A Christmas Carol is a novel written by Charles Dickens and published in 1843. The book follows a miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who owns a business and is obsessed with money. The story takes place on a cold Christmas Eve. While Scrooge is sitting in his shop counting money, and his clerk, Bob Cratchit, is copying letters in the side room, Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, walks in to invite him to his annual Christmas party. Scrooge refuses and is rude, spitting out “Bah! Humbug!” to Fred as he wishes him a merry Christmas but Fred still keeps a merry mood. Scrooge also gets visited by two other men asking him to donate some of his large amounts of money to help people in need. Scrooge responds “Are there no workhouses?” which goes to show that Scrooge doesn’t care about the poor.

As Scrooge enters his house, he suddenly sees the face of his old partner, Jacob Marley, on his knocker. It vanishes, and scrooge dismisses it. However, as he gets into bed the Ghost of Marley floats through his door in chains of moneyboxes and iron. Marley, wishing to save Scrooge from his fate, tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three other spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come.

As the book goes on, the spirits visit his house and teach him the importance of others. Past makes him see his old mistakes, Present makes him see what others are going through and how to give compassion, and Yet To Come shows him what will happen if he doesn’t change his ways. Scrooge holds the meaning of these things in his heart and is deeply moved by Bob Cratchit’s son who is crippled, and as Christmas Day dawns he gives money to those in need and shows kindness to his nephew and the Cratchit family. He treats the crippled boy Tiny Tim as his own, and as the years go by holds Christmas dear to his heart.

A Christmas Carol is a Christmas tale that is filled with themes of kindness, family, redemption, and the joy of the holiday season. The book is filled with many characters with completely different personalities. The miserly Scrooge, the kind but poor Bob Cratchit, the thoughtful young Tiny Tim, and the three ghosts of Christmas. While it isn’t an adventure book or action packed, it is very good and filled with inspiring themes for readers. I enjoyed the book, and I feel that many other people will enjoy it too. The book itself is a bit wordy and slow at some times, but mature readers will be able to read this book and understand its deeper connections.

All in all, I liked this book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to sit down and read a nice holiday tale. Happy Holidays!

-Brandt D.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol–along with every variation–is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.