Reviews

The Complete Christmas Books of Charles Dickens by Charles Dickens

pen_to_paper's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sarareads03's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mimsickle's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

sirlancereads's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I love me A Christmas Carol (which is probably be a 5 star on its own) and the other novellas are certainly interesting but don’t have the same magic as A Christmas Carol. But are definitely worth a read.

travelinglibrary's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

marandi's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-paced

3.5

mia_48419's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

phillysaurus's review against another edition

hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

laurenjpegler's review against another edition

3.0

I won't lie. I'm pretty disappointed with this collection. I initially bought it to help get me in the festive mood (which, really isn't that hard), but this collection of short stories and books really didn't do that. I found only the very short stories, mainly the two from A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire and the one from the Pickwick Papers, were actually Christmassy. All the others, including the Christmas Books (except A Christmas Carol), were set around Christmas time but not actually anything to do with the holiday. I am majorly disappointed.

I'll link my individual reviews of the Christmas Books here, if you'd like to real a full discussion on them:
- A Christmas Carol: no review, but rated 5 stars.
- The Haunted Man
- The Battle of Life
- The Cricket on the Hearth
- The Chimes
- The Seven Poor Travellers

As you can see, I didn't enjoy the actual novellas all that much. Surprisingly, it was the short stories that gripped my attention and made me feel the slightest bit festive. I normally hate short stories, but I've found Dickens is quite good at writing them. I always tend to enjoy them more than his actual novels, so perhaps that is why these periodical entries suited my tastes more than the novellas.

I would recommend this to those of you who enjoy Dickens work - his writing is really beautiful in some of these stories. However, I won't recommend it to those of you who are looking for a festive read. Instead, just simply buy A Christmas Carol and read that instead. I definitely don't think this is worth the price!

worldexplorer's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5