Nothing captures the magic of Christmas like the drooling face of a
child and a cheap-ass little fake tree." --An Old-Fashioned Christmas
In the tradition of Holidays on Ice and Bad Santa, Patrick Regan
counters saccharine seasonal sentiment with a dose of holiday-noir.
Remember Christmases of old? Simpler times, when four-year-old orphans
were used for market research and Santa could call a pretty elf "Sweet
Cheeks" and not get slapped with a sexual harassment suit?
In An Old-Fashioned Christmas, author Patrick Regan collects images
from the golden days of Christmas and pairs them with wryly sardonic
captions to offer a reminder of what Christmas is really all
about-namely, "hobos, orphans, boozed-up Santas, pill-popping
housewives, and the shattered dreams of adorable children."
Fans of Regan's The Book of Bad Habits will take twisted delight in
his skewering of the most cherished (and overstuffed) holiday of all.
The 1940s, '50s, and '60s-vintage photos are odd enough on their own,
but when Regan's caustic captions start flying, no tradition is safe
from mockery.
Christmas just ain't what it used to be, and judging from the subversive
gems in this more naughty-than-nice book, we should all be extremely
grateful for that.
