My rating of this book has more to do with my expectations of the book than the book itself.
I thought this would be a Christmas book, but the only thing remotely Christmassy about the book is the title and that a man comes home to put on the Oratorio before Christmas.
Other than that this is more a family saga. Solveig wants to put up the Christmas oratorio, but dies in a cycle accident. Then we follow her husband and children and their lives.