Long Live Dickens

Charles Dickens is my favorite writer. I love to watch people's expressions when I say that after being questioned about my favorite. The reaction is priceless. That look of confusion coupled with large eyes possibly asking, Is she crazy?"

I finished reading it last night and received a shock. See, I'd never read it before. "Yep, I relied on the movie versions," she said embarassed. My eternal devotion to his writing style was based off of Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cites which I did read. Both amazing stories with a lot of heart and guts.

In the past when I was questioned further about why he is my fave, the only description I could come up with was that his writing was "real" and "conversational". That last one was a stretch, but considering how old his work is, it is quite relatable.

Back to the shock of A Christmas Carol, I was immersed in the fourth chapter and realized I was on the last ghost visit. I thought to myself, This story is coming to an end and this book is large, so what's the rest about?

I skipped ahead and learned there was only one more chapter to the story and there were two additional Christmas stories by Dickens in there. I immediately took to an internet browser and started researching. I thought maybe I was reading an abbreviated version of the Christmas classic. Especially since the name was A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. The weird title threw me and felt like it confirmed my suspicions. But, no. It was written as a Novella. What? It was a long, short story?

As I read on, I learned why Charles Dickens is my favorite writer. His voice. Apparently, he endured humble beginnings in poverty while his dad was thrown into debtor's prison. Obviously Charles wanted to make a statement for social justice, or injustice. He wanted to prick the heart of the rich so their wealth would flow out onto the poor.

After my research it all made sense. He was a man who wanted to make a difference so he picked up his pen, or whatever they used back then, and poured his passion into his words. Wow. That changed me and made me realize...time to find my voice.