Review: The Autobiography of Santa Claus

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the "autobiography" of Santa Claus. Written from the perspective of Saint Nicholas, he begins his story at the year of his birth, 280 AD. He grew up in a Christian home and was well educated and of financially comfortable means. Nicholas always felt that he should share his wealth with the people of his home in Lycia, and at the advice of his priest Philip, he found ways to enter the homes of poor families while they slept and left items and money that were needed. By being secretive, he was able to help these families without hurting anyone's feelings of pride. Nicholas grew up to be a bishop in the church and continued to bless local families in need. He eventually branched out beyond his home but had developed a following and was eventually sainted after locals believed he had passed away. Secretly, Nicholas had simply moved to new areas where he could be of help to those without. He also realized that he was not aging the way many his age were. Allowing him to continue giving secret gifts for hundreds and thousands of years.

Along the way, Nicholas meets many people that learn of his timeless circumstances and his secret of gift giving to children throughout the world. Some of these people included historical figures such as Attila the Hun, Leonardo Di Vinci, King Arthur, and Benjamin Franklin. Even Teddy Roosevelt got in on it and had Saint Nicholas, aka Santa Claus in America, name a toy, the Teddy Bear, after himself. Santa also meets his wife Layla, who is eventually known as Mrs. Claus. The story ends when Santa makes his home at the North Pole.

This book was an interesting concept and I particularly enjoyed the first 1/3, learning some of the historical backstory to Saint Nicholas. However, it turned into a bit of an implausible story as the historical characters that Santa met along the way, joined with him and lived throughout the centuries as his helpers. It was hard to think that Leonardo Di Vinci lived centuries, along with King Arthur and Atilla the Hun. That's when the unbelievable was truly unbelievable. I think it would have been better if Santa met these characters and moved on to met others that would help for those specific eras. I do think it was an interesting story and I know there are other books in the series, so I will revisit these other books in the future for Christmas reads. I think this is worth reading, but a little on the hokey side. Others may not be bothered by historical characters living forever.

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