Book Review: A Christmas Carol; Charles Dickens.

My first ever Dickens read? Whaaaaat? The truth is, I've grown up with his work, I loved the film Oliver! while growing up and watch The Muppets Christmas Carol every year at Christmas! This year, I felt it was necessary to read the book as well, seeing as I've loved the story so much for so long. It did not disappoint.

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: A Christmas Carol
AUTHOR: Charles Dickens
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Wisehouse Classics
PAGES: 63
GENRE: Classics, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

RATING: 4.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.




What I Liked:

• Dickens' characters are a little like caricatures, and that's what I love about them. They are exaggerated, but it's part of the story's charm. I love how much personality and quirky humour he gave each one, and it made the story so endearing to read! I was also glad for the female characters in this book: they are strong, have a voice, and are viewed as 'equals' in almost every respect.
• The story itself is famous but I was surprised to see how deep and reflective it really got. I recognised some of the quotes (this book is very quotable) and it really is a book that makes the reader reflect upon the true meaning of Christmas.
• Dickens did a great job with the fantastical elements of the story, and it was my favourite part of reading it. His ideas for the ghosts that visit him, Marley's fate and the way that the story plays out really shows a great imagination on Dickens' part. Bravo!

What I Disliked:

• I think that Dickens handled the 'paid per word' thing that Victorian writers did really well! He almost mocked himself for it! That being said, as a lot of Victorian literature is, Dickens used a lot of repetition in this one. Do you need that many paragraphs to tell me that Marley is dead? I think not.

Overall Conclusion:

I adored this book and the proof is in the fact that I didn't originally intend to read this right now. I opened it on my Kindle in preparation for when I would nearer to Christmas and found myself completely engrossed. It was everything I'd hoped, watching media adaptations before reading the source material can often be a disappointing experience. Not here.