A Christmas Carol

This story is so enmeshed into our culture that it's easy to forget the righteous anger with which Dickens wrote. Many of the messages about the poor, hoarding wealth, workers rights are, unfortunately, just as relevant today.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE BY TIM CURRY ABOUT?

Yeah, just kidding. We all know.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE BY TIM CURRY?

Really, all this post needs to be is: “Tim Curry read A Christmas Carol” and include a link to purchase. What else do you need? That's pretty much all I needed to read from this post by Bookstooge.

But let me say something about the narration—it's good, it's really good. It's also not what I expected, at least not fully.

I think I went into it anticipating an almost-over-the-top performance, whatever the audio-equivalent of a scenery-chewing showcase of Tim Curry excess. Which would have been delightful, make no mistake. Curry's got one of those voices that would've lent itself to such a thing and I'd have made it an annual listen.

But no, Curry's a pro. And he shows that here. He treats the material with respect and gives just the right emotional weight, sentimentality, personality, and life that the text and characters call for.

One line reading, in particular, made me chuckle (and came as close to what I anticipated as anything does):

“You will be haunted,” resumed the Ghost, “by Three Spirits.”

Scrooge's countenance fell almost as low as the Ghost's had done.

“Is that the chance and hope you mentioned, Jacob?” he demanded, in a faltering voice.
“It is.”

“I—I think I'd rather not,” said Scrooge.

BAH! HUMBUG!

haha. I really, really liked this book. It's definitely the only classic i've read in one sitting It's only about a 100 pages long, so you should definitely check this off your tbr, as soon as you can. Every book I've read with a Christmas theme, talks about a Christmas carol by Charles dickens and now i can finally say i've read it. It's a heartwarming story that reminds us to be grateful and happy and spreads the message of compassion & humility. I listened to the audiobook simultaneously here:

https://youtu.be/ZmOioOyFMRk

and the voice modulations were my favourite thing ever. The narrator does a great job at Scrooge's voice and had me laughing at his dialogue in the beginning. The message conveyed is as beautiful as the story itself, and as you travel with the spirits of the Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas yet to come, smile and be grateful for everything you have:)

‘'If I had my way,' said Scrooge, ‘every idiot who goes about with ‘'Merry Christmas'' on his lips, would be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.''

No Christmas holidays is ever complete without a new copy of A Christmas Carol. This is a beautiful abridged edition of Charles Dickens' festive masterpiece for our little ones. Illustrated with black-and-white drawings, A Christmas Carol is once again there to remind us of door knockers coming alive, the horrible sound of chains forged by the sins of the wealthy, the sad school of the troubled youth, the jokes on the expense of our protagonist, the frightening moment of dying alone, unloved and robbed, and the warmth that touches our hearts each time we visit the Cratchits' happy home.

‘'God bless us, every one!''

Many thanks to Sweet Cherry Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Scrooge wasn't as bad a guy as everyone makes him out to be. He's just a grumpy old man. And his money is his; people's sense of entitlement to it frustrated me. But he didn't go out of his way to be a jerk. He wasn't actively seeking to ruin lives. Also he had a lonely childhood. Stands to reason he would be guarded with his heart so as not to get hurt again. I feel like he needed kindness not fear to change him. I really liked the concept behind Marley's chains. I thought that was pretty interesting. Overall, a good read but I probably won't read this every year like I know some people do.

As a general rule, I find Dickens to be a bit of a downer; I accept that he is a great writer but I can only take so much misfortune in one sitting. Fortunately, A Christmas Carol is not, in my opinion, his standard fare, and is all the better for it. Granted, there is misfortune aplenty, but at least in this case it serves a purpose, rather than just highlighting how crappy Victorian life could be. In addition, the humour, albeit satirical, is more to the fore, rather than the smiling-through-the-pain approach of his other novels.

What really elevates this novel to the realm of “revisitibility”, however, is the audiobook, with narrator Simon Prebble. Much as Dickens originally intended, this feels more like a theatre experience than a dry reading. If anyone is, like me, in two minds about Dickens, I can strongly recommend this version.

I did not know that this book would be funny. I expected a dry, overly descriptive, dense classic about not being a stingy jerk. But I laughed out loud and found the writing to be super accessible. I tend to struggle with classic writing, but this was great. It was heartwarming too, but everyone knows that.

It's a classic for a reason! For those who celebrate Christmas this is definitely seminal. I actually enjoy the various film adaptations more, since the descriptions of people's festivities sometimes relied on contemporary knowledge, but I got the gist, and yes, this brings a wonderful Christmassy feeling and reminds us what we really value about that time of year.

A lovely book to read at this time of year. Very easy to read. I have known the story from multiple sources but had never read the book. I felt that by reading the book a better understanding of the story was achieved. Highly recommended!

This took me three days to finish because the writing is so hard to get into but I liked the ending and the message it sends.

2.5 stars

3.75 stars Listened to the version read by Neil Gaiman but I was too lazy to try and find the right edition. Story of my life.

Of course it has its problems, like the preaching tone and that one would become overnight something one has never even had any inclination or interest in, but - it's still scary and touching and lovely. :-D
There are some very nice bits in there, and some ideas of how to form my Christmas parties - I'd really love to have old-fashioned parlour games and so :-D

I'd never actually read this and it was a terrific read. Perfect time of year!

3.5

I've read this book for my literature course. It was a very light and happy story! I quite enjoyed it.

Sin lugar a dudas este libro se ha convertido en todo un mito profundamente arraigado de la Navidad, que trata de hacer una reivindicación social con tintes de humor y una gran comprensión de la naturaleza humana. Clásico de entre clásicos navideños.

This was a little overly descriptive in areas and the language was a little difficult to get into but overall I really enjoyed it. It was pretty much like the movie which I love.

I thoroughly enjoyed Curry's narration. This is the the first time I've read this book. I've owned it for years now, but never listened before. I was determined to read it this year! So glad I did. I love the the various movies. My favorite is The Muppets version.

Hugh Grant's version is awesome too!!!

A comforting classic. So many of its movie transpositions are so faithful that it felt like a rereading even if it was a first time for me.

What more can be said? A classic. I try to read it every year in December. If only the message resonated more clearly...

I started listening to this audiobook every year in December, starting in 2020. This year (2024) I listened to the version narrated by Hugh Grant and it was delightful. I have also enjoyed the ones narrated by Tim Curry and Jim Dale

Technically I listened to the audiobook version put out by Bureau42.com, read by Blaine Dowler.

Rating and reviewing this book is a sin. Just read it.

Well at least I can say I've read some Dickens, now.

Short review: what can be said about A Christmas Carol. Even though I have never read it, I knew the whole story because of all of the movie and tv adaptations.

An only slightly long review is on my blog http://bookwi.se/christmas-carol/

Executive Summary: A definite classic that holds up well after all these years.

Audio book: I really love Tim Curry. His deep and creepy voice is an excellent fit for this story.

Full Review
I read some Dickens in high school, but for some reason never picked this up. The Disney adaptation of this story was always one of my favorite Christmas specials to watch every year.

Dickens is never going to be one of my favorites, but I may have to start listening to this book every few years at least.

Sure this is a Christmas story, and therefore not going to be for everyone, but really it's more a story about being a good and generous person, and to cherish the people in your life.

It's also a fantasy story, or at least a paranormal one, so that puts it in my usual wheelhouse anyways. I'm sure someone whose religious can point out all the symbolism in this story, but for me it's just a great story that reminds me fondly of my childhood.