Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Christmas Carol Part II

My Personal favorite edition
Okay, last post I stated that, bucking the best novel lists, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is the best of the best in English literature.  The fact that Dickens is absent from the list is a humbug if ever there was a humbug.  In this post I'll provide some evidence.

Exhibit A:  TPP.  That stands for tears per page.  As in tear drops.  For me this book is more than just a tearjerker, it's a nose-blower.  Scrooge's journey through the dark night of the soul always gets me... even in the first Stave I'm wiping the pages... and then the big pay off at the end. 

Exhibit B:  The George Lucas of Literature.  Let's face it, Dickens was scripting for a big CGI movie waaaay before any effects or even movies were possible.  What else on the top 100 list comes close to the depths and heights of his imagination?

Exhibit C:  The Sincerest Form of Flattery.  They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and what book has been imitated more often than A Christmas Carol?  And why is that?  It's quintessential. 

In the end the antagonist becomes the protagonist.  It's all about the transformation of Scrooge but it's also more than that.  Something is transformed in us as well... which really beats out any old 100 list anyway. God bless us all, everyone!

No comments: