A Christmas Carol [Audio Connoisseur Version]

De: Charles Dickens

Narrado por: Charlton Griffin

The spirit of Christmas has never been captured better than by Charles Dickens' masterpiece about Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and all those wonderful spirits, especially the ghost of Jacob Marley. It can be fairly stated that Dickens was so successful with A Christmas Carol, that his characters have become more well known than the title itself. In no other work of his has the recurrent them of social injustice and poverty been more powerfully and economically presented.

Although the original book is only about 100 pages in length, its compact plot structure and wonderful narrative velocity are so perfectly contrived as to make this novella an icon in world literature. Once the story begins, there is no getting off this mad dash around the fog beclouded city of gloomy London.

The story was written in 1843 in the wake of a series of "poor laws" directed at changes in the British welfare system. Dickens tried to alert his readers to the plight of those persons who had been displaced and driven into poverty as a result of the rapid changes taking place during the early years of the Industrial Revolution.

In A Christmas Carol, Dickens points out that the wealthy have a greater obligation to the poor than to merely pay their taxes and go on about their lives. But the greatest thing about the story is the powerful spirit of Christmas, and the healing virtue of believing in something outside of one's self.

Public Domain (P)2008 Audio Connoisseur

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Charlton Griffin's inspired reading of this 1843 novella should be mandatory holiday listening." (AudiFile Magazine)

I listen to this story every Christmas

This is an excellent version! I think this is my second time of listening through this one, and I don't plan on changing versions, any time soon.

Favorite Christmas story

I love this story of repentance and redemption. Narration was wonderful with some music and sound effects that added to the story telling.

Enjoyable retelling

It was a pleasure to listen to. I’m glad I selected it. I’m sure I’ll listen again.

What the Dickens?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Everyone should read this among all the other classics.

If you’ve listened to books by Charles Dickens before, how does this one compare?

I am not a Dickens follower, but I find this typical of his other books in that he identifies a personality or type and tells us we should try not to be like that.

Which character – as performed by Charlton Griffin – was your favorite?

Griffin is wonderful. You don't realize that one person is doing all this. I like the voice of naration best. Scrooge was also outstanding.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

One has seen it so many times--

Any additional comments?

I think Dicken's message is that if we dislike someone he must be bad. I don't buy it. I don't think a real Scrooge could be as flat as C.D. makes him.

Excellent, but for the female voices

A wonderful story in its purest text, and a truly stirring performance. Except... whose bright idea was it to digitally pitch up the reader's voice for all the women and children? When I first heard Scrooge's little sister Fan I just about spat out my soda. She sounded just like Simon from those old Chipmunk cartoons.
But if not for that directorial blunder, I would give it five stars. As it is, still well worth listening too.