Goodreads Summary:
Ebenezer Scrooge is a lonely, miserly old man who hates Christmas, which he dismisses as "humbug". One Christmas Eve, however, he is visited by a series of ghosts who reveal to him the innocence he has lost, the wretchedness of his future and the poverty of the present; which he has so far ignored. This experience teaches Scrooge the true meaning of the holiday and leaves him a transformed man.With its memorable cast of characters such as Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the most heart-warming of seasonal tales, a timeless classic that continues to enchant readers around the world and a lesson in charity and hopefulness that is as powerful today as when it was first written in 1843 .
So I have to admit that I am cheating slightly here, as I have read this months classic several times before, but as it is Christmas, I think I can be excused just this once! I have a Christmas tradition where every year, I read this book aloud to my dad. He doesn't really read himself, but he adores all of the A Christmas Carol movie adaptations, and the novel has now become his favourite book! As my copy was looking a little dog eared, I was delighted when the lovely Alma Books sent me a brand new copy with a gorgeous cover! I was happy to discover that the book also included other festive stories by Charles Dickens that I had never read before, but for the sake of the length of this review, I am going to stick to only reviewing A Christmas Carol.
A Christmas Carol is probably one of the most well known classics in the world. Everyone has heard of Scrooge, with the name often used to describe a cruel and selfish person. There are several movie adaptations, with my favourite being A Muppets Christmas Carol, but I do often wonder how many people have actually taken the time to read this festive classic. It is a short book that can easily be read in one sitting, and although I read multiple Christmas books every year, I always find myself coming back to this one. As we all know, the main theme that runs throughout this book is to treat others with kindness, and to spend with with friends and family over the holidays. I feel as if we tend to forget to do this in modern day life, and people are a lot more solitary than they used to be. We are all so focused on our own problems, that we have no time to be friendly to strangers, so I love how this book shows what a huge difference a random act of kindness can make.
Something that inevitably happens when reading a classic is coming across archaic language. Language is constantly changing, and there are many references that the average person living in 2016 wont understand. I loved how this edition took this into consideration, and in most cases where I didn't understand something, I could flick to the back of the book where it would be explained. I love when classic books do this, and I feel as if this should be done in all classics.
I have always adored the characters in this book, especially the Cratchet family. The love that this family has for each other is heart warming, and Dickens perfectly shows the grief that they feel over Tiny Tim's death.
I feel as if this book will remain a classic for many years to come, as even over one hundred years later, it remains relatable, and shows us the true meaning of Christmas. I will definitely be keeping up my annual tradition, and I look forward to rereading this book for years to come!
A Christmas Carol is now available to purchase!
Alma Classics | Amazon | Book Depository
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