Author: Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870)
Originally published: 1843
Page count: 85 (Av. of several versions: 105)
Dates read: 7/8/19-7/11/19
2019 book goal progress: 13 out of 41
Back to the Classics category:
Classic Novella (under 250 pages)
Read my other Dickens at Christmas reviews HERE.
Read my other book reviews for the challenge HERE.
Description on back of book:
A Christmas Carol is a novella that tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation resulting from a supernatural visit by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. The book was written when there was strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions together with the introduction of new customs, such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are, principally, the humble experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.
First sentence:
Marley was dead: to begin with.
Favorite quotes:
"At this time of the rolling year, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!"
"Men's courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if preserved in, they must lead. But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 9.4 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters - 10
Atmosphere - 9
Writing Style - 10
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 9
Enjoyment - 10
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
This was an incredible read and extremely nostalgic. To be honest, I couldn't help but picture Mickey's Christmas Carol. If you're up for a little nostalgia, the title is linked to the 20-minute video for your viewing pleasure. Though the film is not as in-depth as the novel (as usual), it is really quite accurate. It is interesting to imagine how it would've been taken by its first readers. I think we take this story for granted since we're so familiar with it and have watched so many different versions, but can you imagine how it would've been like to read the first Christmas ghost story? Like I said, the Micky Mouse version is very similar to the novella and, since that's the version I'm most familiar with, I'm going to compare them.
The opening of the video is true, except Bob Cratchit didn't do Scrooges laundry. In the book, Marley's ghost is very grotesque and a bit scary - quite unlike the lovable Goofy. The ghost of Christmas past isn't a cricket (though one of Dickens' other Christmas novellas is titled The Cricket on the Hearth), but actually a very old looking man with a young child's face. We are also shown that Scrooge was an orphan and that he eventually was adopted. The ghost of Christmas present is accurately represented, except he also had a nightcap that he poured over people in the streets and it gave them Christmas cheer. The Cratchits actually have 6 children, not 3. We are shown to Scrooge's nephew's house and everyone is talking badly about him, but Fred, the nephew, says he just pities him and he could never hate him.
The whole scene with the ghost of Christmas future is much scarier in the film than the book - he's never actually pushed into the grave. We do see a group of grave robbers getting money from their loot off of the dead Scrooge. The ending is true except he bought a huge turkey and had it sent to the Cratchits. He never went to the Cratchits himself, but instead went and surprised everyone at his nephew's. Then the next day when Cratchit comes in, he gives him a raise and says he wants to help Tiny Tim, but there's no mention of him being made partner. There are more parts to the written story, but those are the main ones that stood out to me.
I was smiling the whole time I was reading the book. It's a quick and easy read - it's more than just that, though, it has a great flow and almost reads like poetry. Every word has a purpose and makes you feel something. I would highly recommend this story - you could read it in one night if you wanted to.
The opening of the video is true, except Bob Cratchit didn't do Scrooges laundry. In the book, Marley's ghost is very grotesque and a bit scary - quite unlike the lovable Goofy. The ghost of Christmas past isn't a cricket (though one of Dickens' other Christmas novellas is titled The Cricket on the Hearth), but actually a very old looking man with a young child's face. We are also shown that Scrooge was an orphan and that he eventually was adopted. The ghost of Christmas present is accurately represented, except he also had a nightcap that he poured over people in the streets and it gave them Christmas cheer. The Cratchits actually have 6 children, not 3. We are shown to Scrooge's nephew's house and everyone is talking badly about him, but Fred, the nephew, says he just pities him and he could never hate him.
The whole scene with the ghost of Christmas future is much scarier in the film than the book - he's never actually pushed into the grave. We do see a group of grave robbers getting money from their loot off of the dead Scrooge. The ending is true except he bought a huge turkey and had it sent to the Cratchits. He never went to the Cratchits himself, but instead went and surprised everyone at his nephew's. Then the next day when Cratchit comes in, he gives him a raise and says he wants to help Tiny Tim, but there's no mention of him being made partner. There are more parts to the written story, but those are the main ones that stood out to me.
I was smiling the whole time I was reading the book. It's a quick and easy read - it's more than just that, though, it has a great flow and almost reads like poetry. Every word has a purpose and makes you feel something. I would highly recommend this story - you could read it in one night if you wanted to.
Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Charles Dickens have the last words:
"I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around - apart from the veneration due 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, 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, God bless it!"
"I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come around - apart from the veneration due 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, 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, God bless it!"
I love the Mickey's Christmas Carol version of this story. So fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm really enjoying reading some classic Christmas stories.
Delete