Book Summary and Reviews of The Spirits by Bonnie Jo Campbell

The Spirits by Bonnie Jo Campbell

The Spirits

A Novel

by Bonnie Jo Campbell

  • Publishes:
  • Oct 13, 2026, 240 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The best-selling author of The Waters (a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick) returns with a tale of love, transgression, and the miraculous healing power of the holiday table.

In this contemporary Christmas Carol, Bonnie Jo Campbell has created a complex, gritty, spooky, and ultimately heartwarming holiday story that unfolds in an isolated farmhouse. It is the night before Christmas in a small town in Michigan, and a young woman is haunted by her father's death. She has been silently penitent for nine years, but being stuck in the past has embittered her, made her cut herself off emotionally from her community and her family, despite her deep devotion to them. When a surprising guest appears at the (dreaded) Christmas Eve dinner, the family opens up to reveal their secrets. Redemption is never easy or wholesale, but sometimes a family needs a good story as much as they need to face the truth. In this remarkable exploration of crime and punishment, salvation arrives at the darkest hour. The power of familial love and a sense of humor promise a brighter and more joyful new beginning for the whole family.

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This information about The Spirits was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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More Information

Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of seven works of fiction, including The Waters, a national bestseller, and American Salvage, finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she lives outside Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband and donkeys.

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