I remember first hearing something about this story years ago, on an old-time radio broadcast. I enjoyed the story, but it was long enough ago that I didn’t remember the plot, so I decided to listen to the story recently. Wow. What a sweet tale! It had its ups and downs, as I’ve come to expect from Dicken’s works, but it also had characters I fell in love with and an intriguing plot. And that’s not to mention the unexpected twists this story took! There was one in particular I didn’t see coming, and that endeared the story to me even more. I loved this book as an audiobook, and am looking forward to reading a physical copy one day. ( )

In an effort to prolong our quickly receding winter, I took to this short tale, replete with Dickens' usual odd names and odder characters. The man does know his way around the English language ( )

Winter 2020 (December);

Part of the round of this years' new seasonable classics.

I've been meaning to get to this one for ages and ages, because it was considered the favorite Christmas tale of Dicken's during his life (versus how the world currently best leans to his [b:A Christmas Carol|5326|A Christmas Carol|Charles Dickens|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1406512317l/5326._SY75_.jpg|3097440]). Sadly, this one fell a bit flat for me, and while I did manage to get a little more invested in the last third of the book, there was no point as which I was really enthralled.

(Also, the sudden about-face toward the end by a certain character made no sense. It was very Scrooge's turn, but with absolutely no impetus to make them change and ever reason, only hours earlier that day, for that person to be filled with even more anger, spite, and hum-bug.) ( )

Parts of this are a very sweet story. Parts of this are boring. If you are a fan of Dickens and his writing style you will probably enjoy it a lot more, though at least it's short and easy to read. ( )

I love Charles Dickens all year round, but I really adore reading him at Christmas time. I had never read this novella before, and it lived up to my expectations of what a Dickens tale should be. It is billed as a Christmas story, but I don't see it as that at all. It is a story of home and love and the value of those over money.

I might not ever listen to the chirp of a cricket quite the same.

Happy New Year to everyone here at Goodreads and around the world. I wish you all a happy home, filled with love, kindness and peace. ( )