This was the Hudson Library Literary guild selection for January. This is also a very familiar story. According to Google, there are over a hundred adaptations of the story, ranging from animated, like Mr. Magoo from the 1960s (the very first animated Christmas TV special), to Mickey Mouse to the Muppets to many movies. The premise has even been used for episodes of TV shows like The Odd Couple, Family Ties, or Roseanne.
In the story, the main character is Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly, friendless old man who considers Christmas a humbug, despite the good cheer and happiness all around him. He is visited by the ghost of his former partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him that Scrooge will have three more spirit visitors that night. The three ghosts share visions of Scrooge’s past, the present and the future. In each vision Scrooge is able to see what once was, how much love there is in the world despite poverty and ugliness, and how little he will be missed, (and why that will be) when he is gone.
The theme of possible redemption is classic, and though we know how the story turns out, during the reading of it, a happy ending is not assured.
The book is short, the descriptions are vivid and the theme is one that is well worth pondering.
