Yet another re-read:
As amazing as ever! One of Dickens’ very best, I think! ❤️

Re-read:
Still my favorite Christmas story! Charles Dickens never ceases to make me smile and feel a multitude of emotions!

Ebenezer Scrooge, the very definition of grumpy miserliness, gets a second chance at figuring out what's really important in life, with the help of some ghosts who give him an unforgettable version of "This is Your Life."

This may not be a perfect piece of literature - there are a few places where Dickens goes off on tangential lines of thought that I thought would have been better left out - but you know, it's actually amazing and really touching, the influence this classic novella has had on our culture. I have to give it props for that, and that's what bumps my rating from 4 stars to 5.

If you're interested in a brief glossary of some of the Victorian terms that aren't familiar to us nowadays, I found a very useful set of annotations online at http://drbacchus.com/files/christmas_..., along with some brief commentary from someone who clearly loves this story. I found this when I went on a search to figure out what Treadmills had to do with England's treatment of the poor. It was very instructive!

God bless us every one!

After seeing countless movie versions, this was my first time reading the book. Even though at times I thought it overly descriptive and some parts tended to go on a bit, it's still a wonderful story and a Christmas classic.

This is my absolute favorite Christmas story for the season that I enjoy reading every year. The audio for this version is perfect too. Wonderful

5*****

REREADING IN 2017 BUT I REPEAT EVERYTHING BELOW TO MY UN-SCROOGY FRIENDS.

n  I wish a most UN-SCROOGY Christmas to all my GR Friends.n

With lots of:




Merriment




Christmas Love




Generous and very Christmasy Gifts




Copious and Delicious Food




Not too much drinking



Christmas Games




Another watch of The Nutcracker




And of course...Fascinating and Beautiful Books




And to remember what Scrooge learnt:

n  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!n

Review of December 26th 2022

Unlike in 2020, I came into this second reading terribly jaundiced due to my recent experience with A Tale of Two Cities. It influenced my thinking for the first 10-20 pages, but after that I slapped on my Tails and Top Hat and was well into it. I’m not sure if I could have withstood 450 pages of Dickens’ writing again, but 130 pages was just perfect. I need to see someone about my aversion to his prose.

There was also a bonus with my current book and that is, I bought it from a charity shop a few weeks ago and it’s old and battered (hardcover), a bit yellowed (doesn’t smell), but some of the pages are a bit stained with bonus scribbles in pencil. Written by a wide-eyed child at Christmas or a frustrated year 12 student – either way, this copy has history. I will continue to read it and leave my Toblerone stained fingerprints all over it in coming years for readers of “Christmas yet to come” to ponder over..

As solitary as an Oyster - isn’t that a beautiful line? Describing the pitiful situation Scrooge found himself in for being such a selfish, mean and miserable man. Bob Cratchit and his big family sparked my interest more this time, how happy they were, and they didn’t have two pennies to rub together – we can all take note of that. Oh, and let’s not forget their little boy Tiny Tim.

The visits by Marley’s Ghosts and the three Christmas spirits painted some vivid imagery in my mind this time, more so than last. Perhaps this was helped by some of the spooky illustrations in my knackered old copy.



This illustration by Arthur Rackham is of Marley's Ghost appearing before Scrooge. This style of illustration really set this book (in my mind) to old, dirty, smelly, sooty and cold London back in the day.

Of course, there’s no point intensively reviewing the many things to discuss here as that’s been done to death. Naturally, a society of more kindness, generosity and looking out for others is one we should all aspire to. Not sure how well we would go pushing back against the incredible forces of capitalism and power politics. But on a singular level – we all know how good it feels to be decent and kind. Maybe that’s the most we can aim for?

Regarding the 3 questions I asked 2 years ago (review below) – I have thought about the question “Is Scrooge a decent man?”. My response today is NO. He shouldn’t have acted that way in the first place. Why do some people need to be told how to behave?

