Title: A shoddy and joyless affair
Product review: I love most things Christmas, and especially Dickens' A Christmas Carol, so I was looking forward to reading this. The idea for the book is sound--the "secret" story behind how Dickens was inspired to write his novella and how it became a huge success. But despite a clever twist or two, I cannot recommened this book: it is badly written, poorly plotted, and has lackluster characterizations (especially Dickens). Except for one nicely described scene from atop a cathedral overlooking London, there is no joy to be had in the writing--the ending, which should be practically authorproof in conjuing up Christmas cheer, is rushed and empty. The absence of a historical afterword, explaining how much of this was real and how much was fancy, is inexcusable. I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. It reads like an outline for an especially mediocre Lifetime TV movie.
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