Have You Read “A Christmas Carol”?

One thing I quickly discovered about visiting in a country where the primary language is not English is – now this is going to shock you – people don’t really read books in English.  English books are hard to find.  When you do find a store with an English section, the shelf is filled with books like Moby Dick and The Odyssey.

At first, I thought I was going to die.

Martin and I would be visiting in Germany for several weeks, and I’d be out of reading materials.  (It’s surprising how fast you go through books when you and your in-laws have no common language.)

Then I broke down and realized Germany was my chance.  I realized I could walk away from Europe having mastered many of the great English novels.  Wouldn’t my old high school English teachers be pleased?!

* * * * * * * *

Fast forward to today.  I’m sticking to my plan… even if I have found half a dozen bookstores selling huge selections of modern English fiction and nonfiction.  The nonfiction is usually biographies about Europe’s most loved Americans (like Obama), but that’s another story.

Just like in the US, the classic literature is really cheap here.

And that, my reader and friend, is where I want to suggest a classic novel to you.  Go ahead and gag and remember all of the tragedies of high school lit classes.  But when you’re done, do you want to know who gave me the idea for my latest classic book?

It was Gonzo.

You know… the Muppet who’s girlfriend is a chicken?

Yeah… he’s the one who said during A Muppet Christmas Carol, “You think this is good?  Try reading the book.”

gonzo

So that’s what I’m doing.  I’m taking the advice of a guy who dates chickens.  And you can take his advice or mine – whichever you view with higher (or lower!) authority on the subject.  But either way, we’d urge you to read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

The book really touches you.  It makes you think of life a little differently with each page. I’ve never seen a play or film of the story that captures this sense of giving to one another in quite the same way. Charles Dickens writes about giving from the heart – not just money and more vacation days or breaks for late payments.  He describes moments like this:

    He [Scrooge] had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step.  The misery with them all [the ghosts] was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever (pg 22).

christmas carol

I might as well confess that the book is pretty short, which we all like at this busy time of year.  Plus it’s so cheap.  Like this copy on Amazon is only $3.95.  As you’re shopping online or at your bookstore, include a copy of A Christmas Carol in your cart.  A few dollars to be moved like I am finding myself (and getting bonus points for reading a classic!) is amazing.

After all, don’t people always say, “The book was better than the movie”?

Then pass the book onto a friend who – like me and perhaps you – has seen countless versions of the story… but never thought of the original.  Trust me.  The feeling of sharing this book with all of you is more incredible than reading it.

Happy reading!

Is this book something you’re read or ever thought to read before?

(Image sources for:  Gonzo and book)