It is now Thomas' most widely known work, a wistful, tender, touching, wide-eyed in wonder evocation of the sights, smells and sounds of a child's Christmas in a seaside town in Wales.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41123 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-02
• Released on: 2007-01-01
• Formats: Audiobook, CD, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

A Christmas classic in homes throughout the world.
Dylan Thomas made hours of recordings of his poems, stories and plays, but none is as endearingly personal as this distillation of his childhood Christmases in Swansea. Yet in creating it, Thomas located something universal. As an American, I had no trouble identifying with the young Welsh boy who celebrates his holiday in equal doses of humour and wonder.

And Thomas's performance is unforgettable. Put a log on the fire, pour a cup of tea and let the poet's rich, deep voice take you straight to the heart of Christmas.

There were always cats...
For some people, it isn't "officially" Christmas until they see the Coke adverts on TV. For me, Christmas isn't Christmas without listening to A Child's Christmas in Wales.

The poem is only twenty minutes long, but those twenty minutes take you back to Christmas as it used to be. No rushing around on crowded high streets for that last minute novelty present; none of the constant TV adverts with fake-smile offers. This is a traditional Christmas with aunt and uncles gathered on Christmas Day, snow falling on the hills, postmen trudging through the snow, and things just happening all around.

Dylan Thomas reads the poem in his unmistakeable style, with that unique voice. No-one else could read something quite like he could. This is his recollection of Christmas from once upon a time.

Listen to A Child's Christmas in Wales just once, and it might become a tradition for you, too.