Classic Corner - A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

 Title: A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens

Year: 1843

Genre: Novella, Parable, Fantasy






Now that the Christmas season is almost upon us, I decided to get myself into the Christmas spirit by reading probably the most famous festive story after the Nativity, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Plot

For those who have never read the novel or seen any of the numerous film adaptions - the story begins on Christmas Eve where we meet the character Ebeneezer Scrooge who is still working away on his business, called Scrooge and Marley, by himself after his partner, Jacob Marley, passed away some years ago. Scrooge is to all intents and purposes, a miserable old git - even turning down the offer of making a donation to charity with the mere comment that the workhouses are there to help people in need and he dismisses the thought of spending Christmas with his nephew with the now iconic "Bah, Humbug!"

After he closes his business, Scrooge heads home where he gets the shock of his life through a ghostly encounter with Marley, who forewarns him that he will soon meet three spirits who aim to change his outlook on Christmas and his life over the night. At first Scrooge is skeptical and goes to sleep but at one in the morning, as Marley forewarned, the Ghost of Christmas Past appears to remind Scrooge of Christmases he once experienced in years gone by. back when he enjoyed Christmas.

Next, Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Present who takes him around Victorian London so he can see what Christmas is like for people in the city, including his clerk's family where Scrooge is saddened to learn of his employee's son, Tiny Tim, who cannot walk but still has a vibrant outlook on life.

The last spirit however, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, provides Scrooge with a window to an horrific future Christmas unless he changes his ways. Will the spirits do enough to make Scrooge change his mind?

Thoughts

In comparison to other books I have reviewed, it is a bit trickier for me to actually review this one, given that the story has now become a quintessential Christmas classic.

Firstly, the book is extremely short, with only 120 pages but is still a wonderful Christmas story. Scrooge is plainly a miser and I liked how in the novel he has a much colder and darker side to his persona than he has on movie adaptions, which makes the overall plot feel more believable as Scrooge experiences each successive spirit and begins to question his outlook on life.

Also, it can be seen Dickens was trying to make a social comment on the world he was living in which is made very strongly, despite A Christmas Carol being one of his shorter stories, where poorer people had to suffer in the unpleasant workhouses whilst those who were rich often did nothing about it, no matter how wrong it was (a problem which arguably is still an issue today).

It is obvious this is one of Dickens' most inventive and imaginative stories from a plot perspective compared to his more gritty, realistic plots in his longer novels but it works to create a magical fairytale as Scrooge encounters each spirit. My particular favorite is probable the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come because the book here is at it's darkest and had the biggest impact on me personally as a reader.

Probably, my only issue with the book is probably not to do with the book itself but more to do with the huge amount of adaptions for it, on the cinema screen in particular. Also, the fact the book has become a Christmas classic means most people who read it know already what will happen in the novel before even getting to the end. However, it is still great to go back to Dickens' original work and access the story from the original storyteller's eyes.

Verdict:

Overall, the book is still a Christmas classic - even if you have seen one of the many movie adaptions don't be afraid to give the original version a go as it is still really enjoyable today.

The Land Of Dragor: Book 1 - The Gift Of Charms

The Land of Dragor -
The Gift Of Charms

Title: The Land Of Dragor: Book 1 - The Gift Of Charms

Author: Julia Suzuki

Year: 2014

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Children's

For this week's book, I am hugely excited to be giving you my opinion of the first ever review copy I have been given of a novel - The Gift Of Charms, the first novel in The Land Of Dragor series and also the debut novel of Julia Suzuki.

Plot

The novel is set in a mystical land called Dragor where dragons continue to exist away from humans. We learn that Dragor is protected by The Fire Which Must Never Go Out which protects the dragons from the humans they fear after they enslaved the dragons many years ago.

At the beginning of the novel a dragon called Kiara has just given birth and is awaiting the hatching of her baby dragon with the Nephan Hudrah, Yula. However, when the egg hatches the Hudrah quickly discerns that it is no ordinary dragon egg as it is multi-coloured so the baby dragon should be taken away - Kiara and Ketu manage to convince her otherwise and they get to keep the baby, who they call Yoshiko.

10 years later, Yoshiko is about to start Fire School where he is to learn crucial dragon skills such as flying and breathing fire. He quickly attracts the attention of a dragon in the Alana clan called Igorr, who starts to bully him due to his initial lack of ability.

After his first day he visits the marketplace with his father where he encounters The Ageless Ones - a twin pair of dragons who are know for being uncommunicative but they give Yoshiko an unusual charm and offer him a strange vision.

In subsequent chapters, Yoshiko is targeted by Igorr for the fact that it was not just his egg that was multi-coloured but he possesses a strange ability to change his colour to any of the dragon clans -from Nephan Red to Alana Purple to Mida Orange.

Yoshiko tries initially to surpress the colour changes but is curious to know why he is different. One day, in trying to hide a colour change from his classmates he flies to Cattlewick Cave, an area strictly forbidden for dragons to go to as an old dragon called Guya lives there. Guya then offers to explain Yoshiko's colour changes if he completes three impossible tasks. It may just be the case Yoshiko's colour changes are more than just coincidence...

Thoughts

The Gift Of Charms is, put quite simply, a wondrous introduction to a series which has the potential to become one of the greatest children's fantasy novels in recent years.

The most appropriate place to start though is probably with some naysayers who may upon first reading compare it to the likes of existing fantasy novels, in particular the Harry Potter series and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. There are some similarities to both novels - with the school drama in the opening chapters reminiscent of Harry's adventures at Hogwarts and the Land of Dragor itself can draw comparisons with other "fantasy worlds" such as Middle Earth and Narnia. However, Suzuki has managed to combine the best of both of these novels into something that feels completely new.

Now that that issue is cleared up, let's continue.....

The Gift Of Charms begins as stated above very much in the vein of a school drama with the 10 year old Yoshiko taking his first steps into Fire School. It is pretty clear the novel is aimed at young children of around Yoshiko's age from the beginning and many of them will relate to Yoshiko's trials and tribulations such as his initial frustration at his own lack of ability in some areas and (though hopefully not) the feeling of being bullied by fellow classmates.

This appeal to children can also be felt in the novel's length. The entire novel is just under 200 pages long so is a very short novel and some of the chapters are only a few pages long, perfect for a young reader not used to long books and also great for parents for bedtime reading sessions. 

Therefore, the novel moves at a fast pace with a lot of events occurring (my plot overview above only covers half of the plot line because as you know, I am a bit of a tease who doesn't like spoiling novels for people who haven't read them!).  Usually a novel that moves at such a fast pace, and especially a fantasy novel, I often do not enjoy as the world seems to be secondary to exciting events. However, Suzuki creates an amazing world in this novel with some fantastically vivid descriptions of the dragons, the clans and Dragor which I can definitely see catching many a young child's imagination with some of the descriptions being the best I've ever read in a children's fantasy novel.

Also the novel's themes are extremely positive ones for children with Yoshiko's initial curiosity and perseverance being admirable and then as he grows and learns to accept himself for who he is which can only be a good thing in a world where children are taught to live up to unrealistic stereotypes.

My only slight criticism (though it isn't one really as I have said the book is for kids) comes from the novel's length in that it left me hungry for more so thankfully this is only the beginning of the series.

Verdict:

An amazing debut kicking off what could be the start of an amazing children's fantasy series.