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    A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
    Unavailable
    A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
    Unavailable
    A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film
    Audiobook3 hours

    A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film

    Written by Jean Shepherd

    Narrated by Dick Cavett

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 26, 2004
    ISBN9780739316757
    Unavailable
    A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film

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    Reviews for A Christmas Story

    4/5

    154 ratings23 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Three chapters in this book were used as the basic plot and story line for the movie "A Christmas Story" that came out in 1983. There are actually five chapters.It is life as viewed by Ralphie Parker while growing up in Indiana during the Depression Era. It is a blue collar town and things are tough. Ralphie's dream Christmas gift is a Red Ryder BB gun, but the standard comment he get is "You'll shoot your eye out!", which is basically a no.His chance to ask Santa doesn't go well. Having to keep pushing his younger brother along in line, the Christmas carols blaring, the long line. By the time he makes it to Santa's lap he freezes and when he doesn't say a Red Ryder BB gun, Santa says a football and time is up.Another chapter deals with his dad winning a prize in the "Great Heroes From The World of Sports" contest. His dad bragged about it, even when he didn't know what it was he was getting. When it arrived it was a lamp in the shape of a life sized woman's leg wearing a spiked heel black shoe. His dad was over the moon and gave it 'pride of place' in the front window of the front room. All that walked by the house could see it. Ralphie's mother was not a fan.The style of writing and pace is great. You can see the scenes in your mind and hear the sounds as you read. I have seen the movie, enjoyed it, but I like the book much better.
    • 4/5
      A great collection of tales

      As good as the movie but a bit darker, this selection of stories written by Shepard served as the basis for the sleeper movie that has become a holiday classic. The Bumphus story is the weak link, relying as it does on stereotype "hillbillies."
    • 4/5
      Dick Cavett does a fine narration of this set of semi-autobiographical stories. Despite the title, only the first story is related to Christmas.
    • 4/5
      It was interesting to compare this collection of stories with the wonderful 1983 film with Peter Billingsley. Keep in mind that "Chapters 1 and 4 originally appeared in Playboy" in 1964 and 1965; that may give you an idea of the temper of the stories compared to the film--a little rougher and darker.
    • 4/5
      I'll admit, I've never been a huge fan of the now cult classic movie "A Christmas Story." As such, I was a bit hesitant about reading this collection of short stories by Jean Shepherd, on which the movie was based. Luckily, I was very pleasantly surprised. I finally learned what I'm sure countless others already knew -- Mr. Shepherd was a master of wit! Each of the stories, told from the point of view of a boy who lives in Indiana in the 1930s, are semi-autobiographical accounts of Jean Shepherd's own childhood. In these shorts Mr. Shepherd captures amusing bits of Americana as seen through the eyes of a precocious lad named Ralphie Parker. If you enjoy a hearty guffaw, read this book.
    • 4/5
      This book is about how Ralphie goes through an average kids life around Christmas time and what some of the challenges he has are.
    • 3/5
