The titular story is unexpectedly wonderful. Some of the supporting cast less so, but still a rewarding read. ( )

My edition is an old hardcover library discard that includes "The Chimes" and "A Christmas Carol." "The Chimes" is an old story that feels hard to follow, and is more steeped in the time period. "A Christmas Carol" lingers as a classic, not only because the story is so familiar, but it's an easier, more straightforward read. ( )

Christmas writings seem to often be drenched in nostalgia - even T.S. Eliot succumbed to it with The Cultivation of Christmas Trees. Dylan Thomas is another example. Dickens is no exception, with additional syrupy sentimentalism and overt Christian evangelism mixed with supernatural elements. Other famous Dickensian themes are also present; urban poverty and social injustice.

I found much of the book forgettable, the exceptions being the two longer stories, A Christmas Carol and The Haunted Man. The former had little impact, bled of all power by exposure to countless pop culture re-tellings. The latter made more of an impression - not only unfamiliar but showing some skill at atmosphere in the supernatural parts, which I could have wished for more of. The moral that our sorrows, troubles and wrongs are what make us empathetic and compassionate is as heavy handed as the tone of the much more famous tale of Scrooge.

So, dear readers, my limited experiences with Dickens have not been very positive: Hard Times as a teenager was a disaster. This was mostly meh. I want to give him one last chance, though, and I enlist your help: what is the ONE novel likely to convert me into a Dickens fan? Suggestions in the comments, please! ( )

This is a collection of Christmas stories written by Charles Dickens, including the famous "A Christmas Carol", as well as other stories (The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton and The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain) and writings that come across as more reflective musings than actual stories (A Christmas Tree and Christmas Festivities). All very sentimental and "feel-good" Christmas stories that attempt to remind the reader to be especially kind to those less fortunate at this time of year. As is usual with a collection like this, some stories are better than others. I especially enjoyed "A Christmas Carol" and "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton". The rest were either too vague in terms of plot or too long. ( )

‘’He told me, coming home, that he hopes the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see.’’

My most cherished copy of A Christmas Carol is an illustrated Greek children's book that dates back to 1993. A gift by my grandmother who had a vicious live for all things ghostly and supernatural, it was the story that prompted my fascination with spirits and festive terrifying stories. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come still gives me goosebumps. For generations and generations raised with this book as the essence of Christmas, Scrooge and his haunting adventure is the personification of the true meaning of Christmas.

''Humbug!''

As Scrooge goes on a journey through time under the guidance of the three spirits, the readers may be challenged to look back on their own very real adventures. The memories of Christmas Past, past joys, hopes, regrets and mistakes. Present reasons to be happy, present troubles that demand a solution. And what of the life that is yet to come? Well, the future is a dark hole, faceless and voiceless and waiting to come to fruition through a dynamic combination of Lady Luck's whims and our own actions. But if we are to believe our troubled protagonist, hope is always there.

Tons and tons of ink have been spilled for Dickens's masterpiece. For me, it is the characters that make this novel an everlasting, trusted friend. We all have a happy, carefree, open-minded relative or friend like Scrooge's nephew or Mr. Fezziwig. We can find an anchor to prevent ourselves from falling into despair in the example of the Cratchit family and Tiny Tim's resilience. And let us face it. We all carry an ounce (or more...) of Scrooge in us.

This beautiful volume also contains beautiful musings on Christmas Festivities, the deliciously disturbing The Story of the Goblins Who Stole A Sexton, a Christmas episode from Master Humphrey's Clock, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain, a tale of a troubled professor and the spirit of the holidays, the autobiographical A Christmas Tree, the thought-provoking The Seven Poor Travellers, a handy Dickens Chronology, informative Appendixes, an excellent Introduction by Michael Slater and decorated with illustrations by Arthur Rackham and John Leech..

And it would be useful if fanatics of both sides (you know who you are...) bothered to pay attention to the following extract.

''There are some upon the earth of yours'', returned the Spirit, ''who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, will-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )