Book excerpt: Christmas is the storytelling time, the beginning of things expected but not yet seen, of tales suspenseful and mysterious, and full of a comfort of sorts. Internationally acclaimed anthologist Alberto Manguel offers an immensely enjoyable collection of twenty-three brilliant stories from across the globe, written under the merry canopy of Christmas. The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories includes tales by the best master storytellers, such as "The Turkey Season" by Alice Munro; "Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor" by John Cheever; "Crèche" by Richard Ford; "Horatio's Trick" by Ann Beattie; "Another Christmas" by William Trevor; and "The Leaf-Sweeper" by Muriel Spark. The collection also features voices of writers whose work has seldom or never been translated into English, such as "A Risk for Father Christmas" by Siegfried Lenz and "The Night Before Christmas" by Theodore Odrach. Eminently readable, The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories is a celebration of the most magical of seasons.