THE REIGN OF THE ANTI-SANTAS

In Dodds’ novel, a disenchanted elf witnesses the collapse of Christmas after Santa allows it to become a thoroughly commercial affair.

Elvin, an elf, grows up near the North Pole as the son of “respectable, educated, cosmopolitan elves” during a time when the region is increasingly populated by human interlopers. He wins the favor of Santa one fateful night after he falls asleep in his sleigh and is taken on one of the “globe-girdling rounds” that jolly old St. Nick makes on Christmas Eve. Elvin ends up working in Santa’s organization—and in the finance department, he has a front-row seat to the grim demise of Christmas. Santa draws up an unwisely generous contract with a disgruntled Rudolph (the red-nosed reindeer), giving him a cut of the business—“as you might imagine, Santa the gift-giver was a terrible negotiator.” As a result, Santa’s mystique is destroyed; Christmas becomes owned by various outside interests and slowly but inexorably becomes a soulless product. After having a sexual indiscretion with Mrs. Claus, Elvin heads to California to build a financial empire of his own, but he’s eventually drawn back up north after a series of miserable Santa replacements destroy the franchise. Dodd imaginatively concocts a memorable fictional cosmos in this comedic Christmas story. Underneath the sharp wit, however, is a profound cautionary tale about the slippery slope between the sacred and profane. Elvin turns out to be a remarkably astute commentator on all things human—he grew up around them, attended school with them, and seems as fascinated as he is confused by their foibles. Also, as a creature that’s all but immortal, he struggles to reconcile himself to their destructive obsession with time: “It was like a big flaming hand in their faces. Poor mortal bastards never developed the right language for it. They were always killing time, buying time, surprised and undone by time and running out of time.” Dodds artfully couples uproarious comedy with deadly serious cultural commentary.

An engrossing novel that’s both hilarious and insightful.