Dickens, C: Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books Introduction by Margaret Atwood

Charles Dickens's novella tells of Christmas past, present, and future. Three different spirits ultimately guide Ebenezer Scrooge—a grumpy old man—back on the right path, and Charles Dickens makes us believe in what is most important at Christmas: love, especially love for one's fellow human beings.

Though, the concept of looking back and/or onto your own life, either through dreams or some supernatural way, isn’t entirely new to me it’s still one of the concepts that is so endlessly rewarding when done well. And the way Charles Dickens wrote this is done very well! It’s about Ebenezer Scrooge who has misgivings about nearly everything and everyone and is a very unpleasant fellow to have around in general. The story plays during Christmas time which is, or ought to be, a festive time filled with joy, happiness and love. Yet to Scrooge this particular season can’t pass quickly enough. What with people wanting to rip off his money for purposes unbefitting of his acceptance seeing that there are organisations and institutions which are still operating to care for the poor and destitude. Why then did one have to provide even more? It turns out, all he needed in order to see what really mattered in life was to have him be visited by his late business partner (with whom he had shared his dismal mood) who would help him see, would help him understand. I enjoyed this story overall, but most of all the author’s take on morality and his writing style. I’m just a sucker for the way one wrote and spoke all these years ago. If you would like to try a classic but are intimidated by the thick and seemingly challenging books like Anna Karenina, etc. then this short story might be for you - Hugh Grant does an excellent job at narrating it, if audiobooks are more your thing

Ein kleines Meisterwerk, das die vorweihnachtliche Freude ankurbelt wie früher das nächste Törchen beim Adventskalender. Ist Weihnachten nah, kann Scrooge nicht fern sein. Obwohl die Geschichte und ihr Ausgang längst kein Geheimnis mehr sind, empfand ich beim Lesen das reinste Vergnügen. Noch nie hat bei mir ein Buch ein solches Weihnachtsgefühl ausgelöst wie dieses. Jetzt ist mir auch klar, woher die ganzen Verfilmungen kommen. Die Geschichte ist simpel und doch verzaubert sie. Nostalgie und Weihnachtsstimmung verbünden sich zur idealen Lektüre in der Adventszeit. Ein Buch, das man zwar nur einmal im Jahr lesen kann, dafür aber alle Jahre wieder!

In Englisch wie in Deutsch ist es ein Meisterwerk. Die Geschichte um den geizigen Alten Mann Ebenezer Scrooge. Ein echtes muss für Bücherwürmer.

Ich habe dieses Buch meinem Sohn geschickt,weil er gut Englisch kann. Er hat es gern gelesen. Die deutsche Ausgabe kannte er schon. Manfred Müller-Münsterberg