Now I’m happy for you all to pile in and disagree with me – but Bejesus, he was a selfish bastard, wasn’t he?

5 Stars


Review of December 20th 2020 - ”When I was just a lad!”

What a heart-warming tale of redemption. Certainly, a book to read again and again - at Christmas time.

Wouldn't the world be a better place if those with the means could pay a little more to those who need it? Scrooge's lesson is one a few could listen to and adopt - less about self and more about others.

Questions - Is Scrooge now a decent man? Did he only change because others didn't think much of him, mocked him? Or was his motivation to change due to the needs of others?

Loved it.

5 Stars

"Bah! Humbug!"

Who does not recognise this expostulation, and the old curmudgeon who spat it out. The very name "Scrooge" has entered the vernacular to indicate a mean-spirited skinflint.

"Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge, a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint."

And even the phrase "Merry Christmas" only became popular following the appearance of this novella.

A Christmas Carol is one of Dickens' most enduring and well-loved tales. He wrote it in six weeks, and it was originally published in the Christmas of 1843. It evokes perfectly the sensations of a Victorian Christmas, but its lasting appeal lies in its power to speak to us today, 170 years later. In fact it has never been out of print. Starting with this tale, Dickens wrote longish themed stories annually and the five were subsequently published together as "Christmas Books". He also of course wrote many more shorter Christmas stories.

Dickens loved to paint a picture. Everything in this story is heightened; the descriptions are so vivid that in places they are almost surreal, and inanimate objects take on a life - and personality - of their own. A church bell is

"always peeping slyly down at Scrooge…[it] struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there."

There is water with "its overflowings sullenly congealed, and turned to misanthropic ice,"

Scrooge's chambers are "a gloomy suite of rooms, in a lowering pile of buildings up a yard, where it had so little business to be, that one could scarcely help fancying it must have run there when it was a young house, playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and forgotten the way out again."

I cannot remember ever feeling sorry for a house before, but that for me at any rate is "the Dickens effect".

Even today when we think of Christmas we may think of a Dickensian Christmas; he seems to have invented the archetypal Christmas, alongside Prince Albert and his Christmas tree. How has an author managed to do this? To have had such a massive influence on how we celebrate Christmas? And with a secular tale at that, which speaks to people both in and outside the religion which traditionally celebrates this particular festival?

Well everything in Dickens is larger than life. Everything in this tale, at least, has to be the best or the worst. The "wonderful" pudding indicates that the food is the tastiest there has ever been. The carols are sung more enthusiastically and more in tune than they ever could be, the ice on the pond is thicker than ever before, and glinting more spectacularly in the sun, the shops are filled to bursting with good things to tempt and delight the shoppers.

This exaggeration bursts through our gloom at the perfect time of year. When in Great Britain in reality we have have cold dreary weather and long dark nights, we also have in imagination Dickens' heightened perception to uplift us. No wonder then that it stays in our memory and in the memories of generation after generation. And no wonder there have been - and continue to be - such a plethora of adaptations of this wonderful tale world-wide. The original illustrations by John Leech complement Dickens' story to perfection, but there have been many subsequent dramatisations, readings, retellings, films, musicals, cartoons - some more faithful than others, but all paying homage to and honouring this original story - or at the very least its concept.

The writing has a very light touch and Dickens' trademark humour is present on every page. Yet to hammer the moral point of the book home, we are assured of its veracity. The opening lines,

"Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that,"

carry the reader through the story, daring us to disbelieve in the events which follow, and the ghastly phantoms which are about to appear. The author's voice is there at every turn. One part which gave this reader a bit of a jolt, is the arrival of the first Spirit when the curtains of Scrooge's bed were drawn aside. He was thus face to face with the apparition,

"as close to it," Dickens says, "as I am now to you, and I am standing in the spirit at your elbow." Phew!

