A Christmas Carol [Paperback]

I had planned to listen to this audiobook during the holidays, which I had borrowed from the library. When I received a free gift from Audible to download this latest version narrated by Tim Curry, I chose to listen to this edition instead.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable old skinflint who runs Scrooge & Marley, a counting-house firm in London, England. His business partner, Jacob Marley, passed away seven years before, and Scrooge runs the firm with an iron-first. His employee, Bob Cratchit, is given a hard time when he asks to have Christmas Day off to spend in celebration with his family. Cratchit maintains that it is only once a year, and Scrooge's retort is that it is "a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" Although Scrooge reluctantly agrees, he demands that Bob come in the following day extra early to make up for it!

When Scrooge returns home on Christmas Eve, he is startled to see that the brass knocker on his door has turned into a likeness of Jacob Marley. Later that evening, he is visited by Marley's ghost. At first, he refused to believe that Marley was real. Marley's ghost is covered in chains attached to cash-boxes, padlocks, and ledgers. Marley warns Scrooge that he is destined to the same fate if he does not change his ways, telling him: "I wear the chain I forged in life...I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and my own free will I wore it." Marley foretells of the three ghosts that will visit Scrooge.

I read A Christmas Carol way back in high school, so this is a re-read for me. This classic still hasn't lost its charm. It is a heart-warming story of second chances and redemption, which makes it a perfect holiday read! One of my favourite parts of the story is during Stave Three, when Scrooge sees Tiny Tim's crutch and asks the Ghost of Christmas Present whether the boy will die. It is already apparent that the events of the evening have begun to thaw Scrooge's hardened heart.

When I saw that Tim Curry narrated this version, I was immediately intrigued because Curry has such a big personality with a booming voice to match. He didn't let me down! Tim Curry's narration was fantastic! He does an amazing job of bringing Scrooge's personality across in his narration, and I highly recommend this rendition!

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've never read this classic before! After being fairly disappointed by the new Disney 3D movie version of A Christmas Carol, I decided it was time to read the book so at least I'd know the real story. I wasn't sure what to expect because I often have a hard time getting through the classics, but absolutely I adored it!

Charles Dickens is a true wordsmith; his writing flows in such a way that makes it almost lyrical. I won't go into the story, because I can't imagine there's a person out there who hasn't heard, read or seen it some form or other, but I will say that I regret not reading this wonderful tale earlier, and am eager to read more stories by the fantastic Charles Dickens!

I'll leave you with a quote from the end of the novel that's had me smiling all day: "His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him."

Dickens is one of my favorite classic authers. I lost all of my books in a flood a couple yeras ago and have been trying to replace them. This book is nicer than my old one because of the illustrations accompaning the text.