A Christmas Carol

A Visit from Ol' Jake
based upon
A Visit from St Nicholas
by Clement Clarke Moore (or maybe Major Henry Livingston, Jr.)

'Twas the night before Christmas
And Scrooge was engrossed,
When who should appear
But Jake Marley's ghost?

“Woooooooh,” said Marley.
“Waaaaaaah!” said Scrooge.
He'd not been so frightened
Since he'd tried out the luge.

“'Tis the night before Christmas,”
Said the ghost of old Jake.
“Yes I know, that's the first line,
Keep up for God's sake!”

“Alright, keep your pants on,
You grumpy old moocher.
Prepare for three more ghosts:
Past, present, and future.”

“Past, present, and future?
Those names make me tense!
And what of subjunctive?
I wish I were hence!”

“Yo,” said a new ghost,
With a shell suit and Docs.
“I'm the show more past, like, you know, man,
Where it totally rocks.”

“Oh God!” wailed Scrooge
At the ghost's naff attire.
“I swear I'll send those clothes
As one to the fire!”

Next up was Present,
He gave a great moan.
His existence: pure torment.
(Flappy Birds on iPhone.)

Said Scrooge: “All of this
Seems anachronistic”
(And if you think I'll rhyme that,
Then you're a whack sadistic.)

He then got a text that said
“lol, b gd =)”
To which, “I'll try, Present,”
Is what Scrooge dryly says.

Last but not least
Was the ghost of the Future.
The sight of whom hurt Scrooge
Right in the sphenosquamosal suture.

“Getting quite desperate
For rhyme words are we?”
Said the ghost to old Scrooge.
(Or, more likely, to Lee.)

“I've seen quite enough!”
Said Scrooge to old Marley,
“I promise I'll change!
Or my name isn't Charlie.”

“But your name isn't Charlie,”
Said Jake, diffidently.
“Aha, that's what you think,”
Said Scrooge from his Bentley.

And he ripped off a mask
Made of rubber (like chickens)
To reveal his true face:
That of Charles Huffam Dickens!

And I heard him exclaim,
'Ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all!
And to all a good night!” show less

Knowing the story so well in other media, I thought I'd read the original to better appreciate the variants in its many adaptations. Dickens' catchy descriptions are the finest treasure to be had from it. Scrooge lives in a dismal locale where his home "had so little business to be, it must have run there when it was a young house playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and have forgotten the way out again." The plot moves like the wind compared to his novels. Tiny Tim is shallowly drawn, and yet wins more empathy from the reader than Oliver, Nell or Barnaby could muster. The ending is not so over the top as the movie versions, but even so Bob Crachit is tempted to call for a straightjacket when confronted by a transformed Scrooge. show more Too much thought at the end is liable to break the charming spell, if you attempt to imagine being confronted by such a man undergoing such a dramatic change. There's no need for that, just read and enjoy. show less

If I were to guess how many times I’ve read this book, I’d say somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 times. I read it to my children when they were growing up. I read it to other people’s children. I’ve listened to it numerous times. (My favorite recording is by the great actor, Patrick Stewart)

This novella is considered by some as one of the best books ever written. I would include myself among those who think it so. Dickens entertains us with a wonderful story of redemption that is full of suspense, the supernatural, crisp action, thick, vivid atmosphere, and of course, Christmas.
There is a philosophy of living here that Dickens sums up as “keeping Christmas”. Something akin to the Golden Rule, he has Scrooge learning the show more proper way to live--in service to his fellow man--not just at that festive time of year when it seems easier because of the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future, but all the way through the year. It’s a lesson that even the most generous among us should reflect upon regularly, but more so, those who have become hardened by this often harsh and unfair world we call home.

If you only know the story through films and plays, you are missing quite a lot of the beauty of this masterpiece. Dickens penned the story hurriedly in 1843, yet it is perhaps his finest work. It can be argued that the publication of this tale and its subsequent reprintings and theatrical versions have done more to influence the joys of the season than the spirits themselves.
If you’ve never read it, do yourself a favor. Dickens certainly knew what he was about.
And as Tiny Tim said, “God bless us, everyone.” show less

A Masterpiece Alongside Two Failures: An Uneven Collection

A Christmas Carol is a five-star masterwork—a story with perfect unity of plot and profound emotional power. Dickens crafted something that works on multiple levels simultaneously: ghost story, moral fable, and deeply human portrait of transformation. The structure is elegant, the characterisation vivid, and reading it in one sitting (as Dickens intended for his public readings) delivers a genuinely moving experience. For anyone who's experienced conversion or recovery, Scrooge's journey resonates with particular force. The story's core—everyone deserves a chance to change and put things right—is delivered through imaginative experience rather than didactic preaching.