      It may seem strange to listen to the audio book of "A Christmas Story" in January. Chalk it up to my learning a lesson from "A Christmas Carol" and keeping the spirit of Christmas in my heart all the year round. Or more to the fact that it was in at the library and I've alway been kind of curious to read/hear the original material that served as the basis for the popular Christmas movie.It's always interesting to go back to the source material for something after becoming familar with it in another medium. I've seen "A Christmas Story" at least a dozen or so times over the years and it's become one of those "things I associated with Christmas" that I try to watch each year as the holiday season rolls in. So, what about the original source material? It's fairly good, though I expect a lot of the surprises and punch lines were ruined by familarity with the movie.The collection is several essays, all of which have elements that were incorporated into the script for "A Christmas Story." The longest is the first, about young Ralph Parker's desire to get a b-b gun for Christmas. There are some differences in the type of gun Ralph wants and some other minor details, but if you've seen the movie you know the broad strokes of the story. Ralph writes the essay for his teacher, Ralph is told he'll shoot his eye out, Ralph eventually gets the gun and almost does. There are some moments and asides to the story, but on the whole it's pretty much what you get i the movie.What is interesting is the other essays that are become part of the tapestry of the film. For one thing, most of them unfold at times other than the holiday season. The secret decoder ring takes on a different level of exacerbation for Ralph because the story reveals that Ralph's house didn't buy Olvatine. Ralph finds a can with the required silver seal in tact playing kick the can and sends off for said decoder ring. It makes Ralph's disappointment at the nature of Orphan Annie's message a bit more poignant for the reader. Also of interest is the story of the Bumpus hounds, which actually takes place at Easter and concerns the Easter ham. It's also interesting to see what stories arent included here. The famous Flip and the frozen flagpole doesn't appear in the story, nor does Ralphie's using a dirty word. Both are some of my favorite moments from the film and they may appear in other essays by Shepard, but they're not here. Or they were written specifically for the film. I'd be interested to find out more.But back to this book. It's a nice book, entertaining and well told. The audio book, read by Dick Cavet, has good production values and is worth the time. But unlike the movie, I don't see myself returning to it year after year.
    • 4/5
      Good Christmas book. If you like the movie you will like the book.
    • 5/5
      This is an excellent audio book! Dick Cavett has the perfect voice to bring the growing up in the midwest to life. And the sound effects really bring the story to life. There are some marked differences from film, but you will like it even more. It's an audiobook worth buying because you will listen to it over and over.
    • 3/5
      Disappointing. The movie is SO much better than the book.
    • 4/5
      Well worth reading to get a slightly different slant on this Christmas Classic.
    • 4/5
      More of a 3.75. I have the ebook and the audiobook. I listened the the audiobook and it was the most disappointing part of the book. Being used to hearing Jean Shepard's narration, it was a shock to the system to hear someone else telling the story. Especially because their narration was bland and a little momotoned. All of the movie is there--with minor changes here and there. The story switches back and forth between older Ralphie's present day and him flashing back to memories from his childhood. It isn't all one long story based on Christmas like in the movie. It was funny and a little weird considering I have been watching the movie multiple times a year since the 80's. The story of the movie is ingrained in my memory, so it was odd hearing the story as a mish-mash of seperate memories. Not a bad story, though I do regret purchasing the audio version.
    • 3/5
      For many people, Christmas isn't Christmas unless you sit down to watch the "A Christmas Story" on TBS on Christmas Eve. We all know the classic lines: "You'll shoot your eye out, kid." "Oh, fuuuddgge!" "He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny!" "I triple-DOG dare ya!" You might be surprised that only one of these phrases actually came from this book.