Dickens' preoccupations are evident in this tale. It is in part an indictment of 19th century industrial capitalism, and part a nostalgic wish to return to earlier times and traditions of merriment and festivity, just as ironically today we wish to return to our perceptions of a "Dickensian Christmas". There are also the recurring themes of Dickens' sympathy for the poor, his social conscience and his ever-present memories of the humiliating experiences of his childhood.

The novella has a simple structure. There are 5 "staves". The first introduces Scrooge himself in all his miserliness. This character is one of Dickens' masterpieces. He is so mean that his clerk has to warm his hands by the one candle Scrooge allows him. And indeed he allows himself little better,

"Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."

Scrooge begrudges even the one day's holiday a year which his clerk takes, grumbling that it is, "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!"

The chill of the season seems to emanate from Scrooge himself. "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty."

Yet he is such an overblown character that we find him funny. We delight in his ridiculous meanness, and the way he has impoverished his own life by such strictures. And after our very first contact with this tale, we delight in our expectations of what is going to happen to this sorry character.

The next three staves introduce the three "spirits" - of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. And the final stave, which I defy you to read without a big fat smile on your face, describes Scrooge's redemption, which is all the more marvellous and outrageous because of his earlier spite and vituperation.

Oh, it is a wonderful book! A simple morality tale but a moving tale which makes the reader chuckle and shudder by turns. Thank you, Mr Dickens. I would like to shake you heartily by the hand. Thank you for giving me my favourite story. For creating such living breathing characters as Ebenezer Scrooge, the Fezziwig family, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, and the personifications of Jacob Marley's ghost, the Three Spirits, Want and Ignorance. And thank you most for making millions of people world-wide smile too, and maybe reflect and think a little.

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach."

2017 review:

Reading this classic novella is a Christmas tradition for me, one that I’ve adhered faithfully to for the past seven years. And it seems as if, with each passing year, this little book resonates more and more deeply with me. I believe that Dickens was divinely inspired in the writing of this story. It has inspired so many people and so many retellings. Like the best of classic literature, it endures. And like the best stories, whatever form they take, it has a meaningful message, one that has done nothing but deepen with age like a fine wine.

We as a modern society have largely lost the meaning of Christmas. Thankfully, we don’t have to look any further than the most popular and retold Christmas tales (outside of the Story that Christmas celebrates) to be reminded of what Christmas truly represents. Christmas is a time to remember the greatest Gift we were ever given, in the form of the birth of Christ. It is a time to give to others, to pull up those beaten down by society, to let the embers of what is best and brightest within us be fanned back into the flames that the trials of life have dampened. It is a time to put our fellow man’s needs above our own, to reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves and help them to feel loved and appreciated. It’s a time to do everything in our power to foster smiles and laughter and a sense of magic within the heart of children, no matter their age. It’s a time to spread the amazing love we’ve been given, and to proclaim the message of the One who loves us so lavishly. But so often, we are instead consumed by business and commercialism and our own menial problems to remember the reason for the season and to look outside of ourselves at the needs of others.

This is a lesson Ebenezer Scrooge learns one Christmas night, and it’s one he takes to heart. I absolutely love the manner in which that lesson is conveyed here. The meaning of Christmas doesn’t come across as trite, but is instead deep and rich and something that should live in our hearts every day of the year, not just on December 25th. And that message, and the beautiful way it’s expressed, is why rereading this story will remain a Christmas tradition for me for as many Christmases as I live.
Merry Christmas, y’all. And may God bless us, every one.

2016 review:

Is there any story in literary history that has been adapted more often than A Christmas Carol? If you can think of one, please let me know. Between plays, movies, television episodes, books, and radio, Dickens’ short Christmas morality tale has been adapted literally hundreds of times. Something about the story has resonated with audiences for over 170 years, and shows no sign of growing irrelevant any time soon. I think Dickens managed to say well something that all of us feel deep inside ourselves; Christmas is about giving with an open heart.

