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chrisleesounds's review against another edition
3.0
I’m just gonna say it: the only thing worth reading in here is “A Christmas Carol.”
mellymc's review against another edition
3.0
A Christmas Carol was really enjoyable, despite the slow start with the Ghost of Christmas Past. However, in this edition I think the other Christmas writings were not as good and let it down.
drianturner's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing. But for a Christmas Carol, this probably would have got a one! The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton was perhaps the only other enjoyoable story. After Carol, the other story of substance was the Haunted Man. I started it twice and still did not understand what was going on, so I gave up.
grahambailey89's review against another edition
3.0
"A Christmas Carol" is brilliant, but the other two Christmas stories included here ("The Chimes" and "A Haunted Man") are lesser known for a reason. They still shine with moments of great humour and the writing is strong throughout, but they seem like weaker riffs on the redemption story arc that underpins Christmas Carol.
Dickens rails against cynicism but it would take a stronger stomach than I have not to cringe at the endings - by the time he gets to "The End", everything has been tied up in such a sentimental way that it will have you reaching for the sick bucket. A Haunted Man, for example, has just about every character who has been mentioned over the previous 100 pages turning up for a slap-up Christmas meal. Still, it's Charles Dickens and even when he's bad, he's quite good. It's interesting to see some of his lesser writings but A Christmas Carol is the main attraction here.
Dickens rails against cynicism but it would take a stronger stomach than I have not to cringe at the endings - by the time he gets to "The End", everything has been tied up in such a sentimental way that it will have you reaching for the sick bucket. A Haunted Man, for example, has just about every character who has been mentioned over the previous 100 pages turning up for a slap-up Christmas meal. Still, it's Charles Dickens and even when he's bad, he's quite good. It's interesting to see some of his lesser writings but A Christmas Carol is the main attraction here.
nikshelby's review against another edition
5.0
I read Dickens' Carol every winter. It never gets old. It's always good. I LOVE A Christmas Carol. Thank you, Charles.
Nephew Fred: “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,' returned the nephew. 'Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, Bless it!”
Nephew Fred: “There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,' returned the nephew. 'Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, Bless it!”
panger97's review against another edition
4.0
I read the Penguins Classics 2003 Paperback print edition. Overall, while I don't think all the stories were that interesting, its certainly fascinating to learn about the different Christmas works that Dickens had in general. I bought this to re-read A Christmas Carol, which we all know the story of, but of the eight stories presented here, I found a few other interesting stories otherwise. In particular, I also enjoyed reading the other longer story in this called The Haunted Man. This particular story is about a man who decides to asks a spirit to allow him to forget painful memories, but he is cursed to also pass on some of the pain, at least as far as I understood it.
The prose can be a bit tricky to follow, so some of the stories I found I didn't FULLY get, but I'll probably re-read them separately at some point.
Definitely recommend this collection.
The prose can be a bit tricky to follow, so some of the stories I found I didn't FULLY get, but I'll probably re-read them separately at some point.
Definitely recommend this collection.
infinite_tbr's review against another edition
3.0
The inclusion of A Christmas Carol brought this up by 1.5 stars. It was a 5 star read, the rest was disappointing.
shhh_thisisalibrary's review against another edition
5.0
I did this as an audio book for a new experience and I love it so much!