I truly think that if you've never read A Christmas Carol, even if you've seen an adaptation, you're missing out. A Christmas Carol is a wonderful story, at times scary, at times joyful, at times heartbreaking. Its narrator is both humorous and earnest, and the entreaties that are made to audience to look upon others with charity and kindness are very effecting.

There are also parts of the book, often left out of adaptation for time's sake, which are absolutely worth reading. One example is when the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the ways in which all sorts of people celebrate, from the Crachits to sailors. Dickens' prose is as beautiful and flowing as always, and it makes for a lovely landscape.

I think there really is a reason that this book is the quintessential Christmas book, in a way that no other book is. Its success is the way it ties merriment and cheer with nostalgia, memory, and, yes, death. Christmas is a time to look back upon life, upon the year. Reflection is almost built into it. It is this reflection - of past, present, and future - which is the backbone of the carol and makes it so good. 

Lastly, I would like to mention that the copy (well, one of the four copies) of this book that I own - the reproduction of the original - is absolutely beautiful. I would recommend it more as an object d'art, though the binding looks pretty sturdy. 

I truly think that if you've never read A Christmas Carol, even if you've seen an adaptation, you're missing out. A Christmas Carol is a wonderful story, at times scary, at times joyful, at times heartbreaking. Its narrator is both humorous and earnest, and the entreaties that are made to audience to look upon others with charity and kindness are very effecting. 

There are also parts of the book, often left out of adaptation for time's sake, which are absolutely worth reading. One example is when the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the ways in which all sorts of people celebrate, from the Crachits to sailors. Dickens' prose is as beautiful and flowing as always, and it makes for a lovely landscape. 

I think there really is a reason that this book is the quintessential Christmas book, in a way that no other book is. Its success is the way it ties merriment and cheer with nostalgia, memory, and, yes, death. Christmas is a time to look back upon life, upon the year. Reflection is almost built into it. It is this reflection - of past, present, and future - which is the backbone of the carol and makes it so good. 

Lastly, I would like to mention that the copy (well, one of the four copies) of this book that I own - the reproduction of the original - is absolutely beautiful. I would recommend it more as an object d'art, though the binding looks pretty sturdy.