Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

11 reviews

rachelmcg2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Ableism, Classism, and Addiction

Minor: Child death, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Classism, and Ableism

erebus53's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I recently read a short story by Ray Bradbury with Charles Dickens in it, and made a checklist of books from that story to read, so this is one of those!

I realised that although I am familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, I had not actually read it for myself. I was interested to find that it is not just a cautionary tale against miserliness, but really it is a story that is about empathy and that it really goes both ways. By exploring the childhood events that lead to the general curmudgeonly meanness of spirit in the old man, the audience gets to empathise with those who have a gruff exterior.

The spooky scary descriptions of the ghosts that come to visit the old man (and scare him straight) are interesting to me because this was published in 1843, and to this day spectres are pictured like this in both books and video media. The idea of a spirit being faintly bioluminescent and translucent, with floaty hair that that moves like it's in a breeze is something I have seen many times over.

(tangent) In this story it actually refers to that same sort of glow that you see in the pantry when the meat goes off.. which I think is amusing. This is a phenom that was noted in the wars with wounded soldiers, and something I first learned of as a wee thing when the cat didn't eat her meat quick enough.

I really like the way the story is written. The banter is witty and the descriptions are clever. For all it's scariness and death and things I can see why it is an enduring favourite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and Death

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Terminal illness, Death, and Grief

odrib's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Classism, Child death, Grief, and Terminal illness

oceanwriter's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring medium-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

5.0

It's not Christmas for me until I've watched or read some rendition of A Christmas Carol. I've come to appreciate the original book more and more over the years. It's no wonder it's a classic that's been done over and over again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Child death

sophiemartin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Grief, Child death, and Death

irishere's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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

4.25

Lovely read! The book highlights a lot of issues of Ebenezer's self that a lot of the wealthy population shared at the time it was set. Dickens is a wonderful writer and I always look forward to reading his stories. however, would've rated higher if I analysed it in different context

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness and Terminal illness

Minor: Child death

Tiny Tim in the cause of a majority of these tags

thechocolatefinger's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Minor: Cursing and Body horror

Death is a major theme and scenarios involving death are described. A major theme is poverty and people being unempathetic towards poor people. The cursing is only implied and is minor by today’s standards.

solouncapitulomas's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

“No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, and Body shaming

laurajones's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Terminal illness