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aflamingidiot's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
claudiakate's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ihateprozac's review against another edition
3.0
The story is cute enough, the characters believable, and it's a pretty heartwarming tale, although I have to admit that it did get boring at times. I feel like Dickens spends too long describing random objects of no importance to the story, like foodstuffs in a Grocer's that ultimately don't impact upon the plot, and often Scrooge went off into trains of thought that got confusing and seemed almost stream of consciousness-esque at times.
I think I'll stick to the Disney version.
I think I'll stick to the Disney version.
goodvibeswife2016's review against another edition
4.0
My first Dickens story, and how wonderful! A tad dry every now and then, but all in all, a terrific story. Merry Christmas!! God bless us, everyone!!
hadeanstars's review against another edition
5.0
In all probability this is the perfect Dickens, at least in the sense that it contains the essence of what Dickens creates with his genius, and expresses it almost perfectly. It is like a miniature of what he does, a Netsuke of his writing and brilliance. So I happily award five stars in the context of what this is, a very short novel, or a long short story. It emanates warmth and humanity, though it is his most fantastical work, and is steeped in improbability. This is exactly how we would hope the benighted souls that cast around themselves so much of their interior darkness might become enlightened. And that unlikely wish is what makes this such a beautiful fairy tale. It could never happen, not really. It's hard to open a closed heart from without, there is no break to get the leverage. So, Scrooge will remain a fervent wish, that all such unhappy souls might be shown the remedy to their own desperate lack of imagination. That is why I love Dickens, because for him hope springs eternal and his every work is one of optimism.
renee_ng's review against another edition
2.0
re-read for the first time since i was in primary school, more than 10 years ago, and enjoyed it significantly less. i do however, love the general plot and retain most of my nostalgia for it. would i re-read it next christmas? if i’m sad and needing a little cozy moment, sure! (update as of jan 2024: nope! i’d rather re-read the dark is rising!!)
even for a classic, a christmas carol runs thin with its empty messaging. i’m completely taken by dickens’ atmospheric writing, and the ghostly moments were some of the best parts of this short novel, but his surface level surveys of society in brackets: poor, kind, disabled, criminal were met with many eye rolls from me. using the marginalised to advance scrooge’s sense of morality and empathy… it’s in bad taste, really.
nevertheless i’m left quite fascinated by the excessive sentiments within this literary work. sentiments that demonstrate christmas, as a holiday, or collective (eurocentric) cultural effect, being quite divorced from christianity in victorian england (as with most of the world now), and fully existing within its loose stringing of rituals and virtues. (i don’t quite have a holiday like that in my culture, so it’s interesting for me!) if anything can be taken away from this piece of history, it’s perhaps the study of an english moral ideal during the victorian time, and how it societally and culturally manifests through christmas traditions.
even for a classic, a christmas carol runs thin with its empty messaging. i’m completely taken by dickens’ atmospheric writing, and the ghostly moments were some of the best parts of this short novel, but his surface level surveys of society in brackets: poor, kind, disabled, criminal were met with many eye rolls from me. using the marginalised to advance scrooge’s sense of morality and empathy… it’s in bad taste, really.
nevertheless i’m left quite fascinated by the excessive sentiments within this literary work. sentiments that demonstrate christmas, as a holiday, or collective (eurocentric) cultural effect, being quite divorced from christianity in victorian england (as with most of the world now), and fully existing within its loose stringing of rituals and virtues. (i don’t quite have a holiday like that in my culture, so it’s interesting for me!) if anything can be taken away from this piece of history, it’s perhaps the study of an english moral ideal during the victorian time, and how it societally and culturally manifests through christmas traditions.
cluttered_mind's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sianw1992's review against another edition
4.0
Everyone knows the story A Christmas Carol, whether it's through the muppets, Bill Murray or one of the many Dickens adaptations. A couple of years ago I saw a fantastic stage production in the round. Since then I have been itching to read the source material. Scrooge is a fantastic character that you love to hate. But what is more, his transformation into the scared ghost companion and finally into the changed man is what makes this story. My heart beamed as he grew and in his excitement bought the biggest turkey he could was a pleasure to read. I particularly love the description that Dickens uses. The Cratchit house came to life in my imagination, as did the different spirits that visited Scrooge over the night. This is definitely worth a read, even more so at Christmas and reminds us that a little kindness and thoughtfulness goes a long way. God bless us every one!
kdidenhover's review against another edition
5.0
Great Christmas novel. Short and you know the story, but written in Dickens's language.