Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Listening Library
Narrator: Jim Dale
Duration: 2 hours, 59 minutes
Copyright: 2003
Genres: classic fiction, Christmas, paranormal
Filed in: Audiobook reviews
Review copy provided by Carrollton Public Library.
THE GIST: As if you didn’t already know. That’s right, it’s Dickens’ classic tale of Christmas spirits and second chances. Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser by anyone’s standards, and the spirits have decided it’s time for him to change his ways.
Scrooge’s long-dead partner, Marley, visits Ebenezer on Christmas eve to warn him of the danger of his miserly ways. Furthermore, Marley portends that over the next three nights, three spirits will visit Scrooge to make sure he gets the point.
One by one, the spirits accost Scrooge in his bed-chamber, showing him increasingly dismal scenes from his own life. Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas yet-to-come; their message is undeniably clear: Scrooge must change his ways, or die unhappy and alone.
Dickens’ vignettes of Scrooge’s life are beautiful and heart breaking. The happy Christmas ball at old Fezzywig’s, where Ebenezer was apprenticed, the poor Cratchett family enjoying their meager Christmas feast, and the future vision of Scrooge’s own death, with his possessions being picked over by strangers and bill collectors.
We all know how this one ends. Scrooge learns his lesson well, and changes his life for the better, and the lives of those around him benefit as well.
MY THOUGHTS: The holidays just wouldn’t be complete without at least one reading, or viewing, of “A Christmas Carol.” What an awesome reminder of how our own lifestyles and choices can impact the people around us.
Of course, this is not my first reading of “A Christmas Carol”, but I did notice something this time that slipped by me before. At the beginning of the story, as Charles Dickens is introducing us to Scrooge, he notes that even the dogs of the blind lead their masters into doorways when Scrooge comes down the street. This story was written in 1843 and I would never have guessed that there were seeing-eye dogs that long ago.
NARRATOR: Fans of the Harry Potter audio books are already very familiar with Jim Dale, and you won’t be disappointed with his performance on “A Christmas Carol." He brings his usual cast of characters and is perfectly entertaining.
While listening to this audio book, I amused myself by comparing Dale’s voices with the familiar characters of the Harry Potter series. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, while there were similarities, he still managed to give each character a unique flair. It was fun trying to pick out which Potter characters they sounded like, though.
FINAL WORD: For my final word, I’m going to borrow some of Dickens’ own final words from the audio book, and I quote; “It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us. And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, every one.”
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER jim dale AUDIOBOOKS:
Peter and the Star-Catchers by Dave Barry (Audiobook review)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J K Rowling (Audiobook Review)
The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu (Audiobook Review)
FILM ADAPTATION: Of course, “A Christmas Carol” has been adapted to film many, many times going all the way back to 1938. Everyone’s favorite miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, has, in turn, been played by many actors, most notably George C Scott in 1984, and my favorite, Patrick Stewart in 1999.
If you liked this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Jim Dale Performs "A Christmas Carol" (An Unabridged audio book Production) from Amazon.com.
Interested in the movie?
Get "A Christmas Carol" on DVD from Amazon.com.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audio book.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt.
Come back soon for more audio book reviews from Audio Book Heaven
I love Jim Dale! I bet that was fun hearing similarities between the Potter people hehe! I'm back to just listening to the whole series again. On book 4 now. I wish I had kept track of how many times I've listened to these.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'll have to look for this one. I'm finding that the narrator makes all the difference, so knowing Jim Dale narrated it makes me interested.
Well master Stormcrow, you've been a busy beaver as of here lately on these blogs. You're a trooper!
ReplyDeleteI love this story because it makes us see the importance and true meaning of Christmas!
God Bless everyone. :-)