Always a delightful introduction to Christmas. There is a constant sense of fascination and curiosity. A 'modern Christmas story' in the 1930s it still feels of the moment

I loved this book! Even though it is a children's book the writing is fantastically strange and complex. Masefield creates a sense of mystery, that his world is so intricate, and Kay (and the readers) have barely scratched the surface. I loved the complexity of the characters and their individual backstories. There were some aspects that I thought were a bit out of place, most notably when Kay travels to the past, but overall the different adventures he goes on only add to the wonderfully impossible world of the box of delights. And the twist at the end! I was assured by my Grandpa (who reccomended me the book) that there would be a twist, but I was blown away! I could barely comprehend what I had just read, I had to take a minute just to sit in stunned silence, that this amazing, strange, impossible journey that I had been on alongside Kay, all these complex and mysterious characters were infact all just fragments of a dream. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, it felt just as complex and beautifully written as any book wrote for adults, but it has a brilliant child-like sense of impossibility, where the world is simply an adventure waiting to be explored, that made it a joy to read. I would absolutely read it again.

Magical! Gorgeous prose and lovely story telling.

What a strange book. It's a mixture of children's adventure, fantasy, and mystery with mythical elements thrown in, all written in 1935-era British English. Some fun school-boy slang is used. More recent books and series it reminds me of are: Chronicles of Narnia, Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, Flann O'Brien's Third Policeman. Topsy turvy but fun. I read it in one day.

The 80's BBC version of The Box Of Delights, shown on PBS, was a favorite with my children. The book is chock full of magic and adventure for young Kay Harker at Christmas time.
The thing to know about The Box Of Delights is that it was at the forefront of a great period of fantasy writing for children. It came before C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories and preceded T.H. White's story of young Arthur's education by being turned into various animals. Its influence on Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising is easily seen.
The story of mysterious curates, running wolves, amazing flying machines, a Punch and Judy show, and a magical box makes for a great Christmas tradition.

Reminded me so much of Alice in wonderland but a Christmas version

Knocking a point off for a slightly cop-out ending!

Struggled through the muddled mess of the first half. Found out that in the end it was all a dream. I'm not having any of that nonsense. DNF.