The name Ebenezer Scrooge has become synonymous with being miserly, tight-fisted, greedy, callous, uncaring, and perhaps most of all, being resentful of the Christmas season. How often have you heard the term “Don’t be a Scrooge” during the month of December, sometimes aimed at others undeservedly? That being said, Scrooge deserved that application of his name, undoubtedly. At the beginning of Dickens’ tale, he’s one of the most unlikeable central characters in literature. But Christmas is a season of second chances, and one such change to change is granted to Scrooge. He’s taken on a wild ride on Christmas Eve, a ride I’m sure most of you are familiar with. Through the aid of three Spirits, he is shown Christmases from his past, the Christmas of the present, and the Christmas he will earn in the future if he doesn’t mend his ways.

But mend his ways he does! I can’t recall any other character in literature who turned his life around so completely as did Ebenezer Scrooge when he woke on Christmas day. And he maintained the true Spirit of Christmas until the end of his days, we’re told. He didn’t need to be reminded again of what was truly important. The Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future did their jobs well. But we as the audience tend to forget the true meaning of Christmas, letting it get lost in the shuffle and commercialism that accompany that most wonderful time of the year. Maybe that’s why people keep coming back to Dickens’ story and retelling it in so many different ways. Scrooge no longer needs reminding, but we do. And so his story will always be relatable, whether we prefer our Scrooge in the form of Patrick Stewart or Bill Murray or Scrooge McDuck. Dickens reminds us that Christmas is a time of giving and miracles and appreciating those around us, and that message will always resonate.

It's not the season for A Christmas Carol, I know!

And we all know it by heart too, from reading it as children with our grandparents maybe, as young adults for essays in high school, as adults to our own children. We have watched the Disney version many times, and seen it performed on stage, for decades, in December.

So why do I have to drag out my old, torn copy of my earliest traditional December Dickens in April? Because April is the cruellest month, and it made me realise how many Scrooges are out there, celebrating their narcissistic personality disorder as a virtue and key to their success while ignoring the needs of their families, friends and business partners. My fear, however, is that we have no willing ghosts left to show the Scrooges of our times the path back to caring and loving community.

Where is the ghost to tell the greedy self-absorbed rich of today:

"I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it."

Where is the understanding that laughter and humour is worth more than gold can ever pay for? Where is the LANGUAGE of Dickens to express that there is hope for humanity if we open our eyes and dare to see what is going on around us, rather than a reflection in a mirror of our own ugly fake face - hiding Dorian Gray's real portrait under the shining surface?

I fear that the ghost of Old Marley may be dead as a doornail too!

But I call on the Ghosts Of Literature Past to come back and teach us something of humanity's potential. Come now, today, in the cruellest of months. You can do it. Don't be scared of us humans. We are not as dangerous as we look.

Bah! Humbug!

Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter old man, working day after day in his office, mistreating everyone around him, caring only about making riches and little else. Christmas Eve is no exception, as he dismisses it as utter humbug. But that might change when a fatidic night, he is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future; and shown the error in his ways.

I must admit I found this a very complicated reading, to the point I dragged this book for more than a month when it can be finished in a couple of days, or even hours. I could never grasp Dickens style of writing; excessively flowery, and overly convoluted. I skimmed quite a lot, and had difficulty understanding whatever else remained. Gave me quite a slump, for which in a way I’m grateful since it allowed me to review many past readings. Sadly I already knew much of the plot because I watched 'Scrooged' several decades ago. Maybe it also didn’t help that I’m kind of a Grinch regarding Christmas.

Still, an immortal Christmas classic that requires no introduction. Recommendable, for the right audience.

It’s public domain, you can find it HERE.

*** A Christmas Carol (1984). Definitely the most faithful movie by far. Several quotations can be found through the whole film, which deviates little from the original script. George C. Scott plays a highly convincing Ebenezer. And also notable Warner, Rees and Tiny Tim. Aged well all things considered. Most recommendable for adults who want to enjoy a serious faithful adaptation.

