A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

from goodreads

5 stars

It is nearing the end of the first week of December. Christmas preparations are in full swing. My family and I cut down our Christmas tree last weekend. The smell is heavenly. With all this thought of Christmas I decided to read A Christmas Carol. It is the first time I have actually read it. I have seen many movie renditions, even with Scrooge McDuck, but I had never taken the time to read it. I'm so glad I took the time this year.

Synopsis

Ebeneezer Scrooge is a misery old man who is a penny pincher and uber tightwad. The accumulation of wealth is his soul focus in life, and his social conscience is rather lacking. On Christmas eve he is visited by four ghosts

: the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley, the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas future. Through his experiences with these ghosts Scrooge learns what is truly important in life and decides how he wants to live his life from now on.

My Thoughts

This was a truly delightful tale. I don't know why it took me so long to read it. Perhaps it is because it is written by Dickens. Dickens can be wordy and thus, at times, be hard to follow. A Christmas Carol is not horribly wordy and was a very fast read. So don't be turned off by the fact it is Dickens, it is very readable and does not make your head hurt.

The edition I read was illustrated by P.J. Lynch. The illustrations were so beautiful and enhanced the story. Some illustrated additions have rather grotesque images. The pictures in this edition made you feel the warmth of Christmas and chronicled the change in Scrooge very well. They were perfect.

I love how positive this book is. It shows that no matter what are faults are we can change, it is never too late to change, and it is worth the effort to make those positive changes.

I also like how the spirits did not lecture Scrooge on his faults. They simply showed him how things were and left it up to Scrooge to feel guilt and sadness and come up with the idea to change. Quite often we are well aware of our own imperfections. We don't need people harping about them. Gentle reminders and kindness help us change more than lectures.

Although this story is over done in movie renditions, even the Muppets have a version, it is so worth the read. And this time of year is the perfect time. It will definitely help put you in the holiday spirit.