      The book, like the movie, is the quintessential look at life in Depression-era Upper Midwest America. Back before the internet invaded our lives, back before satellite/cable TV, heck, even before black-and-white-rabbit-ears TV, the primary means of entertainment was radio, which people listened to every evening: Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, and Red Ryder. I don't have to explain the overwhelming desire that Ralphy has for the Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle, all because of this radio show.

      It might surprise many that the book has little in common with the Christmas movie. The book moves through five interrelated stories, starting with the BB gun story, and progressing through the months after Christmas, ending with the Bumpus Hounds stealing the EASTER ham and the family going to the "Chop Suey place" for their Easter dinner. Kind of a letdown. Shepherd wrote the screenplay to the movie, and he incorporated the stories of the secret decoder ring, the leg lamp, the bully, the Bumpus hounds, and of course, the Red Ryder BB gun, into a coherent and sensible script. I'm glad he wrote it this way; it makes for a much better Christmas tradition and taste of Americana.

      The narration by Dick Cavett was pretty good, but there were instances in which his voice was simply overwhelmed by the sound effects. Yes, sound effects. Christmas carols, jingling bells, hounds baying, the kitchen sink gurgling, all of it got in the way. At first, it was cute, but as the book progressed, the sound effects guy got carried away.

      I really only recommend this book (and narration) for those that are interested in where the classic Christmas movie originated. This is one of those very rare cases in which I can say, the movie is better than the book.
    • 3/5
      This is a book of four essays by Jean Shepherd that inspired the now classic 1983 holiday comedy, A Christmas Story. There isn't a lot to say about this book. If you enjoy the movie, you'll probably enjoy the book. Except for some changes in events between book and movie (time periods, bunny suit, etc) it's pretty much like reading most of the major events that occur in the movie. You will find an essay on the famous Red Ryder BB gun, the Orphan Annie decoder ring, the fight with the bully, and the neighbor rivalry. I love Jean Shepherd's exaggeration of events and sarcasm that is subtle but funny. An entertaining, cute, quick read for the holiday season.
    • 5/5
      Simply the best Christmas tale. Why did I wait so long to read this?! I grew up loving the movie and being proud that it was written by a Hoosier who lovingly wrote about where I grew up (the "region"). Reading this collection of short stories (taken from another short story collection by Jean Shepherd) that inspired the cult classic Christmas movie, I was in awe of how truly funny it was. I literally laughed out loud on multiple occasions much to the annoyance of my cats. I can't praise it enough. It's fantastic and I want to reread it every holiday season. It's too damn good to read just once. For fans of the movie adaptation, humor, and Hoosiers. Not to be missed!
    • 5/5
      Shepherd captures the essence of life in Northwest Indiana as a child in the 1930s with exquisitely funny phrases.
    • 5/5
      This book is a compilation of the five short stories that were used to create the 1983 Christmas classic “A Christmas Story”. The tales of Jean Shepherd are semi-autobiographical as he drew heavily from his youth, even though it is officially fiction. In the fictional Indiana town of Hohman (vs. Shepherd’s Hammond, Indiana), Ralph Parker and his family embarked on these five tales that will become the beloved movie:- Ralphie’s unwavering Christmas gift wish of the Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range BB gun- Ralphie’s desire to be in the Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring club - Mr. Parker winning a contest where the major award is a lascivious leg lamp- Ralphie discovers his Tasmanian devil inner self after being bullied- The Parker family being tormented by the neighbors, the Bumpus family, and having their Easter ham stolen by their dogs (in the movie, it’s the Christmas turkey)I have watched the movie and the musical, and the book is just as wonderful. I recall much of the words used verbatim in the shows, but reading the original words, published 17 years before the movie, brings about a more potent image – a childhood through the lens of an articulate adult who understood the circumstances and implications. I felt the innocence of youth but wrapped in the intellect and appreciation of the adult. The writing is excellent prose that depicted warmth, humor, and nostalgia for a past that was less-than-ideal but well-loved nonetheless. Despite the BB gun being the main story which depicted the best childhood Christmas angst, I drew little hearts next to the lamp story and the bully story; those touched me. In the lamp story, I was so amused:“Before us in the heavy, fragrant air of our cabbage-scented kitchen stood a life-size lady’s leg, in true blushing-pink flesh tones and wearing a modish black patent leather pump with spike heel. When I say life-size I am referring to a rather large lady who obviously had dined well and had matured nicely. It was a well filled-out leg!”“A monstrous, barrel-shaped bulging tube of a shade, a striking Lingerie pink in color, topped by a glittering cut-crystal orb, was lifted reverently up and put onto the table. Never had shade so beautifully matched base”“From ankle to thigh the translucent flesh radiated a vibrant, sensual, luminous orang-yellow-pinkish nimbus of Pagan fire… It was alive!... The living room was bathed through the long, still, silent hours with the soft glow of electric Sex.”“He was almost overcome by Art. ‘What a great lamp! Wow! This is exactly what we need for the front window. Wow!’” (In the book, the adult Ralph identifies his dad as the first Pop Art fanatic.) “…the lamp itself had attracted a considerable personal following among cruising prides of pimply-faced Adolescents who night after night could hardly wait for darkness to fall and the soft, sinuous radiation of Passion to light up the drab, dark corners of Cleveland Street.”In the bully story, I felt for him and all who has been bullied and cheered for his inner devil:“I was an accomplished Alley Runner who did not wear sneakers to school from choice but to get off the mark quicker. I was well qualified to endorse Kids Champions… ‘Yes, our new Bully-Beater model has been endorsed by skinny kids with glasses from coast to coast. That extra six feet may mean the difference between making the porch and you-know-what!’”“All I knew is that I was tearing and ripping and smashing at Grover Dill, who fought back like a fiend! But I guess it was the first time he had ever met face to face with an unleashed Tasmanian Devil. I continued to swear fantastically, as though I had no control over it. I was conscious of it and yet it was as though it was coming from something or someone outside of me.”“I learned then that Bravery does not exist. Just a kind of latent Nuttiness. If I had thought about attacking Dill for ten seconds before I had done it, I’d have been four blocks away in a minute flat. But something had happened. A wire broke. A fuse blew. And I had gone out of my skull.”

