A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

AUDIO CD Read by Jim Dale

With so many movies, plays, adaptations, and spin-offs in circulation, it's a wonderful treat to return to Charles Dickens' yuletide yarn in its pristine glory. Random House's new unabridged audio CD version of A Christmas Carol is a marvelous way to enjoy Ebenezer Scrooge's excellent adventure in the manner Charles Dickens must have envisioned when he wrote it. If ever a story was meant to be read aloud, it's this one.

Narrator Jim Dale is the perfect person to bring A Christmas Carol to life, but it is a gross understatement to call him a "reader." Dale performs the story, breathing unique life into each member of the large cast of characters. (If it's been a while since you've read A Christmas Carol, you may be surprised to recall just how many there are!) Leading the colorful list is Scrooge, of course, but Jim Dale's true brilliance lies in the fact that he's just as good as Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, and those three time-traveling ghosts.

A Christmas Carol is 160 years old this year, but when you listen to the story, it's hard to believe it. Dickens' prose, voiced aloud by a master of the Queen's English, sparkles like new snow as we follow Scrooge from "Humbug!" to "Merry Christmas!" This three-CD set provides three enthralling hours of the best kind of holiday entertainment.

Megan Edwards
12/21/03