IMO 4/5. Old-fashioned and sharp humor, excellent message, beautifully told. Puffin Classics version: 5/5

I missed my Wednesday publishing deadline because of sunshine and donuts and my youngest daughter. If you find yourself in the Portland, Oregon area, follow your taste buds to Fremont Street, to the little donut shop with the best Chai and the most fun seasonal donuts, Pip’s Donuts and Chai. Is anything better than spending the afternoon eating and drinking and making merry with my kids? I think not. So alas… the official Protagonist’s Place review of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol comes to you late.

This last week has been full of A Christmas Carol (and a little bit of The Great British Baking Show Holiday edition). The animated version with Jim Carey as Ebenezer Scrooge followed the novel surprisingly well! I watched the acclaimed 1951 version with Alastair Sim as Old Scratch and found the places they elaborated gave more understanding to the background of the story. Much to my surprise, I realized that Scrooged starring Bill Murray is but a distant cousin of this timeless tale. I was pleased, entertained and touched by spending time in the pages of the original story penned by Charles Dickens. If I had more time and Disney+, I would’ve also watched the Muppets version. Maybe next year.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first post-High School-Dickens read (Great Expectations was shoved down my throat in 10th grade. I didn’t love it). The quick moving tale drew me in and I was thus held captive in 1843 London by the beautiful account of a bygone era and a narrative fit for the ages.

On occasion I struggled with the language and was delighted that the Puffin Classics version included a Dickensian Glossary. Did you know that a ‘Comforter’ in the Victorian days meant a scarf?? I didn’t find the glossary until I had read a portion of the book and envisioned the men walking around with blankets on.

Even with the glossary, there were plenty of instances where I just had to infer- “… nothing loth to go…” “Veriest old well of shivering best-parlour that was ever seen.” “…Hoar-frost…” HUH?? And my particular favorite… “…organ of benevolence…” This means the top of one’s forehead in case anyone is wondering. Ahem.

The Puffin Classics version also had a section with fun facts about Christmas during this period. I always wondered why the English were so excited about the sport of boxing as to dedicate an annual holiday to it. Well… come to find out, Boxing Day is actually a holiday of charity and generosity and named in honor of the tradition that churches would open their collection boxes and give alms to the poor.

My tussle with Dickens’ language may not have been a shocker, the humor in the story was however a surprise.

“Old Marley was dead as a doornail. Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a doornail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hand shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a doornail.”

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The humor was throughout. I had always put Dickens and Poe in the same category. How wrong I was!

Before really diving into this classic, I would summarize A Christmas Carol as a story about Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miserly man that hates everything other than money and gain. He is visited by four ghosts that remind him of Christmas Past, show him Christmas Present, and give him a taste of what Christmas Yet to Come could look like if he didn’t change his ways. By the end of his journey, Scrooge is a changed man and lives out his days as the best man the town has ever seen.

My summary isn’t necessarily wrong, but after watching three movies, reading the book and learning about who Charles Dickens was, I realize I missed the big picture. This classic story is not one man’s redemption story. The message is so much grander.

Yes there were the ghosts. Yes Scrooge was pompous and egotistical and he went through a great change. Yes the story tells of redemption and the opportunity to become a better person. What was so interesting is that I believed the story was about Mr. Scrooge, but it was really about all that was happening around him that he intentionally and cruelly turned a blind eye to. And above all, it was a call to action from Charles Dickens’ heart; to see the injustices of the world and to do something about it.

Even after this week of all-things-A-Christmas-Carol, Scrooged is still my fav. Before the peanut gallery boo’s too loud… I do recognize that the 1988 telling of this tale does not have the same timeless ring as the novel or even the older movies. But it’s funny. It’s well-done. It’s just so great!

Scrooged is not focused on the poor or social injustices as Dickens had intended, although it ends with a great message about Christmas spirit and that it’s never too late to change for the better. Frank Cross, played by Bill Murray is a self-absorbed, miserly 20th century version of Ebenezer Scrooge. He’s visited by the ghosts, my favorite being the Ghost of Christmas Present, a fairy that smashes his face with a toaster. My goodness, I’ve probably seen this movie 15 times and I still crack up. All around 5/5.

To wrap this review up… the reading of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol was extremely enjoyable. I appreciated the little lessons in history, I was amused by the language, I enjoyed the ‘extras’ that the book gives us that the movies cut out, I delighted in the unexpected humor, and I was touched by the reminder that we can all be better… to see the needs in our community, to appreciate the little things in life, to focus on what matters and to take action when we can… or else… we may just get visited by our own set of ghosts.

Next up… You’ll just have to check in next week to find out.

Happy Last-Weekend-Before-Christmas… May we remember to love our fellow humans, even if they drive too slow, leave their carts in the middle of store aisles, talk to the cashier too long or just be annoying in general. ‘Tis the season.