A wonderful tale narrated by the best voice actor in the business

First, the tale: Dickens' story hasn't aged at all. On the first page, there's this wry joke about how Marley was "dead as a door-nail," then goes on to speculate about why door-nails are more dead than, say, coffin-nails. This sets the tone for a powerful tale of redemption and change laced with both humor and a bit of fear (all these ghosts!). At the end of it all, Dickens inspires us to be better with this old story; he really captures a "spirit of Christmas" (and I listened to the story in March).

Second, the reader: Jim Dale is simply one of the best in the business. He lends similar creative, dramatic interpretation to his characters here as in his masterful readings of the Harry Potter books. We plan to initiate a family Christmas tradition of listening to this audiobook every December, letting it both entertain and inspire us.

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As Magnificent as the Ghost of Christmas Present!

Charles Dickens is a legend, and Jim Dale should be. I was thrilled to find out that Mr. Dale had recorded "A Christmas Carol" because I've listened to many many hours (and more voices than hours!) of Mr. Dale.
One of the great strengths of "A Christmas Carol" is that it can be presented in many different ways and appeal to a variety of people at many ages. I've seen and listened to, live or recorded, Owens, Sims, Barrymore, Stewart and even Mr. Magoo perform this story but I knew Mr. Dale could bring something new to it.
I'd forgotten that Crachit had no topcoat and Scrooge's niece had kissable lips. I'd lost the memory of Scrooge trying to put out the light of the Ghost of Christmas Past and was glad to be reminded of all of the descriptions of food that Dickens layers throughout the book. I love listening to the English phrases and words that had slipped from our common usage. When I was young I thought the Ghost of Christmas Future was not much of a threat, but now, deep into middle age and a cancer survivor, I see that hooded figure quite differently.
It's a wonderful story, told with a fresh view from a beloved voice. What a great Christmas present!

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Lead on spirit...lead on!!

Mr. Dale provides his usual vocal magic to bring Dickens' immortal holiday classic to life. Excellent narration, sprightly character voices and the reader's sense of good fun make this recording my personal favorite of 'A Christmas Carol'.

If you enjoy this then pick up more of Mr. Dale's audiobook recordings. I highly recommend all 6 of the Harry Potter audiobooks *on CD of course as you will wear your tapes out & replace them constantly* and 'Peter & the Starcatchers'.

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