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    • 4/5
      I adore the movie, and I wanted to like this collection more than I did. Unfortunately, the movie has primacy in my head, so I got taken out of the storytelling a little by recognizing some parts and having to reconcile others. Shepherd's writing is darker than the movie, less Norman Rockwell-ian in recalling the Great Depression. There’s a lot to like in his humor and I think I might enjoy his stories better if I didn’t already think I knew them, but the overall tone is substantially different.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of the short humor pieces that appeared separately and then were collectively the inspiration for the 1983 movie of this name. "Duel in the Snow, Or Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid," which is the piece that all the BB gun stuff (and all the specifically Christmassy stuff) comes from, is the best. Some of the others go on a bit--and contain some attitudes that don't go down so smooth now as they might have when they first were written.
    • 4/5
      This book is a collection of short stories taken from the larger collection In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd. These are the stories taken from In God We Trust to create A Christmas Story, the movie that has become a Christmas staple. One day, I intend to read the original book, but I picked this one up cheap at a bookstore so I could have at least part of it. Might make reading this a Christmas tradition as well.My first interaction with the stories in this collection was in middle school. My English teacher read the Red Ryder story to our class right before Christmas break. I don't remember if it was that year or the next that I first saw the movie, but I know it was soon after. I've watched it every year since.Here we have the Red Ryder story, the tale of the leg lamp (which makes a bit more sense after reading that the company giving away the prize used that leg as its logo), the fight with Grover Dill (who was the little toady to Scut Farkas in the movie), and the story of the Bumpuses (much more involved and taking place at Easter, not Christmas, originally).Even if you've never seen A Christmas Story before (but if you haven't, what's wrong with you?), you will enjoy this collection of stories that are perfect slices of Americana during the Great Depression. Shepherd paints such a vivid word picture, it's no wonder someone wanted to turn these tales into a movie.
    • 5/5
      This is a fine book, but if you really want to get into Jean Shepherd the way he should be read, buy a copy of "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash." Most of the stories in this book are culled from that book.I grew up listening to Jean Shepherd's radio show in the 70s, and actually attended a book-reading at the A&S book store in downtown Brooklyn when In God We Trust was first published. Shepherd just sat on a stool and read from the book, talked a bit, then read from the book some more. My mother finally told me we had to leave, and I said, "But we just got here!", and it turned out that we'd been there for three hours. He was that enthralling!

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    • 4/5
      Most of you will recognize this title as one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. Okay, some of you might not agree with it being one of the greatest, since I know there are people out there who don't like it. But in my family it is a classic and we always have whatever channel is playing it for 24 hours on when we open presents on Christmas morning. I could quote it all day.

      Even if you don't LIKE it, you are probably familiar with the story. 9-year-old Ralphie Parker wants an official Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle for Christmas, and schemes his best to get it. In between Red Ryder plotting, he deals with neighborhood bully Scut Farkas, pines to be in Little Orphan Annie's Secret Circle with his official decoder pin, enjoys a little light from his father's Major Award, and generally is just witness and participant in his slightly dysfunctional but ultimately happy family. Some of you, however, might not realize that this movie made famous by TV showings was based on a series of essays by humorist and radio personality Jean Shepherd.

      Because I love the movie so dearly, I decided it was about time to read what inspired it. All in all, I am glad I did, not only because it gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of the movie, it was incredibly funny. Here's a line describing walking to school in the winter to give you the idea:
      Scattered over the icy waste around us could be seen other tiny befurred jots of wind-driven humanity. All painfully toiling toward the Warren G. Harding School, miles away over the tundra, waddling under the weight of frost-covered clothing like tiny frozen bowling balls with feet. An occasional piteous whimper would be heard faintly, but lost instantly in the sigh of the eternal wind. (p. 9).
      Another difference between the text and the movie is the setting—it is never really definitively said in the latter what time this takes place in, but the essays make it clear this was during the Depression. As a result, among the incredible wit and hilarity of Shepherd's prose, there is a hint of seriousness that is lacking in the film, though it is only a slight undertone. Mostly it's just funny, though it's a bit darker than the film.

      Because the essays weren't meant to be published as a package originally, and were four in a larger volume called In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, they aren't all Christmas stories, but will still make you smile with recognition if you know the movie, especially when lines and phrasing are the same. There is a fifth essay included that has to do with their neighbors the Bumpuses, which was originally from another collection, for the reader's enjoyment.

      This was great for fans of the movie and for those who have yet to see it. If you hate the movie, I'm not sure you'll like the book, since I'm kind of biased, but it was different enough for me to decide I like the movie better. I liked how all the stories were intertwined rather than broken up into separate stories, but like I said I'm biased. It's certainly worth the read.

      Have you read this, or seen A Christmas Story? Are you a loyal watcher of this beloved film (I've been known to watch it outside the Christmas season), or do you hate it completely?
    • 4/5
      While I enjoy the film made from this book, having seen it so many times made the book a bit less remarkable. The book and film hold true to each other except that the film places all the occurrences in the same time frame, whcih worked really well for the film.