4 Stars.
Pros: Dickens' message is clear, remember your past, learn from it, live in the future as best you can and try to keep the spirit of Christmas, of joy and love, with you each and every day.
Cons: If you're not used to reading Dickens, it can be dry at first but once you get into the flow of it, it's a quick and entertaining read.
Full Review:
Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly, miserable, crotchety old man who wants nothing more than to do his work and be left alone can't stand the season of Christmas. He is forever annoyed at all the fools wishing him a Merry Christmas and he makes it painfully clear that he wants nothing to do with the festive season. He is content to do his work, go home, rest and continue the process day after day.
It's not until one night, he's visited by the ghost of his former partners, Jacob Marley and warned that if he continues this way, uncaring, unfeeling, evicting his tenants without a second thought as to their welfare, than he's damned to the same fate as Marley. Wrapped and wound about him are chains, the chains he formed in life from being as miserly and cruel as Scrooge. And so Marley warns Scrooge that he'll be visited by three spirits and if he listens to their words, he may be able to avoid the same fate as Marley.
Scrooge, always skeptical, doesn't necessarily believe him. But when the first spirit, the spirit of Christmas past, appears and shows him moments of his life, his childhood, his sister etc, Scrooge begins to believe. He realizes that he's made mistakes and is properly abashed. The spirts of Christmas present appears soon after and shows Scrooge the joy of the season, how everyone, no matter their station in life is happy and cheerful on Christmas Day. And he shows him the home of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's loyal and hard working employee, and Scrooge finds himself moved by the love that the Cratchit family feel for one another, and especially for their small, sick son, Tiny Tim.
Once the Spirits of Christmas Yet to Come appears, Scrooge has an idea of what he may be shown. And though he watches it all, fearful, uncertain, he can't deny that he's a changed man. He sees people pilfering his bedroom while his corpse still lays, cooling, in his bed. He sees business men, associates of his, muttering about his death but feeling no sorrow, no one will miss Ebenezer Scrooge. But it all hits Scrooge when he sees the Cratchit family once more, this time silent, sorrowful, and it's obvious that Tiny Tim has died.
At these visions, Scrooge promises the Spirit that he is a changed man. That he has learned through all of these visions that is only right to live in the past, the present and the future. And when he comes back to himself, unsure if it was all a dream or if it actually happened, he really is a different man. He goes out to seize the day and is a better, happier, more caring and considerate man for all the days of his life.
It's a quick read, a fun read, and one that really does make you think. It's important to remember your past, try and keep in mind and better yourself from the mistakes you've made. And it's also just as important to be present, to live every moment to its fullest and enjoy not only the joy of the season of Christmas, but the joy of life in general. It's been a long time that I've wanted to read this classic and I'm glad I finally sat down and did so.
And in the words of Tiny Tim, "God Bless Us, everyone!"
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