*** A Christmas Carol (2009). An animated film made by Disney. A reasonably faithful adaptation, with many direct quotations and stars like Carrey, Oldman and Firth performing voice acting. Remarkable special effects and action scenes that not necessarily go well with the book. Recommendable mostly for children, and adults with a child at heart that don’t mind going a bit off script.

*** Scrooged (1988). A comedy retelling and the most unfaithful adaptation by far, and still my personal favorite! Bill Murray is magnificently hilarious from start to finish. Karen Allen also plays a completely adorable Claire (a crush for a time). Exceedingly easy to watch, funny, romantic, and very uplifting. Powerfully transmits that sickly sweet Christmas feeling, even to a Grinch like me. Highly recommendable for any audience.

And as Tiny Tim would say


-----------------------------------------------
n  PERSONAL NOTEn:
[1843] [104p] [Classics] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

¡Bah! ¡Paparruchas!

Ebenezer Scrooge es un viejo amargado, trabajando día tras día en su oficina, maltratando a todos a su alrededor, importándole sólo ganar riquezas y nada más. La Navidad no es una excepción, a la que descarta como completas paparruchas. Pero eso podría cambiar cuando una fatídica noche es visitado por los Fantasmas de la Navidad Pasada, Presente y Futura; y comprender el error de sus maneras.

Debo admitir que hallé esto una lectura bastante complicada, hasta el punto de que arrastré este libro por más de un mes cuando puede terminarse en un par de días, o incluso horas. Nunca pude ajustarme al estilo de escritura de Dickens; excesivamente florido, y demasiado enrevesado. Salteé algo bastante, y tuve dificultad para entender lo que sea que quedaba. Me dio un bloqueo importante, por el que estoy agradecido en cierta forma porque me dio la oportunidad de reseñar muchas lecturas pasadas. Lamentablemente ya sabía bastante de la trama porque vi 'Scrooged' varias décadas atrás. Tal vez tampoco ayudó que soy medio Grinch con respecto a la Navidad.

Aun así, un clásico inmortal de Navidad que no requiere introducción. Recomendable, para la audiencia correcta.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

*** Canción de Navidad (1984). Definitivamente la película más fiel por lejos. Varias citas pueden ser encontradas a lo largo de todo el film, que se desvía poco del guion original. George C. Scott hace un muy convincente Ebenezer. También notables Warner, Rees y el pequeño Tim. Añeja bien considerando todo. Más recomendable para adultos que disfrutan una seria y fiel adaptación.

*** Canción de Navidad (2009). Un lindo film animado hecho por Disney. Una razonablemente fiel adaptación, con varias citas directas y estrellas como Carrey, Oldman y Firth actuando las voces. Destacan efectos especiales y escenas de acción que no necesariamente van bien con el libro. Recomendable mayormente para pequeños, y adultos con corazón de niño que no resientan desviarse un poco del texto.

*** Scrooged (1988). Una versión comedia y la adaptación menos fiel por lejos, y aun así ¡mi favorita personal! Murray es magníficamente hilarante de principio a fin. Karen Allen también actúa una completamente adorable Claire (un flechazo por un tiempo). Excesivamente fácil de ver, graciosa, romántica, y muy inspiradora. Poderosamente transmite ese asquerosamente dulce sentimiento de Navidad, incluso para un Grinch como yo. Altamente recomendable para cualquier audiencia.



-----------------------------------------------
n  NOTA PERSONALn:
[1843] [104p] [Clásico] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------

A must-read allegorical Christmas classic with more clanking chains than you'd find in a dominatrix's sex dungeon.

Whether we have read the book or not I think we all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his overnight conversion from miser to philanthropist. The most amazing thing is that a novella written so long ago still has such an effect on us each year at Christmas time.

I love Dickens and always have ever since I was introduced to him at school by way of David Copperfield and Great Expectations. A Christmas Carol is one of his easier reads but it is still full of his wonderful way with language. No one writes descriptions quite like him!

This was a reread for me and I am very glad I did it. Maybe I will find time to reread some more of his major works this coming year:)