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![A Christmas Carol [Illustrated]: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens](https://assets.thestorygraph.com/assets/placeholder-cover-a3ae92250eb3301e32dc3eabf8d50576c2f047dda89f6ee7cfa9a859cb1fd746.jpg)
4.31k reviews for:
A Christmas Carol [Illustrated]: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas
Charles Dickens
3.99 AVERAGE
4.31k reviews for:
A Christmas Carol [Illustrated]: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas
Charles Dickens
3.99 AVERAGE
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Tim Curry on Audible. I watched the movie when decorating the tree earlier in the season, and this was absolutely delightful. For all my Tim Curry fans, this is a great listen-to! It's free right now with your subscription on Audible
I knew how the story went but it was a good read for Christmas
Reread this each year and the more I read it the more I pick up on different parts of the story. Enjoyed again this year.
Not quite as good as the Doctor Who episode ‘A Christmas Carol’ starring Michael Gambon, but we take what we can get.
One of the best Christmas stories of all time. Crazy to think that Dickens had to self-publish it because no publisher would take it--a fact I didn't know until this year (thank you, NPR). I also didn't know that Dickens composed "A Christmas Carol" at a rather distressed point in his life, mainly to make money, and over an extremely short period of time. Though the story shows signs of being "dashed off," I always wrongly attributed this to its being rushed by editors into serial publication--for the quick tempo of the narrative and the little curlicues and flourishes in the fiction ("I myself might have regarded a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade..." etc.) seem not so much the result of desperation as the overflow of a joyful, vivacious spirit in good circumstances. Perhaps Dickens, in writing "A Christmas Carol," felt free to lower his own personal authorial standards a bit, and the joyfulness of the work is a result of this easing of the usual self-imposed pressure to create high art and long, complex narrative. Or perhaps he simply knew that despite his current, pinched circumstances he was a good enough writer to cure them, and his joy comes from this confidence. Whatever the reason, this beautiful story communicates some true facet of Christmas which readers (if not editors) everywhere, of all ages, have obtained.
Je lis ce livre tous les ans à la période de noël et cette une relecture que j'apprécie toujours autant.
This is the first time I read this classic in English, though I have read it many times in French. Though I struggled at the beginning with the old language, I really enjoyed the remainder of the book, which reminded me of the play of it I saw and really enjoyed in November 2023
This is the first time I read this classic in English, though I have read it many times in French. Though I struggled at the beginning with the old language, I really enjoyed the remainder of the book, which reminded me of the play of it I saw and really enjoyed in November 2023
Scrooge and Marley, Est. 1843 at 17 Thames St, London. Which do you want to be?
Beloved tale of selfishness, regret, and repentance, but also one of judgement. Scrooge received forgiveness; his partner Jacob Marley did not.
Marley's ghost was transparent, a reference to him missing "the bowels of compassion" (1 John 3:17). In the 21st century, people refer to feelings emanating from the heart (one exception is the eponym for courage: guts). Hundreds and thousands of years earlier, people more commonly referred to feelings originating from other parts of our core.
Regardless, here's a more modern translation of the principle behind Dickens' classic: "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" Scrooge saw the error of his ways and turned his life around.
So, instead of "don't be a Scrooge," we should say, "don't be a Marley."
Beloved tale of selfishness, regret, and repentance, but also one of judgement. Scrooge received forgiveness; his partner Jacob Marley did not.
Marley's ghost was transparent, a reference to him missing "the bowels of compassion" (1 John 3:17). In the 21st century, people refer to feelings emanating from the heart (one exception is the eponym for courage: guts). Hundreds and thousands of years earlier, people more commonly referred to feelings originating from other parts of our core.
Regardless, here's a more modern translation of the principle behind Dickens' classic: "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" Scrooge saw the error of his ways and turned his life around.
So, instead of "don't be a Scrooge," we should say, "don't be a Marley."
He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call. He had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.
It is hardly a surprise that the holiday arrived this year without my falling into the mood. Overwork and unseasonable weather has left me jarred -- quite removed from the trappings of the spirit. My wonderful wife bought me one of them there smartphones -- so I could join the century. I was simply pleased to be with her on a rainy morning with the thought of the trip to my family weighing rather ominously. I survived it all and actually enjoyed myself. I did not read Mr. Dickens there.
We came home and enjoyed Chinese take-away and it was then that I turned again to the Christian charm of social justice by means of poltergeists: spectral redemption. There are sound reasons why this tale has proliferated since its inception.
It is hardly a surprise that the holiday arrived this year without my falling into the mood. Overwork and unseasonable weather has left me jarred -- quite removed from the trappings of the spirit. My wonderful wife bought me one of them there smartphones -- so I could join the century. I was simply pleased to be with her on a rainy morning with the thought of the trip to my family weighing rather ominously. I survived it all and actually enjoyed myself. I did not read Mr. Dickens there.
We came home and enjoyed Chinese take-away and it was then that I turned again to the Christian charm of social justice by means of poltergeists: spectral redemption. There are sound reasons why this tale has proliferated since its inception.