This show more Capstone Classics edition, however, pairs Carol with two of Dickens's lesser Christmas books: The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth. Both demonstrate why A Christmas Carol became the enduring classic while these faded into obscurity. The Chimes lacks coherent unity—I finished it wondering what actually happened. The Cricket on the Hearth muddles its characters (I struggled to tell them apart) and offers a confused plot involving people making assumptions about their beloveds, but the threads never cohere.

Tom Butler-Bowdon's introduction acknowledges the story's multiplicity without reducing it to mere allegory, though he does impose an economic-political framework—reading Scrooge as representing "the worst of free-market capitalism"—that risks flattening a psychologically complex character into a symbol.

Read this edition for A Christmas Carol, which alone justifies the purchase. The companion stories are historical curiosities that highlight why masterpieces are rare, even from great authors. show less

How do I review such a widely-beloved classic? What more is there to say?

This story never gets old. Its ideas are still relevant today, its characters still charming, its ghosts still impressive. Its portrait of Christmas celebrations still delights readers and shapes their own festivities. This is a tale of magic—of regret, redemption, hope, and love. It is heartwarming and uplifting and life-affirming. I like that Scrooge’s change doesn’t happen all at once: he is already wishing that he had been kinder while he’s with the ghost of Christmas Past. I also like that Scrooge, by some standards, was always doing some things right. He mourned for his friend Jacob when no one else did, he always strove to be straightforward in his show more business dealings, and he never lied or cheated. He was always honest, even to the point of rudeness. It is implied (though not stated) that he would have tried to help Tiny Tim earlier if he’d only known of his condition. The whole point is that it wasn’t enough for Scrooge not to hurt anyone: he needed to actively help others. His wake-up call transformed his life. Finally, I like the idea that it’s never too late to change. And when Scrooge’s adventure is over, Dickens creates the perfect euphoric atmosphere. What a glorious tale! show less

The idea of actually reading a story as omnipresent as A Christmas Carol always seemed a bit redundant to me. The story and its characters have infused Western Culture to such an extent that they’ve become archetypes, and the plot a formula. But this year I picked up a Penguin Classics edition of Dickens Christmas stories at a thrift store and so it found its way onto my shelf. I’ve been meaning to get around to reading some Dickens for a few years now; like this story, I sort of assumed that there was nothing for me to learn from an author that already seemed to have sublimated into the culture. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that classics are classics for a reason, and are often much stranger and more interesting than show more their offshoots would lead you to believe.
The most striking thing about this story is how scary it is. The ghosts are described in an almost psychedelic, hallucinatory way, and at the introduction of each subsequent phantom I was amazed at the vividness of Dickens’ . It speaks to the paucity of the modern imagination that is seems incredible he could fashion such imagery with only words, and without having seen the fruits of art and technology that have made the kind of thing he is describing cheap and common with the advent of film and computer generated imagery.
I’m also struck by the presence of Death stalking all of these pages. Adaptations focus on Scrooge’s redemption arc, but they often leave out what is the most disturbing revelation he has on his journey, and which Dickens is reminding us all of: we will all die. Scrooge’s greed and stinginess is merely a symptom of a denial of death, a hoarding of worldly good at the expense of what is truly precious in life. show less

A charming and occasionally humorous novel, A Christmas Carol remains a perfect read for the Christmas season, though I must admit I’m far too impatient to wait until December to read it (I must say, shamefully, that this is my first reading of A Christmas Carol). Dickens masterfully juxtaposes the cruel, unforgiving winter with the warmth and joy found in families celebrating Christmas together, even in poverty. Some moments feel especially poignant and heart-warming, particularly the scenes with Tiny Tim and the Cratchits gathered around their modest feast, as well as the glimpses of Scrooge’s cheerful and generous nephew.

"It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, show more there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour." show less